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Money Grab

By: blackrandl1958



The day the bottom fell out Davis Rade hardly noticed. He knew when the inflation rate reached 20 percent. Of course, the Federal Reserve System didn't intend for that to happen, but they had no choice at this point. The national debt was soaring and the only way they could even make interest payments was to print trillions of dollars of money. He noticed when inflation reached 1000 percent, then 1000 percent per week. He also noticed when his cell phone service died and when his satellite dish quit working. It didn't really bother him. He listened to ham radio broadcasts and discovered that the bank in Medicine Lodge had closed its doors and there were a lot of angry people out there. There wasn't a bank open anywhere as far as his set could reach, and he could reach a long way. The government had abandoned the dollar as a currency. He had about 500 of them in the bank but he wasn't going to miss them.

Some smart guy at the Federal Reserve came up with the bright idea of converting to blue dollars instead of the green ones and that lasted about a week until the blue ones were as worthless as the green ones.

Davis knew what the problem was. When you print money by the tens of trillions of dollars, sooner or later people are going to catch on. Their money is suddenly worth half what it was two years ago and people notice that. The price controls lasted about a month and then merchants started ignoring them. The last time he was in Medicine Lodge gas had been 12 dollars a gallon. That was a year ago and you would have had to bring in a truckload to fill your tank last week.

It took about three days for things to begin to unravel. Runs on grocery stores soon emptied shelves and with no currency with which to restock, hunger stalked the streets. Hungry mobs rioted in the cities and roamed the streets, stealing from those who were unable to defend themselves. Fuel vanished and people began to die of starvation. Barter was the only system of exchange and could only be attempted by the bold and those who could ensure their trading items would not simply be stolen. Sewage systems quickly failed and disease walked on two feet. In its death throes the government thrashed about trying to restore order and failed.

Davis heard on the ham radio about the food riots in Wichita and Kansas City. The National Guard had been pretty brutal about putting them down and that triggered a lot more violence. It sounded like full scale chaos. Ordinary people were hiding in their houses and bands of thugs ruled the streets. The pitiful National Guard force had gone rogue and violence seemed to be the order of the day. By the tenth day, barbarism reigned.

The powerful had moved pretty quickly to secure hard currency supplies, fuel storage facilities, flour, sugar and commodities and the powerless and weak starved or became slaves.

Davis wasn't worried. Sitting in the middle of 100,000 thousand acres of open range land in the middle of Kansas, he was pretty hard to find. If someone wandered up by accident he was prepared to deal with that too. People were fleeing the cities and he decided to close the gates in the fence in the morning.

At three AM the dogs woke him up. They were making quite a fuss out by the wall and he got up to investigate. He turned on the flood lights and he could see a motorcycle outside. The wall gates were always closed, and he heard the intercom buzzer.

He pulled on black sweat pants and a black hoody and picked up his M16. He didn't bother with the intercom. He walked down to the gate. The dogs were at the gate milling around and barking. He stayed behind the bunker and walked down the wall. He peeked around the corner and saw two people on the bike. He didn't see any weapons so he shouted at the dogs.

"Anubis, Isis, Lilly! Heel!"

The three Cane Corso mastiffs came running and sat down beside him. They stopped barking and looked up at him, big pink tongues lolling. 400 plus pounds of dog waited for a command.

"Who are you and what do you want?" he called.

The driver of the bike got off and came close to the gate. Davis could tell by the way she walked that it was a woman. She unsnapped the chinstrap and took off the helmet. She looked familiar.

"Who are you?" he called again.

"Mr. Rade? Do you remember me? I'm Calista De la Vega. I work for Channel 3 News. We met at the Peace Treaty Festival three years ago. I did a feature piece about you on Channel 3."

"I remember. You told me you wanted to do a human interest piece on the only baseball player to ever retire at 30 after getting 30 home runs and 30 stolen bases the year before. I also remember that you said I was a racist gun nut that was waiting for the end of the world on a remote ranch in Kansas."

"Look, Mr. Rade. I don't know how much news you get out here. Do you know what's going on? Wichita is in flames, people are killing each other in the street and I'm desperate. We had to get out of there and I thought of you. You were right and I was wrong. The world did end, just like you said. I know you've got a fortress in there. I saw it when I interviewed you, remember? I'm sorry about the story. I just reported it the way I saw it."

"You still haven't told me what you're doing here?"

"We need help. Will you open the gate and at least let me talk to you?"

Davis pushed the button and the gate rolled back. She walked through and into the yard. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt and a leather jacket and he remembered. She had looked very good three years ago at 22 and at 25 she was stunning. She had that Latina curve going on and the mane of black hair with its auburn highlights framed a face to die for. Huge dark eyes and flashing white teeth in that mocha complexion lit up the television screen like a light bulb.

"Listen Mr. Rade, the world is going crazy. We're starving. We're almost out of gas and if you don't help us we're going to die, or worse. Did you know that there are gangs in Wichita that are enslaving women and children? We need help or we're going to die. We're desperate, Mr. Rade. Please help us."

"You keep saying us and we; who's we?"

"Malina," she called. "Could you come here please?"

The bike passenger got off and walked toward them. Davis could see that it was another woman. Calista was a tall woman, nearly six feet, but the passenger looked more like five four. She removed her helmet as she walked and a cascade of golden hair fell out.

"Mr. Rade, this is Malina Nebrija. Malina, this is Davis Rade."

Malina extended her hand and spoke with a Spanish accent, "I am pleased to meet you, Mr. Rade."

She had the most beautiful blue, almond shaped eyes in one of the most beautiful faces Davis had ever seen. She was obviously very young. Her skin was a golden honey color and the dark blonde hair had hints of brown here and there. Her little mouth formed a recurved bow with the some of the fullest lips he had ever seen. She was gorgeous.

"You're Hispanic?" he was more than a little surprised.

"No," Calista told him, "she's a foreign exchange student from Spain. She picked a very bad time to come to Kansas. She can't get home now. Her host family lived next door to me. They were killed 4 days ago during one of the riots. Some men were breaking in her house and she got away and ran out the back door and over to my house. The men who were breaking in saw her going across the alley and down to my house. They set her house on fire and were coming to my house. We jumped on the bike and got away. I didn't know where to go. We have been running and hiding for three days. We're thirsty and starving. Our bike is almost out of gas. I was racking my brain trying to think of a safe place and then I thought of you. You've been expecting this for ten years and I knew you'd have the right preparation. Please, Mr. Rade, will you help us?"

"Why should I?" he asked. "The last time I saw you was when you told me you'd meet me at Griffin's restaurant. You never showed and that night the story ran making me sound like a dangerous lunatic. It started an ATF investigation and cost me 50,000 in legal fees. You used me and threw me under the bus."

"I'm sorry about that. You seemed like that to me. I just reported the facts. The reason you should help us is because I have a hundred pounds of South African gold coins in my saddlebags. My father bought it years ago and I inherited it. That's all we were able to take when we got away. We'll pay you to help us."

"I don't need your money. You forget who I am. You know I made 80 million playing baseball for the Cardinals, remember? I've still got most of it and it isn't in paper money. I made twice that much from endorsement deals. You didn't understand me three years ago and you don't understand me now. You used me to jump start your career. You can't pay me to take you in. Is that all you've got?"

"Yes. If you don't want money, what do you want? Please, we don't want to die and that's what's going to happen to us if you turn us away. Neither one of us have any family we can turn to. We haven't eaten in days and we're afraid to go up to houses."

She paused for a moment. "If you help us I'll be very grateful." She stepped closer and fluffed her hair with one hand.

"Now why does that sound familiar? I think that's what you told me the last time you were here." He deliberately looked her up and down. She was a goddess, no doubt.

She walked closer, her hips swaying in an exaggerated runway walk.

"Do you see anything you like?" She put her arms around his neck and melted against him. "I'll do anything you want if you help us."

The dogs stirred and growled.

"Anything I want?" he asked. "Does that mean what I think it does?"

She looked up at him with half closed eyes and nodded.

He disengaged her arms and stepped back. "Anubis, guard," he said.

The big mastiff moved between Davis and Calista and sat down, teeth showing and a growl rumbling in his throat.

He moved behind her and patted her down.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm checking you for weapons." Inside her jacket he found a large kitchen knife. 

"Jesus you're a slut. I'd rather sleep with a rattlesnake," he told her. "You were going cut my throat in my sleep."

"You bastard!" she yelled, "Who do you think you are? You can't talk to me like that. That knife was the only thing we had to protect ourselves." She took a step toward him and the Cane Corso rose to his feet with a menacing rumble. She froze.

He walked around her and spoke to the other girl.

"What about you, Malina? Are you willing to do anything too?"

"No," the girl answered. "I will not do what she said."

"Why should I take you in, then? What have you got?"

"I do not have anything," she said. "Mr. Davis, if you help me I will be your friend. I will protect you and your things with my life. I will work hard and obey everything you tell me to do, but I won't do that. I will not be a slave but I will be a very good friend. I will love you if you help me. You should take me in because I need your help and you can. I am a person that needs help and you have the ability to help me. I will be very grateful and good to you if you help me, but I will not do that. Please Mr. Davis, do you not need a friend? Calley has told me that you are alone here. I can only offer my friendship and my need."

"Yes," he said. "I would like to be your friend. That's the right answer. You seem like a very good kid to have as a friend. What about her?" he indicated Calista. "Will you stay if I kick her out?"

"No, I love Calley. No matter what you think of her, she has been very good to me, even before. She saved my life. I will not stay without her, but if you help us I will love you as well."

"Well, I guess I'll have to take the package deal to get you then," he said. "Pull your bike up to the house and come inside and we'll talk."

Calley walked angrily to the bike and drove up to the house and Malina walked with Davis, the dogs trailing close behind. Calley was furious.

"Hold on a minute Miss Vega," he called as she walked toward the door.

She stopped and waited for them to catch up. "It's De la Vega and it's Ms," she said.

He ignored her. He snapped his fingers and the dogs crowded around. "Friends," he said and snapped again. The dogs walked around the two girls, sniffing their clothes and Lilly licked their hands.

"What kind of dogs are they, Mr. Davis?" Malina asked.

"They're a type of Italian mastiff," he told her. "They're called Cane Corsos."

"Why do they have such little ears?"

"They were cropped when they were puppies. Anubis and Isis are 4 years old. Lilly is their puppy and she's 2."

"They are very well behaved," she said. "I like their little tails. Can they understand English?"

"Some words: maybe about 30. They recognize voice commands and hand signals."

He opened the door and ushered them into the living room. A huge leather sectional faced a big fireplace. The floors were hardwood and the walls were roughhewn logs. There were a lot of animal heads around the walls and Calley thought it looked like a hunting lodge.

He pointed to the sofa and they sat down. He went to the refrigerator and brought back three bottles of Heineken. He popped the tops and handed them each one of the bottles. They drank thirstily and he sat in a recliner across from them and took a drink of his beer.

"Miss Vega, I think we should get some things straight."

"I just told you, it's Ms. De la Vega."

"That's one of the things we need to get straight. You're a guest in my home. I took you in because Malina asked me to. I call the shots here. You don't tell me what to do. If I want to call you Ned or Bill, that's what I'll do. If you don't like it, you know where the gate is."

"You're a Neanderthal, Davis. You think because you're a man you can do anything you want because you're stronger than me."

"See, you don't get it. It has nothing to do with strong or weak. It has to do with human decency. You don't get to call me Davis. You lost that right when you told those lies about me on TV. Only my friends get to call me by my first name. You aren't a friend of mine. You came here with your hand out and expected to bat your eyes at me like you did last time and I'd just drool all over myself. I didn't invite you here and I'll kick your ass out if you so much as look crossways at me. You better get over being sensitive fast. The next Neanderthal you meet may take you for a love slave."

"How come Malina gets to call you Davis?"

"She hasn't stabbed me in the back. Besides, I like her. I don't like you. If you'll notice, she doesn't call me Davis, she calls me Mr. Davis. I'm Mr. Rade to you. You can call me Davis, Malina."

"Oh no, I could not do that. It would not be enough, como se dice, respectful. Yes, it is not enough respectful. You are saving our lives, Mr. Davis."

He threw back his head and laughed. "You're ok little girl. I knew I was going to like you."

Calley hated him. She had never had a man tell her that he didn't like her before. Most men fell all over themselves to impress her. How could he speak to her like that? He was a cave man. But, he had agreed to let them stay so she supposed she had no choice. They really had no place else to go.

"What else do we need to get straight?" she asked.

"See, that's the right attitude," he said. "All you ever had to do was treat me decently. You didn't do that. If you're nice to me, I'll be nice to you. Malina, you said you'd obey everything I told you to do. That's good, and it may save your life in an emergency, but ordinarily, I don't want to tell you what to do. I won't be your boss and I won't tell you what you do. I don't need slaves or servants that do what I tell them to do. It's like you said, I need friends. I want you to be my friends. That's the only way I'll let you stay. If you will be my friends you can stay. If you can't get over hating me, Miss Vega, I'll still help you, but I won't let you stay here. I need you to be people that I don't have to tell what to do. I need people I can trust. I don't trust you, Miss Vega. I did the first time I met you and you betrayed me. You're going to have to earn that back. You need to be just like me. If you're going to stay with me permanently, we're going to have to be partners. I see something that needs to be done and I just do it. If the garden needs water, I water it. If I need to burn the trash, I do it. If I'm hungry, I cook. I'll cook for you too, but I don't want you standing around waiting for me to tell you what to do. Do you understand?" 

"Yes," Calley said. Malina nodded.

"Good, then I expect we'll get along just fine. We're going to have to work pretty hard. We can't run in to the store when we need something. If we can't harvest it or pick it or hunt it, we can't eat it. I have a huge garden. That's because everything we eat this winter we have to grow. I didn't plan on three of us, but we'll be fine. We're going to have to harvest the wheat and corn. I have 50 cows, 5 horses, 11 pigs and 10 chickens. They have to be taken care of. So do the dogs. We're going to have to hunt and fish. I have three big freezer units in the bunker. They need to be full when winter comes so we won't have to go out much in the cold. We need to cut enough wood to last. We heat with wood."

"Will we have electricity?" Calley asked.

"Yes, I have six solar panels on the roof and a windmill out back. I have replacements and we can keep them going for a long time. We have a generator too if we need it, but I don't want to run it if we don't have to. I have 4500 gallons of fuel, but who knows how long it will be before we can get more?"

"We will work very hard, Mr. Davis. You will not be sorry you let us stay," Malina told him.

"That's what I need from you. Do you girls need anything from me?" he asked.

"Yes, we do," Calley said. "I'm sorry to have to ask you but we don't have anything. If you won't take our money, we have nothing. We'll work to pay you back. We only have the clothes we have on. We're beggars. We had to leave everything when we ran away."

"I don't have any girl's clothes. I have things like toothbrushes and soap, but no girl's clothes. I didn't know I'd have girls over for breakfast. Let's go see what we can find for you to sleep in. I don't expect you to pay me back. If we're friends we think like that."

They followed him into his bedroom and into the big, cedar lined closet. "Knock yourselves out, he said. "I've got boxers and t-shirts and wife beaters in those drawers there. Gym clothes over there, that's probably all I've got that will fit you."

Calley shot him an angry glare at the 'wife beater' reference. He raised one eyebrow. "Was that a look?"

"No, sorry," she said.

"Good, you're trying," he told her. "Just don't be so prickly. Relax; I always liked you Miss Vega. Just give me a chance, ok?"

Calley nodded.

The girls took the undershirts and boxers. He led them off to two more bedrooms. "These are yours. Fight over them. I know you girls are hungry. Would you like to shower before you eat?"

They did, and he went off to cook breakfast while they changed.

When they emerged, he was cooking sausage, and biscuits were in the oven. They sat at the bar and drank coffee and he got out plates and silverware. He poured milk in tall glasses. "Did I mention I've got a Jersey cow in the barn out back?"

They laughed. "You have everything, Mr. Davis," Malina complimented him.

"Can I help you with anything?" Calley asked.

"Thanks, do you know how to make gravy?"

She didn't and they both got up and came around the stove to watch him. It was evident that neither girl had anything on but the undershirts and the boxers and Davis' eyes bugged out and he choked a little.

"Well girls, I'm glad you aren't shy," he stuttered. "Just let the boobs hang out there, don't mind me. Are you trying to embarrass me?"


Money Grab



Malina cupped her pointy little breasts in his direction. "I'm not shy," she said. "I like to be sexy. Besides, my only bra is dirty."

Calley looked down at her chest and grinned. The undershirt was barely containing her full breasts and her nipples were making two peaks in the thin material. She brushed them with her fingertips and they became even more pronounced. "Regretting not taking me up on that offer, Mr. Rade?"

"Maybe a little," he laughed. "Don't torture me like this."

"I'm sorry Mr. Davis, you will soon become accustomed to living with girls," Malina said. She arched her back and stretched languorously. 

"Jesus Malina, stop that." He turned red and took the sausage out of the pan. She laughed and crumbled the sausage up on the plate.

He sifted flour into the sausage grease. "The trick is to soak up all the grease with the flour. Then you make rue and cook it a little. That keeps the gravy from becoming lumpy when you add the milk. Too much flour at first is best. You can always add more milk but if you have to add flour you've got problems."

He stirred the gravy until it thickened and added a little more milk. After it was bubbling he put the sausage back in. He opened two biscuits on their plates and ladled on the gravy.

"I like pepper, but you do it like you want."

The girls devoured their food. "I was starving," Calley said. "That was awesome, Mr. Rade. Can we have another biscuit and some of that strawberry jam?"

"Help yourself. You don't have to ask me. Me casa es su casa."

"Do you speak Spanish, Mr. Davis?" Malina asked.

"A little," he admitted. "Not as well as you speak English. There are a lot of Hispanic ball players and I picked some up. Are there a lot of blonde girls in Spain?"

"Some," she said. "Mostly in the north we live. I lived just a few miles from France and some of my family has blonde hair and blue eyes. I speak French nearly as well as Spanish. English is my third language."

"Well, it's my first and you speak it as well as I do. You know what, I'm declaring tomorrow a holiday," he decided. "There's a general store over at a little town called Belvedere about 10 miles away. It's really not a town, just a store. We might be able to trade for some stuff for you. I'm afraid to go into Medicine Lodge, there's still a lot of violence going on and all the stores have been looted, but this is a pretty out of the way place that used to supply the ranches around here. They carry outdoor clothes, hunting stuff; things like that. Maybe they'll have something. We'll go in the afternoon; right now I'm going back to bed. Sleep as long as you want and we'll just wake up when we're rested."

That turned out to be noon for the tired girls and Davis got up at 10:30. He dressed quietly and got his Jeep Wrangler out of the shed and fueled it up. He made sandwiches and put them on the bar. He milked the cow and fed the animals.

He ate his sandwich and went to a door off the kitchen. He walked inside and looked over the weapons hanging on the wall. He picked out two riot guns with pistol grips and picked up a dozen rounds of buckshot.

He loaded the weapons and put them in the Jeep along with his M16. When he went back in he heard showers running in the girl's rooms. He searched around and found gym shorts with drawstrings. He got t-shirts, boxers and his smallest socks.

He knocked on Calley's door. "Just a minute," she called. She soon opened the door and peeked out. "Clean clothes," she opened the door, wrapped in a towel and he handed a pile to her. "You're going to have to make do with boxers until we get something else for underwear. You can pull the drawstrings up tight on the shorts and they'll stay up. I don't have any shoes that will fit you."

"That's OK," she said. "My shoes are fine." She turned away and then hesitated. "Mr. Rade, thank you for taking us in."

"You're welcome," he told her.

He was about to knock on Malina's door when it opened. She, too, was dressed only in a towel. "Mr. Davis," she began. "Oh, I see you have already thought. I was going to ask if you might have anything for me to wear. I cannot stand putting those dirty clothes back on."

He handed her the pile. "Just until we can get you something else."

"Thank you, Mr. Davis." She sauntered back to the bed, and opened her towel, looking back at him over her shoulder. "Do you want to watch?"

He choked and quickly turned away. Her laughter followed him into the kitchen. They looked like they had been dressed by an older brother when they emerged. They took one look at each other and laughed themselves to tears.

"Well, if you're done mocking my wardrobe, grab your sandwiches and let's hit the road," he said.

?

Chapter 2

When they got outside he sent Calley to the bunker. "Go down to the second level and you'll find shelves full of whiskey. Get ten of the purple boxes that say Crown Royal on them and five of the ones that say Jack Daniels on a black label.

He and Molina carried flour and corn and loaded it into the Jeep.

The drove down the driveway and he asked, "I've been wanting to ask you something, Malina. How old are you?"

"I am 17," she said. "I will be 18 next week."

"Trying to find out if she's jailbait?" Calley teased.

"No, just wondered," he laughed. "You said she was an exchange student and I wondered if she was a senior or a junior."

"I am a senior," she told him.

"Listen girls, I don't know what to expect over here. I don't know what's been going on. I haven't been here for nearly a year. There may be no one there or it may be a pretty rough crowd. I'm going to leave the rifle in the car. I've got two pistols and I want you girls to carry those riot guns. You know how to shoot?"

"No," Calley said. "I hate guns."

"Do you like living? You better fall in love fast. Jesus Christ, that attitude is going to get us all killed. You can't miss with that. Just point it and pull the trigger. You operate that slide to get another round in the chamber. Slide it and see how it works."

She worked the slide and a round flew over the side of the car into the road. "Oops, I wasn't supposed to do that, was I?"

Davis laughed. "Well, no but that's how you do it." He handed her another shell.

"I know how to shoot." Malina told him. "I have often hunted partridges at home."

"Good. That's good, little girl. There isn't a round in your chamber. Wait till we get there before you put one in."

"Is this town on a dirt road?" Calley asked.

Davis laughed. "I told you it isn't much of a town. There used to be a restaurant and the store; that's it."

There were three vehicles pulled up in front of Grizzly's General Store; two pickup trucks and an ATV. The restaurant appeared to have been closed for some time. The windows were boarded up, but the store had an open sign in the window.

"Pay attention in here," Davis told the girls. "Don't let anyone get behind us. I'm going in friendly, but they may not want to be friends."

They got out and the two girls followed Davis inside. They positioned themselves beside the door. A bearded, heavy man with an open flannel shirt with no sleeves was behind the counter. He had a chain running across his belly from a ring in one nipple to another in his navel. Two other men lounged on piles of horse blankets off to the side. One was a young man who looked to be in his early twenties wearing a cowboy hat that had once been white. The other had on biker leathers with an open vest. He obviously worked out.

"Hey, Grizzly, you remember me?"

"Yeah, you're that baseball player got a place across from the Z bar. What can I do for you?"

"You got any clothes or shoes for women?"

"I've got flip flops, boots and Converse All Stars that they might wear. Don't have many clothes. I've got wife beaters, jeans they might find in a small size, t-shirts, thermal stuff, a little cammo hunting stuff and a couple of pairs of insulated coveralls."

"I'll take everything you've got," Davis said.

The two men had gotten up off the blankets and they moved to stand on each side of Davis.

"How were you planning to pay for that?" Grizzly asked.

"How do you want to be paid? I've got whisky, flour, corn or silver. I'll trade any or some of all of that. Or," Davis reached into his pocket and the two men tensed, "I've got a credit card." He showed it to Grizzly.

Grizzly roared with laughter. "He's got a credit card! Ain't that a hoot, boys?"

The two men slapped their sides laughing. A cold light came into Grizzly's eye. "Or, how about we give these two little honeys of yours a roll in the hay? That sound like a fair trade, Rade? You trade some pussy for what you need?"

"I'm afraid that doesn't work for me, gentlemen. I don't own these ladies. They don't look interested, so how about we trade for what I offered you?"

"No, I think I'll take the pussy," Grizzly said.

Davis exploded into action. He stomped his heel sideways into the knee of the biker and slashed the credit card across the eyes of the cowboy. The biker's knee was destroyed with an audible crunch and the cowboy screamed and fell to the floor clutching his eyes. Blood seeped between his fingers and the sound of a shell being jacked into the chamber of a 12 gauge froze Grizzly behind the counter.

Malina pointed the riot gun at his belly. "Take your hands slowly from beneath the, como se dice, the counter."

Grizzly slowly raised his hands. "You take it easy with that shotgun, girl. Ol' Grizzly was just joshing. We wasn't going to hurt nobody."

"No, I would not wish to hurt anyone either. But I will blow a hole in your belly if you lower your hands."

The cowboy was still screaming and Davis took out his 9mm and cracked him on the head. He went quiet. The biker was unconscious, passed out from the pain of his wrecked knee. Davis covered Grizzly and spoke to the girls.

"Go look over the stuff. Take anything you feel like you can use and put it in the jeep, then come back in here with the whiskey."

They quickly moved to the shelves and carried out several armloads. They didn't find any women's underwear, but they got two dozen pairs of boxers. They found All Stars that fit, jeans and t-shirts. They took thermal shirts and some of the hunting clothes. They took two stacks of the undershirts and lots of socks. They found gloves and stocking caps and they both found boots that fit. They made two trips with whisky and Davis put ten 2 ounce silver coins on the counter.

"We aren't thieves Grizzly, but we don't like rapists. Walk around here."

Grizzly walked slowly around the counter and stopped when Davis gestured.

"Cover him, Miss Vega."

Calley leveled her shotgun at the man and he flinched.

"You made some bad decisions today Grizzly. I think that chain made you do it."

"My chain? Are you crazy?"

"No, I've heard that men with chains in their nipples make bad decisions all the time. I'm going to fix that for you."

Davis reached out and ripped the chain off the man. His nipple and navel tore and blood spurted. He screamed and clutched his nipple.

"I'm going to kill you for that, Rade."

"You've still got the ear rings," Davis told him. "You want to go for those? I've got pliers in the jeep."

"No, no, I didn't mean it. Just take your stuff and these two bitches and get out of here."

"Now that's no way to talk to ladies, Grizzly. I think you ought to apologize or I send the girl to get the pliers."

"I'm sorry, ladies. I don't know what I was thinking." He swallowed and licked his lips."

"Next time we come I expect you to be polite," Davis said. "Ladies, go and get in the jeep."

He kept the gun on Grizzly and backed out the door. He turned and ran for the jeep. Calley had the engine running and she put a cloud of dust in the air as she spun around in the road and flew out of town.

Five miles out of town they crossed the Medicine River and Calley pulled off the road. "Why are we stopping?" Davis asked.

"I need to talk to you," she told him. "You guys get out and let's sit on the tailgate for a minute."

Davis lowered the tailgate and sat down. Calley sat on one side of him and Malina on the other. They were tightly packed and Davis could feel the two warm bodies pressed against him. It was a beautiful spot. The wind rustled the leaves of the cottonwoods along the creek and they could hear the sound of running water.

"What is it, Miss Vega?"

"I need to apologize to you Mr. Rade. Damn it, this is so silly. I'm going to call you Davis and you can kick me out if you want. Those men were going to rape us back there and you stopped them. They were going to kill you and rape Malina and me and then kill us. We were going to die horribly and you saved us. Please don't call me Miss Vega anymore. I know you're still mad at me and I deserve it. Will you call me Calley please?"

"I'll think about it. Go on."

"I don't know what to say. I treated you like shit. I didn't know anything about you and I just threw you under the bus like you said. I was 22 years old; I was an intern and I needed to get on the desk in front of the camera. I didn't want to sleep my way there and so I used you. That story I did on you got me the anchor job. I'm very sorry. I know you think I'm a slut Davis, but I'm not. I'm just selfish. I've always just thought about myself. I know it but I'm going to be better. I'm so sorry I treated you that way and I'll do anything you want me to to earn your forgiveness. If I start acting like a bitch again you have my permission to kick me out. Please don't hate me Davis. I can't stay with you after what you did back there if you hate me. It will destroy me. I'll know that you're the kind of person that will risk his own life to save mine and if you hate me because I treated you like that I can't live with it. I know what kind of a guy you are now. You risked your life to get us clothes. So I'm begging you, will you forgive me?" She knelt in the road at his feet and looked up at him with tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Don't do that," he took her hand and pulled her back up beside him

"All you had to do was apologize and ask. I do forgive you Calley, and I like to be called Davis. You don't have to beg."

She hugged his arm and rubbed her cheek on his shoulder. It felt like a silk pillow against his skin. "Thank you Davis," she whispered.

"What I wish to know is how you learned to fight like that, Mr. Davis?" Malina asked.

"Well, that's a long story. Calley knows part of it. It's the reason she called me a racist."

"I'm so sorry," Calley said. "I just found out you spent six months at one of The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord camps and I thought you were one of them."

"How could you think that, Calley? Jesus Christ, the people were racist nut bags. Do you know that my mother was a half black South African? I hate racists. You know the police never caught the men that killed Cindy?"

"Who is Cindy?" Malina asked.

"She was Davis' fiancée," Calley told her. "She stumbled upon a group of cattle thieves on the way home from town one night and they raped her and killed her. The police never found them. What does that have to do with The Covenant, The Sword, and the Arm of the Lord, Davis?"

"Well, it turns out the thieves were part of that group. I went there looking for them and joined up so I could find them. They taught me how to fight. I spent six months with those sick bastards and learned everything I could about fighting. Some of them were tough. They were sick sons of bitches but they had trained all over the world and they taught me everything they knew. I found out who the five men were that killed Cindy and I killed them, loaded them in the back of my truck and buried them out in the gypsum on the back of my land. That's why you called me a racist Calley and I couldn't say one thing in my own defense. I couldn't risk anyone finding out about the men I killed."

"Maria y Christo, Davis. I never knew. How could I know? I'm so sorry."

There were tears in the eyes of both girls. Calley pulled his head down and kissed his cheek.

"Those men were very bad. It makes me happy that you punished them." Malina told him. "Those evil men, those pigs back there; they were not going to let us go after they traded for pussy, were they?"

"Probably not, little girl. They would probably have killed me and used you until they got tired of you and then killed you. I wasn't going to let that happen."

"Thank you Mr. Davis." She kissed him too.

"You're welcome. You may save my life sometime." He put an arm around each of them and squeezed. They both sighed and pushed their cheeks into his chest.

He shook his head and let go. He stood up. "All settled?"

They both nodded. "Good, then let's go home."

"Yes Davis, I like that word; home," Malina reached her hand to him and he pulled her up.

?

Chapter 3

They unloaded the Jeep and Calley and Malina wanted to try on their clothes. None of them fit exactly except the shoes. They looked a little odd in the men's clothes, but they would work. They came out and gave Davis a fashion show while he made dinner. After dinner he took them to the barn and they watched as he milked the cow.

"This is Molly," he introduced them. Davis had raised her from a bottle calf and she was very gentle. They stroked her smooth hair and giggled when she licked Malina's hand.

"Her tongue is very rough," she said. "She is very fat. Her stomach is big, is she with calf?"

"No, not yet," he laughed. "She's a Jersey and they all look like that. When she has a calf next spring, she will have a huge stomach."

"I would wish to pet a calf," she told him.

"Well, if things go well you'll get your wish."

Both of them wanted to try milking but their hands tired quickly. "Don't worry about it. My hands were like that too. You'll get used to it. We have to do this twice a day if we want milk. I drink it for breakfast every morning and we'll cook with it quite a bit. We also use it to make butter. I want to make cheese but I don't have the enzymes for it."

They went inside and they all showered and changed for the night. It was apparent that the boxers and wife beaters were going to be the norm for pajamas and Davis groaned. They never wore bras, they didn't have any, and the sight of all that jiggling girl flesh was driving him crazy.

"You girls want to watch a movie?"

"How will we do that?" Calley asked. She was sewing a cross stitch design onto a pillowcase.

"We have electricity, a TV and a PS4. Go in my office and push the yellow button to the right of the door."

She went in and pushed the button. The bookshelves rotated and on the back side of them there were thousands of Blue Ray discs.

"Malina, come look at this," she called.

Davis popped popcorn and after 20 minutes they finally selected a movie. It was a Nicholas Sparks film and Davis groaned. "I don't know what I was thinking when I bought that."

"It looks very romantic," Malina told him. "We like romantic movies. We are Latin and have romantic natures."

"Well, I'm an American and we have violent natures. I like action movies."

He had a huge TV and they plugged in the disk. Davis sat on the sofa and the two girls sat on either side of him. He held the bowl of popcorn on his lap and they reached in while the movie rolled.

As it played out the girls snuggled in closer and took their arms and put them around his shoulders. The feeling of two firm breasts pressing against his arms was very distracting. He suspected that Malina was doing it on purpose and looked down at her. He saw her shift and rub one hard little tip across his bicep. She felt his eyes on her and she looked up and smiled at him as she did it again.

"Stop," he mouthed at her.

She giggled and turned back to the movie.

At some point he fell asleep. When he woke up, both his arms were numb. He realized that it was because two heads had been laying on them for some time. At some point he had put his arms around them. The two girls were asleep and there was nothing but static on the TV. He disengaged his arms from behind their heads. They didn't stir. He propped Calley's head up with a pillow and stood and scooped Malina up in his arms. He carried her into her bedroom, managed to turn back the covers with one hand and put her in. She seemed light as a feather. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead. A wisp of blonde hair tickled his nose and with a smile he went to Calley's room and turned back the covers. He returned to the couch and slid his arms under her. She was a much heavier load than Malina, but he was strong and fit and he put her in her bed. He covered her up and turned the TV off and fell into his own bed. Life was definitely more interesting than it had been last week.




Money Grab



When he awoke he smelled bacon and coffee and he walked into the living room to find both girls working in the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mr. Davis," Malina called and Calley turned and smiled at him.

"You slept late this morning Davis. Breakfast is nearly ready. Please sit down."

"We have milked the cow and fed the dogs and the chickens," Malina said proudly. "Did you know you are running out of dog food, Mr. Davis?"

"Yes, I know. I'm going to have to do something about that. Do you think you girls could help me with that today?"

Calley nodded and Malina said, "We would be very glad to help, Mr. Davis, but I am afraid I know nothing about the manufacturing of dog food."

He laughed. "We aren't going to manufacture it; we're going to catch it."

"I don't remember going to bed last night," Calley told him. "Did you put me in bed, Davis?"

"Neither one of you would wake up so I carried you and tucked you in."

"You must be very strong Mr. Davis, to carry Calley. She is very rechoncho."

"I am not chubby," Calley protested. "My stomach is as flat as yours. Just because you're as skinny as a little boy does not mean that I'm chubby."

"Yes, it is true but I have tetas and nalgas like little boys do not."

Davis blushed a little. "Well, I what tetas are, and I want you both to know that I looked at yours when I put you in bed. Very nice!"

Calley threw a dish towel at him. "You big clown, I know you didn't do that."

"No," Malina agreed, "that would not be the action of a gentleman to look without permission and I know you are a gentleman Mr. Davis. How will we catch dog food?"

"Here's the problem; each one of our dogs eats about 10,000 calories a day. They work hard for us. They protect the livestock, patrol the fences and let us know when they find something wrong. We owe it to them to make sure they are well taken care of. There's no way to get enough commercial dog food to keep them fed all winter. But, I have an idea. Remember when we crossed the Medicine River the other day? That river has a lot of fish in it. Unfortunately, the main species produced is carp. They get big and they're high in protein but they're nearly inedible. We could eat them if we were starving. They're bony and smelly and slimy, but the dogs don't care. I have a net that we're going to put across the river and we're going to drive the carp down the river into that net. We'll load the fish on our trailer and freeze them. Every day we'll get out a carp and feed it to a dog. What do you think?"

"Yes, I would like to catch carps," Malina was excited. "When will we begin?"

"After we do the dishes," Davis laughed. "But the plural of carp is still carp, not carps."

"English is such a peculiar language," she complained.

He laughed. "You ladies cooked and did chores so I'll wash dishes. Go get your guns and if you think you can, you can get the Ranger out of the shed and hook the trailer to it. It's the green utility vehicle. Here are the keys. I'll do the dishes and get the net and a gaff. There are tall rubber boots and rubber gloves in the mud room. See if you can find some that fit and we'll go."

It took an hour to get ready and they were soon nearing the river. "Remember, we're outside the fence, so keep an eye out," he told them.

"Does the fence go all the way around your property?" Malina asked.

"Yes, it's nine feet of steel hurricane fence with razor wire on top. We can electrify it if we want to. That's the outer perimeter. If someone gets through that, and it will take some doing, there's the nine foot concrete wall around the buildings at the house. If they make it over that, we've got the bunker. There's a tunnel that comes out behind the hill so we won't be trapped inside. No one but the military could get in that bunker and it would take them a long time. I think we're safe there ladies. I hoped I'd never need it but I'm glad it's there."

"Me too," Calley said. "Where are we going Davis?"

They staked the net out across the small river in a shallow spot and Calley waited with the gaff while Davis and Malina walked a mile upstream. They entered the water and began walking downstream.

"Splash around, little girl," he told her. "The idea is to frighten the fish and make them swim downstream and get trapped at the net."

Malina enjoyed splashing and soon dozens of large wakes were running down the shallow stream ahead of them. They drove the fish along and the numbers increased. Some wily veterans sneaked back past them but the majority was content to stay ahead of them and run downstream.

By the time they reached Calley at the net she was already busy gaffing fish and throwing them on the trailer. Some of the carp reached the 20 pound range and every one they caught was at least five pounds. She grew tired and Malina relieved her on the gaff, only to give way to Davis. The small trailer was loaded and they carried them into the freezer and came back for another load.

Many of the fish had begun to swim back upstream and again Davis and Malina walked back up the river. They were two bends away from the net when they heard Calley scream. She screamed again and Davis leaped out of the water, pulling Malina with him. "Take off those boots," he said while quickly removing his. "Wait here while you count slowly to one hundred. Then walk through the woods to the Ranger. Take this gun," he handed her one of the 9mm pistols.

"If you hear anything from me, do whatever I tell you. If you see someone other than Calley or I you drive as quickly back home as you can. Shoot them if they chase you. Close the gate and call the dogs and stay inside until you hear from me."

He crouched and ran quickly and silently through the trees toward Calley's screaming. As he approached the Ranger he could hear the sounds of a fierce struggle and he heard the voices of two men mixed with Calley's screams. He peered around the trunk of a big catalpa tree and he could see Calley being held down on the ground by the two men. Her t-shirt was ripped open in the front and her breasts were exposed. One man seemed to be trying to remove her jeans while another held her down with her arms over her head. She was screaming at them and attempting to bite the man holding her arms while she kicked viciously at the man struggling with her jeans.

The man pulling on her pants was Grizzly. The side of his face was bloody and his ear was torn where Calley had obviously put the gaff to good use. He turned loose of her pants and slapped her twice. Davis stepped out and put three rounds into Grizzly's back. The man holding Calley's arms dropped her and fired at Davis. He felt the impact of a slug take him high in the left shoulder. The blow twisted him around. His foot was trapped under a root and he felt his left ankle break as it twisted. He fell on his right shoulder and almost lost his gun. He felt another impact on his left thigh and the sights came into line on the red plaid shirt. He pulled the trigger until the slide locked open and he was empty. The man fell face down and didn't stir.

Calley sat frozen, a look of shock and terror on her face. "Calley," he called. She didn't move. "Calley, snap out of it," he shouted.

She started and looked at him. "Check Grizzly and make sure he's dead."

She got up and walked to the store keeper. She felt his neck.

"He's dead," her voice was low and soft.

"Help me Calley. My ankle is broken and I've been hit twice. My foot is twisted and trapped under this stupid root.

She ran to him and knelt down. She opened his shirt and screamed when she saw the blood welling out of his shoulder. His thigh was a mess and the ankle was beginning to throb.

"Call for Malina," he told her. "She's at the Ranger. Tell her I said it's ok and we need her help."

"Malina," she screamed. "It's ok. Help us! Davis has been shot and I need your help."

She knelt beside him and leaned over him. "Don't you die, Davis. Please don't die. We just need to get you home. You'll be ok at home." She sat and cradled his head in her lap. Her bare breasts were in his face and he could see a bite mark on the skin of one smooth mound as she hugged his head into them. "Malina!" she screamed again and he could hear the footsteps of the other girl running toward them.

Malina ran into the clearing with her gun raised. She glanced around and then ran to where Calley was holding Davis. She burst into tears when she saw the blood on his chest. "Mr. Davis, what should we do?" she asked.

"First get my foot out from under that root. Then take off my shirt. Take Calley's shirt. It's torn up anyway. Make two pads and press them over the wounds. Then you have to help me to the Ranger. My ankle's broken and I won't be able to walk on that leg. I'm shot there too. Calley, can I lean on you so I can walk?"

"Of course, silly." She eased his head to the ground and the two girls looked at his foot. Calley ran to the Ranger and came back with an axe. She chopped the root in two and lifted it off his foot. Malina eased it out straight. Davis' head was spinning from the pain when they moved the leg. Calley began to unbutton his shirt and gave Malina her torn t-shirt. They cut his shirt off with his knife and eased him out of it. Calley tore the tail off and made it into pads as well.

"Help me up, girls," he asked. "I'm feeling very weak."

"Wait," Malina ran to the Ranger and unhitched the trailer. She jumped in and drove the big utility vehicle down to within a few feet of Davis. Malina held the pads pressed to his wounds. Calley helped him sit up and his head was swimming. He drew his good leg under him and they managed to help him stand. He put his good arm around Calley's bare shoulders and she supported his weight two steps to the Ranger and he collapsed into the seat.

"I don't feel so good," he told her. "I'm very tired. When we get back can I lay my head in your lap and take a nap?" His vision grew dark and he slumped in the seat, his head lolling back.

"Davis, Davis wake up," she shook his head. She slapped his cheek gently and his eyes opened, unfocused, for a moment and then he was gone again.

"Oh God, don't let him die," she prayed. "Please don't let him die."

Malina was sobbing as she sped back home. The dogs met them at the gate and seemed very upset as if they could sense Davis' condition. They got a blanket and got Davis onto it and dragged him into the house. Anubis took one corner and pulled, as if he were helping them. They managed to lift him onto the bar.

They cut off his clothes and located medical supplies in the bunker. There were several boxes of surgical tools and all kinds of bandages.

"Help me roll him up a bit," Calley said.

They rolled him up and she looked for an exit wound on his shoulder. There was none, but her fingers could feel the lump of the bullet under his skin on his back. She took a scalpel and made an incision and squeezed. The bullet fell into her hand and she cleaned the wound and sewed the incision shut. They used alcohol and cleaned the wound on his shoulder and Calley stitched it closed and bandaged it tightly. Luckily, the bullets didn't seem to have hit any bones.

The second bullet had passed through his thigh muscles and they cleaned that wound carefully and closed it as well. They didn't know what to do about his ankle.

Malina suggested that they twist it back straight and tape it in place on a small plastic cutting board they found. He moaned as they twisted it back into place and beads of sweat sprang out on his forehead. They were thankful that he was unconscious. They dragged him into his bedroom and got him on his bed.

They collapsed on each side of him, exhausted by the ordeal. Malina glanced over Davis at Calley. "Do you know you do not have on a shirt?" she asked.

Calley glanced down at her bare breasts. "I had forgotten. I couldn't think about anything but Davis." She got a shirt out of Davis' closet.

"What should we do now?" Malina asked.

"I don't know. Wait, I guess. He's lost a lot of blood."

"Could we not give him some of ours?"

"How? We don't even know what blood type he is. I don't know myself, do you?"

"Yes, I am O negative. I can give blood to anyone."

"I still don't know how to do it. We just don't have enough skills. Why didn't I become a nurse?"

"I am not a nurse either. No one could have foreseen this."

"He did," she nodded at Davis. "I'll bet he knows how to give someone a blood transfusion."

"Calley, we cannot allow him to die. He is a good man. He is very kind to us and he fought those men for us on the river and in the store. He is wounded for us and now we must save him. I love him Calley. He is beautiful."

"I know baby. How could anyone not love him?" She began to cry. "He got shot because he was saving me. After I was so mean to him, he still did that."

"Do not cry, Calley. I think we will save him now. We will take very good care of him." She embraced the older girl and wiped away her tears.

Chapter 4

Davis was rarely awake for five days and when he was he was delirious from the pain. They fed him soup and made him drink water. When he woke up the fifth day he was raving. When Calley touched his skin he was burning up. She took his temperature and it was 104.

"We've got to do something, Malina."

"Yes, we must have antibiotics. He has an infection somewhere. Where can we get antibiotics? If we don't I'm very much afraid. We must find some. Who could we ask?"

"I don't know. Davis would know but he isn't making any sense. This fever is driving him crazy. He thinks you're Cindy when he sees you. He probably thinks I'm the devil."

"I think I have an idea, Calley. You gave it to me just now. Davis knows, but he has the fever. If we could cool him, could he not tell us?"

"How would we cool him? What do you mean?"

"We must make ice. We have large freezers. Perhaps we could even put him in one of those for a while? Or we could make ice and put it in the tub and run water and put him in. I have heard of this."

"You're brilliant, Malina. I've seen that on TV shows too. I'm afraid to put him in the freezer. He's too heavy for us and we'd have to get him down 3 floors in the bunker after we got him there and then back out. I don't think we should move him that much even if we could. Let's get buckets of water and put them in the freezer."

They put the plan in action and in six hours Davis was shivering in a bath of ice water. He raved and shouted and wept that he was freezing to death. They were implacable and kept him there until his temperature was 97. They got him out, dried him off and tried to wake him up. After 15 minutes they got him awake enough to ask him where they could get antibiotics.

"In the bunker," he said; teeth chattering and spasms of shivering wracking his body, "bottom level. White buckets that say 'fish mox' on the label. Don't use the mox. It's for smaller things. There's Vancomycin in one of the buckets. Give me that; one every four hours. Now for God's sake, give me some covers. I'm freezing."

"I'll do better," Calley told him. She got in the bed on his right side and lay half over him and pulled up a comforter over them. "Go get the drugs," she told Malina.

She soon returned with three bottles of the powerful antibiotic and they woke Davis up enough to swallow one. He drank a quart of water and fell asleep again, the warmth of Calley's body through the undershirt and boxers comforting him. In the night he woke her, kicking the covers off with his good leg. He was sweating like he had run for miles. The sheets and pillowcase were soaked and she changed them. After a half an hour he was shivering again and she covered them back up and held him through the night.

She was exhausted in the morning and Malina took her place while she slept. For three days one or the other of them was lying beside him and they forced the antibiotics and water down his throat.

On the third night he began to sweat again and Malina bathed him with cool cloths. She changed the sheets and it appeared that he was sleeping normally. At three AM he woke her up. He was stroking her hair, playing with the golden strands with his fingers. She looked up at him with sleepy eyes and he was lucid and watching her.

"What are you doing in my bed, little girl? Not that I'm complaining but how long have I been out?"

"Many days, Mr. Davis. I am watching over you while Calley sleeps. We have been taking turns."

"Thanks," he continued to play with her hair. "My leg hurts like hell. What's wrong with it?"

"It is broken. You have had a very high fever and probably do not remember. We do not know what to do with it. It was twisted to one side and we straightened it. I am afraid we may have damaged it, but we have no medical powers."

"You do. Just knowing you're here makes me feel a lot better."

She cried a little and snuggled her cheek into his chest. "We have been so much afraid. It seemed that you were dying and we were going to be alone."

"You'll never be alone again, little girl." He winced as she moved and she was instantly still.

"Do you think you could get me something for the pain, Malina?"

"I have nothing. I could get you an aspirin or something. Perhaps alcohol?"

"I'm an idiot," he said. "I should have shown you girls where everything is at the day you got here. We have pain medications. They are in the safe in the kitchen cupboard behind where we keep coffee cups. The combination is 12, 31, 19, 85. It was Cindy's birthday. There are bottles in there that are labeled Hydroxydihydromorphinone. The pain in my leg is driving me crazy. I can't think."

"I will get them for you." She slipped out of bed and came back with a bottle of the drugs and a quart of ice water.

"Thanks Malina." He took one of the large white pills and in 15 minutes the furrow between his eyebrows began to ease.

"Are you feeling better Mr. Davis?"

"Yes, I've finished my water too. Malina, I hate to bother you, but I would like another. I didn't realize how thirsty I am."

"You sweated away much water in your fever. You are not a bother to me. It makes me happy to do things for you."

She padded away and he heard ice tinkling in the glass jar. She came back and set it on his bedside table where he could reach it. He drank deeply and set it back down.

She snuggled into him again and lay with her cheek on his arm, looking up at him.

"Mr. Davis, how did you come to have all these drugs?" she asked.

"Well, when I started being obsessed by this I thought I might need medicine. You couldn't buy it on the open market; the government controlled all the drugs you might really need. Apparently they think we're all idiots. I didn't want to buy from criminals and they only sold stuff that would be as likely to kill you as help you. They had pain killers but no useful stuff like antibiotics or antivirals. I have animals and I started wondering about the drugs I gave them. I did some research. Drug companies can't afford to make drugs only for animals and a lot of the drugs that work on humans also work on animals. I found out that the same companies that sell drugs to veterinarians sell the same drugs to pharmacies. So, I bought antibiotics for fish on the internet. They were the exact same pills that pharmacies were selling to people. I got all the things that I thought were useful from veterinarians. I've been stocking up for years. Let me look at that broken leg, Malina."

She got up and pulled down the covers. He snatched them back up. "Hey, why am I naked?"

"I have been molesting you while you were asleep," she giggled. "But really, we had to wash you Mr. Davis. You were very sweaty sometimes. You were unconscious for many days. You were unable to use the bathroom. I have seen it all and washed it too. You have no secrets from me."




Money Grab



"Well, that's embarrassing. Just because you did that doesn't mean you're going to keep doing it. Just uncover my leg."

She did as he asked.

"What's that contraption? How did you make it?"

"It is half your little cutting board. I'm afraid we sacrificed it. After we straightened your leg we bandaged it to that board so it wouldn't move."

He reached down and felt along the bone above his ankle gingerly. It was very swollen, but he couldn't feel anything obviously wrong.

"Well, it feels OK. I think you girls did a good job. I have materials to make a fiberglass cast. We'll do it tomorrow. Malina, I'm afraid the pill is making me very sleepy." His words began to slur. "Would you mind if I took a little nap?"

"No, Mr. Davis. I will sleep too." His eyes were already closed and she stood in thought for a moment. Then she slipped her undershirt over her head, discarded her boxers and slid in between the sheets, pressing her naked form to his.

When she woke up he was stirring uncomfortably in his sleep. She reached for the bottle of pills and got one out. She stroked the side of his face with her hand; the stubble along his jaw was growing softer as it grew.

He opened his eyes and she held up the pill. He opened his mouth and she put it in and gave him a drink. In a few minutes he grew more comfortable, and she slid one leg across his and pressed herself against him.

They slept again for a while. Davis slowly woke and Malina was snuggled into his side. He wrapped his good arm around her and caressed her naked back. It slowly dawned on him that she had on no shirt. He could feel her pressing on his thigh and the feeling of soft curls between her legs was unmistakable.

He continued to stroke the silken skin of her back. Her eyes opened and he asked her, "Malina, why are you naked?"

"I embarrassed you last night because I have seen you naked. I thought that if you were to see me naked you would no longer be embarrassed."

"I would love to see you naked," he told her, "but not because of that."

"For what reason then should it be?"

"Because you want me to; that's the only reason."

"But I do."

"Then help me up so that I can go to the bathroom. There are crutches in the entry closet. Would you get them for me?"

She jumped out of bed and walked across the room in all her naked glory. She returned with the crutches and helped him get up. He could hardly take his eyes off her. She was youth and beauty personified. She helped him inside and retreated and closed the door. He called her in a moment and she returned and helped him to the bed. His face was grey with pain when he sank onto the bed.

"I need underwear and gym shorts and a t-shirt."

She got them for him and helped him put them on.

"Your turn," he smiled at her.

She padded off to her room and soon returned dressed in her usual night wear. "I am staying inside with you today," she explained. "Calley is outside doing the chores. The dogs very much like the fish we caught for them. Calley has brought back the trailer and we have picked the garden. We have very many vegetables and we need your help to make them into cans."

He threw back his head and laughed. "You mean you need my help to can them."

"Yes, that's what I said."

"You're irrepressible, little girl. Let's get this leg in a cast and I'll walk you through it. Help me to the couch."

Calley came in carrying a bucket of milk as he made his slow way across the living room. She burst out in tears and called his name when she saw him, put the milk on the bar and ran to them and helped him get to the sofa. His teeth were clenched in pain by the time he crossed the big room and he settled onto the sofa with a sigh of relief.

"That bone shifts around every time I move. We've got to get it immobilized. There's a box marked MXGT next to where you found the antibiotics. One of you get that and we'll make a cast.

Malina hurried away and Calley strained the milk and put it in the refrigerator. By the time Malina returned with the box she was finished and they sat on the coffee table in front of Davis and opened the box. There were several different colors of material inside and Davis raised his leg with a groan and placed it between them.

"I think I must have a spiral break and you girls did the right thing setting it. Now we have to cut off the splint you made and start wrapping the casting material around my foot."

Calley carefully cut the bandages away and they discarded the remains of the cutting board. She reached into the box and came up with a package of bright pink strips.

"Why pink?" he asked. "I don't want a pink cast."

"Of course you do, Mr. Davis. Pink is a beautiful color. It will look very simpatico on you," Malina objected.

"That's what I think," Calley couldn't suppress her giggles.

"Oh, all right," he laughed. "Pink it is."

The girls carefully wrapped his foot in the cotton liner and wound the casting material around his foot, weaving a basket around the ankle and then around and around until they reached the top of his calf. They added a rubber walking pad to the bottom embedding it in the casting material and applied the hardener. He hung it over the edge of the sofa until it hardened and stood up. He walked across the room on his crutches and felt no pain. The break was stabilized and he could begin to heal.

"Wait a minute," Calley laughed. She ran to his office and came back with a black sharpie. The girls giggled uncontrollably as they both wrote their names on the cast.

They changed his bandages and demanded that he admire the stitches they had made. Calley was very good with a needle and the running cross stitches were neat and even. The wound in his thigh was red and angry looking and they suspected that was the source of his infection. They didn't know what to do about it. Davis favored opening the wound a bit and inserting a bit of surgical tubing so it could drain. The girls were horrified at the thought and so he agreed to wait a few days and continue the antibiotic and see if it got better.

"I'll give it a few weeks and then try the walking boot," he told them. He sat at the bar and snapped green beans while the girls cut sweet corn off the ears with electric knives.

"I like frozen corn, but not green beans," he told them. "We'll put the corn in bags and put it in the freezer. When we get that done we'll can the beans." The corn was kind of a messy job and by the time they got it packed in bags and the mess cleaned up Davis had the beans snapped and they let them soak in salt water in the sink while they got the canner out, the jars and lids located and put water in the canner to boil. They packed the beans in the jars and the water was boiling. They filled the jars with hot tap water and lowered them into the canner in a wire basket. When the water in the jars began to boil they put the lids on and removed them. They sat them on the counter to cool and Davis and the girls sat on the sofa and talked.

"Davis, I want to thank you for what you did back there on the river. I realized while you were sick that that's what would have happened to me if I had stayed in Wichita. That's what would have happened to Malina and I both. We'd either be dead or turning tricks for some pimp to stay alive. If you hadn't taken us in we had nowhere else to go. You saved our lives that night, and you saved us at the store and then you saved me again on the river. You almost died to save me. I'm very grateful Davis, but I don't want you to do it again." She began to cry.

"You're a better person than me and I don't want you to die because of me. I've just realized what a bitch I've been all my life. I manipulated people because I was prettier or smarter or more popular than they were. I came here with the idea of manipulating you. You knew it and you let me stay anyway. Then you nearly died because of me. Don't ever do that again. If anyone is going to die it's going to be me. If you die, Malina and I won't make it on our own. We're too ignorant. Malina is the most beautiful person I know and you and her would be just fine without me."

"No Calley, that is not true," Malina objected. "We wouldn't be just fine without you. I love you and I wouldn't be just fine. Do you not love Calley, Mr. Davis? I think you must. One does not get shot for people one doesn't love." Her angel blue eyes pierced him.

"Yes Malina, I do love Calley."

"You must tell her. She is very lonely and unhappy. Only if you love her will she not feel this way."

He put his good arm around her and squeezed her to him. "I do love you Calley. We wouldn't be fine without you."

"Really?" she looked at him with tear filled eyes. "Even after I've been so mean to you?"

"Yes, even after you've been so mean to me. You've changed Calley. That gold dusted reporter isn't you anymore. It never was. I always saw something in you; that's why I told you my story to begin with. You thought it was because you dazzled me with your beauty and veiled hints of more. You are very beautiful, but I thought there was a very interesting and beautiful person inside that stunning body. I was right about you and that's why I love you."

"You were very cruel to Mr. Davis, Calley; but he forgives you. You see, he loves you and I love you. No one is going to die. We are all going to live and be very happy. I do not want to hear any more of this dying."

"I'm sorry, Malina," Calley reached across and stroked her leg. "I just feel so bad about Davis getting shot because of me."

"That's just the point Calley," Davis said. "It's not your fault. It was Grizzly and that other son of a bitch that shot me. They were going to rape you and they were probably looking for Malina. They would have shot me whether you were there or not. We made some mistakes and they cost us. We won't do it again. We're never going to be separate outside the fence again. We're going to carry guns everywhere we go. Even inside the fence. We're Ok inside the wall, but if you go outside the wall, you have a long gun and a pistol. I shouldn't have left you there. It's my fault you were there by yourself and I'm sorry. I'll never leave you alone again. What they did to you must have been awful for you."

"Yes it was, but I knew you would come when you heard me scream. I knew if I could just hold them off you would come." She pulled his face down and pressed her luscious lips against his for a long moment. She finally pulled back and her face was flushed. "Thank you Davis."

A tinny pop sounded from the counter. "What was that?" Malina asked.

"That was one of the jars sealing," he told her. "They'll all make that sound and then they'll keep for years because the air is sealed out and bacteria can't grow without air. There is a vacuum in the jar now. If one of them doesn't seal we'll eat them tonight."

"Mr. Davis, did you know my birthday was while you were sick?" she asked.

"No I didn't, happy birthday little girl. I'll bake a cake, and we'll have a party."

"I love parties," she said. "I am not jailbait anymore, Mr. Davis."

"I'll keep that in mind," he laughed.

He hobbled around the kitchen and cooked supper while the girls did the chores. By the time they cleaned up he was ready. The cake was in the oven and he called them to the bar. "This is an interactive meal," he told them.

He took a loaf of slightly sweet hard bread and fried it in butter. He gave them a piece of bread and a clove of garlic.

"Bite the clove in half and put one half on your plate," he told them.

They did it. "Now rub the clove on the bread. Then you take a bite of the garlic and chew it once. Take a bite of bread and let the flavor explode."

They did as they were instructed and a look of bliss passed over their faces. They alternated through bites of garlic and bread until they had each eaten three pieces. He poured them a glass of a slightly sweet rose wine and they took a few sips. When their palate was clean, he brought out a plate of red leaf lettuce and romaine from the garden. He got another plate loaded with very thin slices of beef, fish and chicken. It was cooked with wine, garlic, soy sauce and sesame oil. He had dusted red pepper over it and he told them to put a little meat in one of the lettuce leaves. A bowl sat on the bar containing a plum sauce and he told them to put a dab on the meat, roll the lettuce up around the meat and eat it. 

They devoured it until the lettuce was gone and he went to the other oven and removed a dish full of chicken breasts, pan fried and covered with a heavy cream and sour cream sauce heavily laced with the red pepper.

There were baby carrots with brown sugar and the timer binged on the oven. The cake was done and he applied the icing and found two candles. "I don't have 18 candles, I'm sorry Malina."

"Two is perfect," she told him.

She blew them out and refused to tell them what her wish was.

Davis poured three glasses of a Pinot and they retired to the comfort of the sofa. Davis winced as he put his cast up on the table.

"Do you need another pill?" Malina asked him.

"Yes, I guess I do," he admitted. Calley went and got one and he was comfortable in a short while.

She went to his stereo and looked over his music lists. She found a CD called Morning Dance, by Spyro Gyra and put it in. The mellow sounds filled the room and Davis gingerly took his arm out of its sling and put one around each girl. He stroked the smooth skin of their arms and sighed.

"Are you happy, little girl?" he asked Malina.

"Very much happy," she said. "I miss Spain a very little, and my mother, but you are my family now and I am content. Are you happy, Mr. Davis?"

"Very much happy," he laughed. "I was ok before you girls came, but I always felt like I was waiting for something. After Cindy was killed, I sort of thought I'd had my chance and missed the boat. Now I have you and I feel like maybe the boat is coming around again. Calley, are you happy?"

"I can't imagine that I would be. I thought happy was all about career and importance and money and glamour. I thought I was happy. Maybe I was. I can't remember. I'm happy to be alive. I'm happy that I haven't been raped. I'm not happy that the world is going to hell in a hand basket. I'm not happy that people are dying and that the violent are killing the weak. But I'm happy I'm here and not there. I'm happy that you and Malina are here with me. I can't think of anyone else I'd rather dance on the edge of chaos with. So yes, I am happy. I'll be even happier if you kiss me again." She blushed a little and looked up at him. He pressed his lips against her luscious ones and her breath quickened.

Malina felt left out. "May I kiss you too, Calley?"

"Yes you can." The two girls embraced and their lips moved against the others for a long moment. Davis was stunned. "That is the hottest thing I've ever seen," he told them when the kiss ended.

They both giggled and Malina locked her fingers behind his neck and kissed him fiercely. He felt her little tongue against his lips. He parted them and it darted inside for a moment. He caught her pouty lower lip gently between his teeth and she pulled it slowly away.

"I'm a sick man," he told them."I've been shot and I'm not up to this. Help me to bed.

?

Chapter 5

Agent Lonnie Matuszi, formerly of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, was growing desperate. The raid on the estate in Augusta had gone horribly wrong. His partner was dead and he had barely escaped. There shouldn't have been that many people inside and they shouldn't have been that heavily armed. He hadn't heard from his superiors for three months and they had lived by hiding and going out at night and making raids. The Augusta job should have left them sitting pretty. The owners had been preppers and they would have been well equipped. As it turned out, they had been too well equipped and they had a small army inside. They had fought doggedly and when Evans was hit Matuszi and been force to abandon his dying partner.

They seemed to be vengeful as well and they had pursued him past the point when reason would seem to dictate that they wouldn't find him. Augusta was a small town and they had been going house to house looking for him. He had stolen a motorcycle and got away. He was hiding out at an abandoned grain elevator.

He went through his files. He had been thinking about a case he remembered. A rancher out in western Kansas had applied for, and been granted, a permit to own automatic weapons. Matuszi had done some research and the man was nuts. He had taken his money and turned it into gold and silver to the tune of 40 million dollars. His permit had been approved based on terrorist threats made against him by a paramilitary group. He had also obtained a permit for a German 43 Panzerschreck Bazooka, and registered 50 rocket rounds as Destructive Devices. The rounds had been manufactured by a local machine shop to his specifications. He also owned a Browning M2 .50 BMG. Matuszi had been investigating him for two years, looking for possible weapons violations but the man seldom left his ranch and wouldn't allow the BATF on his property without a warrant.

He was just one guy and Matuszi felt like with some help the man would be an easy target. If he could get his hands on that hard currency and the supplies he had stockpiled he would be sitting pretty. He had a couple of people in mind. He had worked with a fellow BATF agent named Gerald Johnson before, and he knew he was running a prostitution racket out of a club called Wild Cherries on the south side. Johnson had a crew of thugs and they could easily knock off a soft target. He would show Johnson the file and the smell of all that money should be enough.

?

Chapter 6

With Davis confined to the crutches, the work that fell on the girls increased. Calley complained a little, but they took it in stride. They took Davis with them when they went outside the wall and he rode in the Polaris when they went to check the cows or pigs. One sow gave birth and they were delighted with the 8 piglets. Davis warned them not to get too close to the tiny pigs on foot.

"That sow will eat you both. I want my pigs to be wild. They fend for themselves down here along the creek and that's the way I want them. They aren't pets; they're mean and short tempered. I start feeding them corn when I want to eat one. That gets them coming to the feeder so I don't have to hunt for them and they taste better. Even the dogs stay away from them. I imagine they could take one down, but they know they'd get torn up in the process.

"But they are so cute," Malina objected. "Can we not take just one home?"

"Why?" Davis asked. "Do you think their mother is cute?"

"No, she is very dirty. She is not at all cute."

"They are going to grow up and look just like her. We're going to kill and eat all the males. We'll have a Hawaiian pig roast when they get the right size."

Malina still wanted to pet one, but the thought of a pig roast consoled her somewhat.

"Will you wear a grass skirt, Davis?" Calley teased him.

"I don't know how to make a grass skirt," he laughed. "If you make me one I'll wear it. But you both have to wear one too. And, you have to wear one of those flower necklaces and nothing else but the grass skirt. I hear the Hawaiian women dress like that, and you have to do one of those dances."

Malina's eyes sparkled with excitement. "I would love to wear a grass skirt. Can you make them Calley?"

"I might, but did you hear all the other stuff? I'm not doing one of those dances with my boobs hanging out. Besides, Davis is a sick man; he can't handle all the excitement."

"Tontería, it is absurd. Of course we will dance. This would please Mr. Davis and I like to make him happy. Has he not made you happy Calley? You said so yourself. It is the least we can do."




Money Grab



"I obviously didn't know what I was saying," he laughed. "I won't wear a grass skirt. You girls can't make me and I just said that because I knew you wouldn't do it. My fever must be coming back and I was temporarily deranged. I should have known better. Thank you Malina for wanting to make me happy, but I'm not wearing a grass skirt."

"We will see. You are weak and Calley and I can easily overpower you. When will we have the pig roast?"

"Some of the older pigs are just about ready. Let's feed them corn for two weeks and then we'll do it. But I warn you that I'm armed and I will shoot you if you try to put a grass skirt on me."

"Ha, we will catch you asleep and restrain you. Then we will keep you tied up in the grass skirt and do the dance and you won't be able to touch."

"You are a devious little girl Malina. ok, I'll wear the skirt. Please don't tie me up."

She laughed. "It was a joke, Mr. Davis. I would never tie you up; unless you wanted me to." She looked at him speculatively. "Would you like to tie me up?

"Malina! You're shameless!" Calley burst out.

They all laughed hysterically and the pigs, startled by the outburst ran into the woods.

****

The bouncer on the door of Wild Cherries recognized Matuszi and waved him in. A heavy bass beat filled the club and a young girl was humping a pole on the stage. Johnson was seated at a table in the back and two huge bodyguards stood behind him against the wall. One of them stepped forward and patted Matuszi down. He found the .357 and took it. He stepped back and Matuszi stepped forward.

"Matuszi," Johnson indicated a seat, "how's business?"

"Not so good. Evans bought it two days ago. I barely got away. I'm planning to change that."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I have a business proposition for you; a 40 million dollar proposition."

"What kind of dollars?"

"40 million in gold and silver. I'm talking dollars back in 2000. Maybe another 10 million in gems, art, liquor and supplies."

"Who do we have to kill?"

"One man. His name is Davis Rade and he's a prepper. He was a baseball player back in the day; a hell of a baseball player. He made millions in salary and endorsements. He didn't spend a dime of it till he retired. Then he bought a ranch and started prepping. He turned most of that money into land, gold and silver, precious gems, art and a mountain of supplies."

"So why do I need you? Why don't I just knock him off myself and keep it all?"

"You don't know where he's at. I do. He'll be a tough nut to crack and you need me. You know I'm a sniper. You find me a good rifle and I'll take him out and we move in. We split 50/50."

"Expenses come out of your half," Johnson said. "I pick the team and you pay them."

"Deal. When can you be ready?"

"Give me two weeks. Bastards downtown are trying to muscle in down south. I deal with them and I'm ready to move. Where's this Rade at."

"West and south. I tell you when we're on the road."

"Where's all that trust, Matuszi?"

"Oh, I trust you. I'm just keeping one hand on the wheel."

****

Davis had the girls building an addition on the wall. "I had always planned to get around to this, but now that there are three of us, we can man it right."

"What are we building?" Calley asked.

"A guardhouse," he told her. "I've got a heavy machine gun and a rocket launcher. I'd like to build a platform so we could fire down if we need to. The machine gun I've got would make us nearly invincible if we could get it up there and make a mount for it. I can make a shield and only a lucky shot could get us."

He was using the walking heel some and he could get around short distances fairly well. The girls loaded timbers, lumber and tools onto the trailer and pulled it up at the site. They dug four deep holes, Davis dragged up four telephone poles with his small tractor, and they used the tractor loader to raise them into place. They mixed concrete and filled the holes around the poles with rock and cement. Davis built an internal structure with lumber and stairs, turning at two landings, leading to a ten foot square platform at the top. The girls mixed mortar in Davis' small mixer and Davis laid blocks up the sides of the structure as high as he could reach.

He sent Malina to a shed for scaffolding and he helped them assemble it. "I can't climb that, girls; you watched me, do you think you can lay the blocks the rest of the way."

They felt like they could and they proved it by finishing the tower. Davis handed up long iron rods and they inserted the rods every two feet into the holes in the blocks. Davis mixed concrete and they carried it up in buckets and poured in into the holes, filling the blocks with concrete.

The tower had a wall around the edge, three feet high, and openings in the blocks at both sides and one facing the driveway. They drove Davis to the bunker to get the guns and he took them on a tour, explaining what was in each box or crate.

He punched in a code and a heavy steel vault door opened.

"This is the treasury for the state of Rade, De la Vega and Nebrija. You know the combination. It's the same as the safe in the house."

The room was lined with shelves and steel boxes lined the shelves. He opened one and the girls looked inside. It was filled with gold coins. He took two out and handed one to each girl.

"It is beautiful. What is it?" Malina asked.

"It's a one ounce American Eagle bullion coin. You couldn't get gold coins for years. In the late eighties, they started minting them again. I started buying 15 years ago."

"Are all these boxes full of gold?" Calley asked. "No wonder you didn't want mine. You can still have it if you want it Davis."

"No, but you can store it down here if you want to. I don't need your money Calley. It's yours and you should keep it. It's like Malina said, all I need is for you to be my friend. I know you are, and no, they aren't all filled with gold."

"May I keep this one?" Malina asked.

"Of course. Take a handful if you want."

"No, I only want this one. What is in the other boxes?"

"Take a look," he led them to the next section.

He opened another box and took out two silver coins. "These are 2 ounce silver coins from Provident Metals. You can keep that one too, Malina."

"How much money do you have Davis?" Calley asked.

"There's 40 million here in gold and silver. Come here, you'll both like this."

He led them to a group of a dozen large wooden chests. He opened the lid of one and the girls gasped. Shelves, lined with burgundy felt, were attached to the lid and jewelry lined the shelves. There were a dozen cloth bags in the bottom of the chest. The jewelry was gold and rubies glinted in the settings. He opened the string and the bag was full of rubies. He selected a pendent with a stone as large as the end of her finger and he lifted Calley's hair and fastened it around her neck. It hung in the deep valley between her breasts and the red glow, contrasted with her tawny skin, seemed alive with her heartbeat. He lifted her chin and she looked into his eyes. He tasted her lips and they became alive against his. He pulled away and her face was flushed.

"That's for you," he told her. "I'll bet diamonds would look good on you too."

"Oh no Davis, I can't take this. It's too expensive."

"Too expensive for what? It makes me happy to be able to give you things. Malina likes to make me happy. Do you like to make me happy?"

"Yes, but look at this. It's too much Davis."

"Too much for what? You need to learn how to let people be nice to you Calley. Just say, 'thank you Davis.'"

"Thank you Davis," she whispered.

"It's my pleasure. I want to make you happy too, Calley."

He took Malina's hand and led her to a chest three places down. He opened the lid and took out three pieces. They were white gold, set with large sapphires. He fastened a necklace with a huge blue stone on a fine chain around her neck and took the gold hoops out of her ears. He put sapphire and diamond studs in her ears. "For your blue eyes," he said.

She lifted her lips, eyes closed expectantly and she was too cute to resist. He tasted the full lips and she put her arms around his neck and responded with a passion that surprised him.

She danced away and showed Calley. "Are they not beautiful Calley? I like your ruby too." She reached out and ran a finger over it.

"You can wear any of this stuff you want," Davis told them. "Just don't lose it. It's worth a king's ransom."

"No, how could we lose such beautiful things. We must wear them only on special occasions. Perhaps when we do the dance in the grass skirts Calley?"

"No, flowers only," Davis laughed. "We didn't come down here for this. I just wanted to show you everything. Let's go to the gun room. But if you need anything down here, use it. It's yours."

They unpacked the big Browning M2 and wiped off the oil. The girls carried the heavy gun out to the Ranger and made several more trips for ammunition. Davis had welded up a mount and they attached it with a pin.

They built a roof and Davis declared that the job was finished. The girls had been feeding the pigs corn and they had selected one that Davis thought would be just the size to roast. They used the back hoe attachment for the tractor to dig a pit. The girls were learning to run it and they took turns digging. The soil was better along the creek; not so sandy and containing more clay, so they dug there. They filled the pit with pecan wood and set it on fire. It burned all night and in the morning they filled it again. While it burned down to coals they drove to the feeder and found the pig they wanted.

"Do one of you want to shoot him?" Davis asked them.

Calley did not but Malina was excited at the opportunity. They positioned themselves and when the pig came back she shot him between the eyes. Davis hobbled quickly to it and cut its jugular. Blood spurted out and the pig soon quit kicking. They drug it to a tree with the Ranger and used a block and tackle to raise it off the ground and Davis eviscerated it.

They saved the organs and fat in buckets and they loaded it into the Ranger and took it to the house. The girls got burlap sacks and put them in the spring and weighted them down with rocks. They put the fat in five gallon buckets with lids and put them in the freezer to render into lard later. Davis washed the pig carefully and removed the loins through an incision in the skin. He got potatoes and whole onions and carrots. He inserted the loins and the organs, along with the vegetables and many cloves of garlic and spices into the body cavity and sewed it shut with butcher's twine.

The girls were fascinated with the process and watched closely, running errands and keeping busy.

"I'm sorry we don't have any fresh pineapple," he told them. "Should we try canned pineapple?"

They wanted to try the canned so he opened the pig up a little and they poured three cans inside and rubbed the skin with the juice.

"We need banana leaves," he told them.

"We have none," Malina told him. "What will we do?"

"Yes we do have some. In the southwest corner of the greenhouse are two banana trees. Bring me about 30 leaves."

"I didn't know we had a banana tree," Calley said.

"Sorry, I should have taken you through the greenhouse. I'm always forgetting you don't know what we have. The bananas aren't ready to eat yet so I just never mentioned it. Bring the leaves and we'll get this bad boy in the ground."

They ran away to get the leaves and when they returned they wrapped the pig in the banana leaves. He sent them after the wet burlap and they wrapped the pig tightly and Calley sewed it together. They wrapped the whole thing in chicken wire and Davis attached a piece of chain to the wire. They loaded it in the Ranger and took the pig to the fire pit. Davis threw a piece of sheet metal on the coals and they swung the pig into the pit with the tractor.

The girls put a larger piece of tin over the top and Davis covered it with dirt. The oven in the earth was done.

"What shall we do now?" Malina asked.

"Now we wait," he said.

"How long will we wait?"

"We'll wait eight hours; long enough for it to steam and then roast."

Davis had a picnic table in the back yard. They dragged it over onto the back patio where he had a large, circular fire pit. They filled the fire pit with cedar and Davis got a redwood sofa out of a shed and put big fluffy cushions on it. He brought out matching tables and put them in front of the sofa.

The girls brought out yellow dishes and a cooler with two bottles of the cabernet Davis recommended. They got stemware and Davis brought another picnic table and covered it with butcher paper. They brought out a yellow tablecloth and finally as the sun began to set, Davis declared that the pig was done.

They removed the burlap wrapped pig from the pit using the front end loader on the tractor to lift it with the chain and put it on the picnic table. Davis cut off the wire, unwrapped the burlap and discarded it. It was charred nearly through in many places. The banana leaves were also charred and a wonderful fragrance of roasted pork filled the courtyard. Davis lit the cedar in the fire pit and the flames leaped and played on the walls and the sweet smell of burning cedar filled the air as the flames crackled. He opened the pig and removed the cuts he had put inside. He put two loins on a platter and carved. The girls had disappeared. He filled their plates with the roasted pork, potatoes, carrots and an onion. He opened the wine and poured three glasses. He heard the patio door slide open and the sound of female voices. They came outside and he saw that they had donned the grass skirts. Each girl had a brightly colored lei around her neck, a garland of the same flowers in her hair and nothing else. Their hair hung down nearly to their navels and glimpses of bare flesh flashed as they walked.

Calley had a third grass skirt in her hand and they walked up and stood in front of him. He couldn't move.

"Close your mouth Davis," Calley laughed. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Time for your end of the bargain." She held the grass skirt and a safety pin out toward him.

He swallowed twice, his mouth was dry and he had trouble speaking.

"Sweet Jesus! You two are gorgeous. You look like you just walked off a beach in Honolulu. I never thought you'd do it Calley. I knew Malina would, but look at you."

He took the skirt and examined it. There was a waistband of cloth and the grass was sewn to the waistband. It looked like the leaves of big bluestem that grew around his ranch. The skirt wrapped around and the waistband could be pinned together.

He took it and wrapped it around his waist and Malina helped him pull his t-shirt over his head while Calley pinned his skirt. It reached halfway down to his knees and his green shorts hung out from underneath.

"That looks very unauthentic," Calley told him. "Lose the shorts."

"I can't," he said, "You'll have to help me."

She pulled his shorts off and helped him get them over the cast, leaving him in boxers.

They sat down and begin to eat. They ate with their fingers and the juices ran down their chins. They dried them with yellow checked hand towels and the girls declared that they had never eaten anything so delicious. When they had eaten all they could hold they cleaned up and carried the remains of the pig into the cooler for storage until tomorrow.

They went back to the fire and Davis refilled their wine glasses and the girls led him to the sofa and seated him in the center. Calley went into the house and came back with an iPod dock. Sounds of Santana's Change Your Evil Ways filled the air and the two women moved close to Davis and with the fire at their back they raised their arms over their heads and began to sway. Malina slipped her lei down around her waist and Calley threw back her hair.

Her breasts were magnificent. They stood out high and proud, not a centimeter of sag in spite of their weight. Her nipples were small and capped large brown areola that formed small, elevated cones on the tip of each big breast. Her waist was very narrow and her hips flared dramatically into the waistband of the grass skirt. They elevated from side to side as she moved and swayed to the music.

Malina was a study in contrasts. Her breasts were perfectly shaped inverted cones and she was very slender yet sensual at the same time. She had the same swell of hip but in miniature. Her honey golden skin glistened in the fire light and he could tell that they had both oiled themselves. Malina's tiny brown nipples were obviously erect with excitement and her golden hair caressed them sensuously. They faced each other and danced closer, their nipples touching and rubbing. They kissed as they continued to sway and Davis could hardly sit still.

The song came to an end and they ran to him. They sat beside him and sipped their wine, snuggling into his sides. He stroked their oily shoulders and arms, skin silky smooth under his fingers and breasts warm against his chest. He wrapped his arms around them and pulled them close.

Calley looked up at him. "Did you like your dance Davis?"

"It was the most erotic thing I could ever imagine."

"Were we not beautiful?" Malina asked.

"Gorgeous! You were amazing," he told her.

She took his hand and slid it down to one pert breast. "You may touch me if you like," she looked up at him with a drop of wine on her lower lip. He kissed it away and cupped the breast in his hand. He stroked the hard nipple with his thumb and she shuddered with pleasure.

He slid his hand lower on Calley's shoulder and looked at her. She nodded her assent and he tested the weight of one big breast in his hand. He squeezed gently and the resilient flesh gave and overflowed his hand. He claimed her lips and rolled Malina's little nipple between his thumb and finger. She moaned and took his arm from around her shoulder, pulling his hand down across her breasts. He caressed her firm belly, lost in Calley's lips, and his fingers dipped into the indention of her small navel. They moved lower still, stroking her lower belly above the skirt and she moaned again. Calley moved and pulled his head to one breast and her breath caught as he captured the nipple. He pulled with his lips and she threw her head back and her moan joined Malina's.

A branch exploded in the fire and they started. They laughed and the erotic spell was broken. They leaned back into the cushions and put their feet up. Davis toyed with their nipples and twined his fingers in their hair and they talked in low voices and drank wine until the fire died away.

Calley kissed him, rose and said that she needed to wash the oil off. "I'm going to take a long bath."

"Can I watch?" Davis asked.

"Wait until you get your cast off and your wounds heal," she promised him.

"I'm going to break it off tomorrow," he laughed.

She dimpled up and reached out a hand to Malina. "Would you care to join me?" she asked.

"Yes Calley, I love baths," She kissed Davis and the two girls held hands and walked into the house as Davis' imagination ran wild.

?

Chapter Seven

Something was wrong with the dogs. They came and sat at Davis' feet every time he went outside. They would sit for a moment and then get up and run to the gate. They would stop and look back at him and then repeat the process. He called the girls after the third time.

"Watch this," he said.

The dogs repeated their cycle twice more. "What do you think they're doing?"

"It looks like they're trying to get you to follow them," Calley said.

He walked to the gate and the dogs ran outside when he opened the gate. They ran down the driveway fifty yards and stopped and looked back at him. Lilly ran back and took his hand gently in her teeth and pulled on it.




Money Grab



"I think you're right Calley. They want me to go with them. Get the Jeep and we'll see what they want."

She ran and got the Jeep and pulled up beside Davis. He got in and this seemed to confuse the dogs.

"Walk with them, Malina."

Malina walked behind the dogs and Calley and Davis followed in the Jeep. The dogs kept just ahead of Malina and they led them across the prairie to the fence. The dogs sat, looking out through the fence across the prairie. There was a small hill just beyond the fence and they could see lines of gypsum running across its face. Malina got back in the Jeep and they sat there for a minute. They were perhaps half a mile from the house and there was nothing unusual in sight. Davis scanned the area but saw nothing.

"Calley, drive down the fence until I tell you to stop," he told her.

She drove slowly along until the fence curved and he could see behind the hill. There was an ATV parked there.

"Ok, back to the house," he said.

The dogs lay down in the grass and watched the hill and he left them outside.

When they got inside he sat the girls down at the bar and got them a glass of tea.

"Someone is watching us," he told them. "Until we find out what's going on, you girls are going to stay inside. Whoever it is is on Z bar land. I don't recognize that ATV. I know the Z bar people pretty well. Unless they've got a new ATV in the last month, that's not theirs. I don't know how they would have gotten a new ATV. If they stay out there the Z bar riders will spot them eventually. They have fifty people on that ranch and nobody wants to mess with them. That's a pretty tough bunch; old time cowboys that will fight at the drop of a hat. I'd run over there and ask but I don't want to leave you here and I don't want to leave the place empty by us all going. I've got a big telescope and we'll watch and see if we can find out anything."

They set the telescope up and focused it in on the top of the hill. Davis looked through his binoculars and he could see that the dogs were still there. They got up occasionally and walked up and down the fence for a while and then disappeared back into the tall grass.

Calley watched through the telescope and Davis sent Malina on an errand.

"Just inside the bunker door there is a electrical box with a red handle. Pull the handle down. That will electrify the fence and give anyone that touches it a nasty surprise. I don't like to leave it on," he told Calley. "It will kill animals that touch it accidently and I hate that. The cattle and the dogs know to stay clear, but wild animals don't. Keep the house between you and that hill."

Malina returned and informed them that the fence was now charged. That would quickly drain their electrical reserve so Davis took them to a small concrete building and showed them how to run the generator. They stayed inside the rest of the day and the girls took turns on the telescope. They saw nothing, and when Davis got up in the morning, breakfast was ready and the girls were talking excitedly and taking turns peering through the telescope.

"Davis, good morning, you were very tired this morning. We have found a person! He is watching us. Come and see." Malina was very excited.

Davis hobbled to the telescope and put his eye to the viewfinder. It was focused on a black form on the top of the hill. It was a man in dark clothing wearing a baseball cap. He had a rifle in his hands and he was looking at the compound through a large scope. Davis was a gun expert and the man's weapon looked like a CheyTac LRRS to him. So far as he knew that weapon was only available to the military and law enforcement and the clothes the man had on looked like standard FBI or BATF swat gear.

"I think he's a federal cop of some kind," he told the girls.

"What would he be doing?" Calley asked.

"I don't know. There's no way he could be doing anything official for the government. There hasn't been a government for at least 6 months. The fact that he's got a military sniper rifle tells me he isn't up to anything good. We're at extreme range for the gun he's got. He's not going to hit much at more than 2500 yards. If he's good he can sit on that hill and kill us in the back yard. We can't go out there anymore until this is resolved. Damn it, I'm a cripple and this hole in my chest isn't healed enough to do much. This couldn't have happened at a worse time. We're going to have to do chores after dark and in the dark. He can't stay up there all the time but we have to assume that he's always watching."

"Calley and I are able to fight," Malina told him. "We have not forgotten that you are wounded protecting us. We will protect you."

He hugged her. "I don't want you fighting little girl. I'm too afraid you'll get hurt. If they come through the fence we'll fight, but as long as he stays out there, we'll just have to put up with it. Maybe the Z bar boys will spot them."

Two days later, Davis got his first look at the man's face. There were two of them up on the hill now and the man with the rifle took off his ball cap and was speaking to the second.

"I know that guy," Davis told Calley who had noticed that she could see the man's face. "He's a BATF agent that has been harassing me for 5 years. His name is Matuszi. He's a BATF sniper. He was one of the guys that worked on my class 3 weapons permit after Cindy was killed. What the hell?"

****

Agent Matuszi was a patient man. Johnson was not. "Why don't you do something?" he complained. "We can't just sit here. You haven't seen anything for three days."

"What would you like me to do? I think he knows we're here. Those dogs down there definitely know we're here."

"If he knows we're here he isn't going to show himself. I'll go get the rest of the men and we'll cut that fence and take him out the hard way."

"Are you kidding? Those dogs will eat us alive. They're huge. Look at them," he handed Johnson his binoculars.

"Jesus, they're monsters. What are they?"

"I don't know. Some kind of Mastiff, but they're way more athletic than any Mastiff I've ever seen. Those are man killers Johnson. We've got to get them out of the way."

"Shoot them then. I'll get the men and you get rid of those dogs."

He slid back a few feet and walked to the ATV and drove away. They were staying in an abandoned house 5 miles away. He heard a shot when he was a mile away and smiled. Matuszi was taking care of the dogs.

That shot was Matuszi's first mistake. He made the shot and the bullet smashed Lilly into the grass. She was killed instantly and the result was not what he expected. The other two dogs instantly disappeared into the tall grass and he couldn't locate them. The next time he saw them they were running through the gate in the wall and to the front of the house where he couldn't see them. The gate in the wall closed.

****

Two miles away, Chip Hardesty was working on a windmill. He was a weathered old cowboy and he knew a rifle shot when he heard one. It sounded like it came from Rade's place. He never knew Rade to waste a shot. Maybe he was hunting, but Hardesty decided to check it out. He put his tools in his saddlebags and rode toward Rade's house.

He knew Rade pretty well and he liked the kid. He always had a beer for a thirsty rider and he was always ready to hunker down and shoot the breeze for half an hour. The old man loved that boy. Rade had worked summers on the Z bar and his daddy had owned the property just to the north. The old man bought that piece of land from Rade after his father died and had sold the land Rade owned along Elm Creek to him.

Hardesty approached cautiously. His horse seemed nervous about something. He kept off the skyline and dismounted below the crest of the biggest hill around and crept to the overlook. There was nothing stirring at the house when Hardesty looked through his binoculars. He looked around the property and spotted a dark form lying on the ground near the fence. It was one of Rade's dogs. It had a big bloody hole in its side. Rade loved those dogs. Hardesty swore and searched the hill beyond the fence. He spotted Matuszi, prone and looking through the scope of a rifle at the house. The son of a bitch was on Z bar land and he had obviously killed that dog. He had Rade pinned down in the house.

Hardesty eased back down the hill and jumped on his horse. He quickly gave it a touch of the spur and rode for the Z bar at a quick lope. He pulled up at the main house an hour later and jumped down. His horse was heaving and he dropped the reigns. It would stand there ground tied for hours. He ran to the front door. He could see Angus sitting at the kitchen table with his foreman.

"Boss, you better come out here," he called.

Angus Bachman was a small, wiry man with a deeply tanned and lined face. He walked out on the porch. "What's up Hardesty?"

"I was working on that broken windmill over by Rade's place. I heard a shot and I went to check it out. There's a fellow with a big rifle sitting up on a hill watching the house. He killed one of Rade's dogs. That was the shot I heard. I think the boy's in trouble boss. I rode straight back here. I know you like that boy, hell, I like him myself. The guy with the gun is on our place outside Rade's fence."

"Damn it to hell, run and round up everyone you can find. Everyone gets a rifle. They've already got side arms. Beckett," he turned to his foreman, "get on the radio and get everyone in a vehicle to go to Davis' place. We'll meet down at the creek where the big spring comes in. Move gentlemen."

Hardesty ran down to the barn and Beckett went to a truck and got on the radio. Nine men came running and picked up weapons. Hardesty came running back with three more and they jumped in trucks and started south.

"I got 13 on the radio and they're headed for the creek. By the time we get there they'll be there. We should have 25 men boss," Beckett told him.

"If they hurt that boy I'm going to tie them to the bumper and drag them to death," Angus growled. "I promised his Daddy I'd look out for him and I aim to keep that promise."

****

Agent Johnson was back with his crew and seven men watched the house from the hill. Johnson was angry that Matuszi hadn't gotten all the dogs. He gave a pair of bolt cutters to one of his guys and sent him down to cut the fence.

The man cautiously approached the fence. He looked around and saw nothing. He reached out with the bolt cutters. As the tool touched the fence there was an explosion of sparks and he cried out as 7000 volts surged through his body. He fell against the fence and his body spasmed and his clothes began to smoke. He continued to spasm and then a breaker tripped and he was still."

"Jesus H. Christ," Johnson exploded. "You didn't tell me the fence was electrified. It burned him up!"

"I didn't know," Matuszi protested. "How could I know that? Look, it blew a breaker. It's dead now. We can cut it. Send somebody down before they reset the breaker."

"You go down and do it," Johnson told him. "I'm not risking anyone else."

Matuszi ran down and quickly opened a five foot gap in the fence. He ran back up the hill. "All clear. Go and I'll keep them pinned down. When you get to the wall I'll come through."

"Go fellows. Get through that fence and stop under the walls," Johnson told them.

They grabbed weapons and ran down the hill and crawled through the fence. The first man through stood up as the remaining 4 crawled through.

Davis and the girls saw the lights flicker and dim when the first man was electrocuted. They came back up when the breaker tripped. Davis grabbed the rifle beside the patio door and parted the curtain looking toward the hill.

"Here they come," he told them.

The girls picked up their riot guns and came and stood beside him.

Davis jacked a shell into the .300 Winchester Magnum and took a rest with one hand on the door. "Cover your ears," he told them.

One of the men stood up and Davis shot him in the chest. He was smashed back on top of one of the crawling men behind his and they all rolled into the grass. Three shots from the hill shattered the glass in the patio door and Davis dove back into the house, pulling the girls with him. He hit hard and felt the bullet hole in his thigh open when he hit the floor. They crawled further into the living room and Davis stood up and hobbled to the kitchen window.

He saw a cloud of dust coming along the fence from the direction of the creek and he saw the Z bar vehicles flying along the fence. Two circled the hill and men jumped out and a thunder of gunfire roared as the Z bar men shot the intruders inside the fence to rags. The Z bar hands crawled through the hole in the fence and checked the bodies. They were all dead. They crawled back through the hole and got in their vehicles and drove around to the gate.

Calley opened the gates and the convoy pulled up in the front drive. As the gate opened, two dark forms slipped out. Anubis and Issus ran outside.

"Hey guys, where are you going?" Calley called to them. They stopped and looked back at her, the stumps of their tails wagged furiously. She laughed, "Oh, go ahead. Have fun." They trotted away and disappeared into the tall grass. Men came pouring out of the trucks and Davis hobbled to the door with the Malina helping him and opened it.

Angus and Beckett came in and the old rancher embraced Davis. "Son, I don't know who those men were but they weren't here for your birthday party."

"Hello Angus, Beckett," he nodded at the tall foreman. "They were here to kill me I think. There's a rogue BATF agent with them. Did you see a guy in a black SWAT suit?"

"He was running like a jack rabbit with another guy. They jumped in a Jeep and they were high tailing it north. Six of the boys are chasing them. We'll find out directly what happened to them."

"Thanks Angus, I was never so glad to see anyone in my life when I saw you boys coming along the fence."

"Hey, your Daddy was the best friend I ever had. You're a good boy Davis and a good neighbor. Those sons of bitches were on my land, trying to kill a boy I've known since he was in diapers and that pisses me off. Who are these two lovely ladies Davis? I don't believe I've been introduced."

"This is Calista De la Vega and that's Malina Nebrija. Girls, this is Angus Bachman. He's been like an uncle to me all my life. He owns the 30,000 acre empire known as the Z bar."

Angus took off his hat and shook their hands. "Pleased to meet you. What are you doing hanging around with this bum? You know he's a baseball player, right? Never done an honest day's work in his life. He used to work for me when he was in college at Wichita State, if you could call it work."

"Mr. Davis has adopted us," Malina explained. "We ran away from Wichita and came here and he has been very kind to us. Calley and I are in love with him. He has saved us many times and he works very hard to keep us safe. I do not believe that he has never worked." Her Spanish accent deepened and her blue eyes flashed as she grew angry at his description of Davis.

"Lord, young lady, I was just kidding. I know he's a hard worker. I'm sorry, an old cowboy just jokes around like that. I'm in love with him too. Well, I love him like my own kid, if that's what you mean. You're not from around here, are you?"

Malina's frost melted before the kindly old man. "I'm sorry Mr. Angus. It makes me angry when someone speaks unkindly about Mr. Davis. I see that you love him and it was friendly humor. My home was in Spain. I was going to high school in this country when the bad things happened and I cannot return home. My home is with Mr. Davis now."

"Do I know you?" Angus asked Calley.

"We've never met. You might have seen me on TV. I was a news anchor at Channel 3."

"That's it. Calista De la Vega, I remember. You're even prettier in person."

She blushed. "Please, call me Calley. She smiled at Davis then gasped. "Davis, you're bleeding! Are you shot?"

"No, but I think my thigh opened up again. I think I need to sit down."

The two girls sprang to his side and helped him to the sofa. Malina ran for the box they kept bandages in. Calley cut open the leg of his jeans and they treated his wound. It was oozing greenish pus along with the blood.

"Mr. Bachman, could you go to the bunker for me?" she asked him. "On the second level you will find a blue tub with surgical tubing in it. Bring me a piece about six inches long."

"Call me Angus, Calley and yes I will." He hurried away and soon returned with the tubing. She poured alcohol into the wound several times and Davis gritted his teeth and groaned with pain. Malina held his face in her two little hands and kissed him. "Be brave," she told him. Calley inserted the tube three inches into the wound and he nearly passed out. Sweat beads stood out on his forehead as she stitched the wound closed around the tube. She wiped his face with a cloth and kissed him. "I'm sorry Davis. I know that hurt. You were right; we should have done that to begin with."

Light was dawning in Angus' eyes. "You weren't kidding, Malina. You girls are in love with this big lunk. Lord what a coil. You're a lucky man Davis. You've got a hard choice to make ahead. What in the hell happened to you? Why is your leg in a cast and how did you get shot and why didn't you tell me?"

The girls told Angus the story while Davis rested and the details all seemed to involve how brave Davis was and how he had fought and killed the two attackers to save them.

Davis opened his eyes. "At first I was in such bad shape I couldn't get over to the Z bar and then Matuszi was up there on that hill and I didn't dare leave the girls here alone. What brought you out here in the nick of time anyway?"

Angus told them the story. "I'm sorry Davis, but your dog is dead."

The two girls burst into tears. Lilly had been their favorite and she had adopted them and went everywhere they did, watching over them. Davis hugged them close. His own eyes were a little misty. "I raised that girl from a puppy. Don't cry girls. She died doing what she was supposed to do; protecting us. We'll let Issus have another litter and you can both pick a puppy."

They were both very excited about that but still sad that Lilly was gone.

"Tell Hardesty I owe him. Any time he's over this way there's a cold beer waiting for him and we'll feed him if he's around at dinner time."

"I'll tell him. When the boys find out you've got these two beautiful ladies you won't be able to keep them away. I've got to get back Davis. I'm going to leave Will Bryant here. He's a good man and you know him. Just till you get healed up. He'll help around and be handy in case those sons of bitches come back. Use your radio boy. Call me if you need anything. I know you want to stand on your own two feet, but you've got friends all over these hills."

"I'm an idiot," Davis said. "I never thought about the radio. Thanks Angus." He started to get up but the old man held up his hand. "Don't get up. I'll have the boys bury those bastards up on top of that hill and we'll fix the hole in the fence. Call me on the radio if you need help." He turned and walked to the door. Calley walked with him. "Hey, you all want to come over for dinner Friday after next? We'll get Curly to play his fiddle, Mack plays guitar, Tom plays piano and we'll have a dance. I'll invite the neighbors and everyone can get to know the ladies."

"Can we go? Please Mr. Davis, I love dancing," Malina begged.

"Yes little girl; we can go."

"Thank you Mr. Davis. We won't wear the grass skirts. That's only for you," she confided.

Angus laughed. "That's a story I want to hear sometime. Walk me out Calley."

She walked him to his truck. He leaned against it and chewed on a piece of grass. "I'm glad he's got you two here," he told her. "After Cindy was killed he kind of went into a shell. He got cold and hard and I've been worried about him. I can tell he loves you girls. Be careful with him Calley. I know it seems like he's the total package of cool, but he's still a little boy inside. He gets hurt easily and it takes him a long time to get over it."




Money Grab



"I know," she said. "I really do love him you know."

"Are you in love with him?"

Her face flushed. "Yes, I think I am."

"What about Malina?"

"Yes, I'm in love with her too."

"Good God girl, this gets more and more complicated. That's not what I meant. I'm an old fashioned kind of guy. I never dreamed. I meant is Malina in love with Davis?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Does that bother you?"

"No, she's in love with me too. Do you understand? We all love one another. Davis would die for us. He almost did. I would die for him or Malina. It's not complicated. I love them, they love me. I know you're old fashioned but they're both incredible people and so beautiful and they love me. It's the most natural thing in the world to me."

"I think I understand. I'm not built that way but it seems right with you. If there's anything I can do for any of you, you only have to ask. I won't meddle but I will help if you ask. You're a good girl Calley. I can see that. Just take care of Davis and I'll love you for it."

She embraced the old man and he got in the truck and drove away.

****

Anubis and Issus slipped quietly through grass toward the fence. They sniffed Lilly's body and something like a low, moaning growl came from Issus' throat. They trotted around the dead men sprawled around in the grass; sniffing their bodies. Anubis tested the breeze with his nose. It was blowing in from the southwest and the hair over his shoulders rose. He growled and Issus came to stand beside him. They slipped through the hole in the fence and turned away from each other, each circling the hill and they were invisible in the prairie grass.

Agent Matuszi lay in a clump of switchgrass at the bottom of hill. The ground was uncomfortably damp but he didn't dare move yet. He had jumped in the truck with Johnson but when the other agent had produced a gun he had opened the door and leaped from the moving vehicle and rolled into this cover. Johnson had sped across the valley but a truck full of men cut him off and another pulled in behind him. A hail of gunfire swept the truck. Nothing moved for a moment and then four men jumped out and approached Johnson. There were three more shots and the men got back in and drove away.

Matuszi stayed put. They wouldn't stay and he would use the darkness as cover and when everything was quiet Rade would think things were over. Matuszi would slip through the hole in the fence and the prize would belong to him.

He settled in and waited.

An hour later the breeze picked up a little and the leaves of the switchgrass rustled. There was a slightly louder rustling off to his left. He peered into the tall grass. It was over six feet tall and he was well concealed. It was possible that someone was searching for him. He felt a bit of panic, but he was well hidden.

He heard the rustling again, to his right this time. Were there two of them? He looked toward the sound and some intuition made him glance back to the left.

Anubis sprang from the grass directly at his chest. He only had time to raise one arm in an attempt to protect his face. His gun was in that hand and the big Cane Corso's jaws closed on his arm with a snap. Matuszi's arm was paralyzed and he screamed as Anubis' 140 pounds crushed him to the ground. He heard his arm break as the huge jaws exerted extreme pressure. Anubis' feet found leverage and he began to twist and tear at the arm. The gun dropped from his nerveless fingers.

He felt a shock on his right shoulder and Issus was tearing into his trapezius and deltoid muscles. He screamed again as Anubis dropped his arm and the huge jaws closed over his face. He felt teeth grating on his skull and cheekbones. He screamed and the scream turned into a bubbling moan as Issus shifted her grip and tore out the side of his throat. Darkness filled his vision and he was gone.

The dogs worried his body for another moment. They sat for another moment then turned and trotted back through the fence toward the house. Lilly was avenged.

Two men were working on the hole in the fence when the dogs approached. They had heard the screams and were standing, looking in that direction. They saw the dogs approaching and stood back while they entered the fence. They were covered with blood and the men stepped back and raised their hands. The dogs eyed them for a moment and the stump of Issus' tail wagged a little. They started off in the direction of a pond.

The two men crawled through the hole and a half an hour of searching brought them to the grizzly scene. They looked at Matuszi's mangled body for a moment.

"Jesus Christ! It looks like sharks were eating him," one of them spoke.

"I'd rather have lions after me," the other remarked.

He shook his head and they walked back to fix the fence.

There were no empty bedrooms in the house so Bryant slept in one of the bedrooms on the first level of the bunker. He was a tall quiet man and he quickly took over most of the chores the girls had been doing. Davis' wounds were healing nicely and they took the cast off the next week. His ankle was stiff and his calf looked a little emaciated but Calley made him run with her and he lifted weights with Malina.

They were eating breakfast the next morning when the radio crackled. "NZ401, this is SX 359 come in please."

It was Angus. "NZ401, go ahead Angus."

"My boys found they guy that was running in the truck. Turns out he was ATF too. They took care of him. We also found Matuszi."

"You take care of him too?"

"We didn't have to. Your dogs got to him. It was pretty gory Davis. They tore his face off and nearly decapitated him. Remind me to have you tell them I'm a friend again next time I come over."

"Will do, thanks Angus. NZ401 out."

"Well, I guess that's poetic justice," Davis told the girls.

"I saw them leaving," Calley said. "I asked them where they were going and they just looked at me and wagged their tails. They looked so cute I told them they could go."

"We must thank them, Mr. Davis," Malina told him.

"How would we do that?"

"We must feed them something nice and tell them how much we love them." She got up and went to the door and whistled. Davis went to the refrigerator and brought two left over grilled chicken breasts and a package of hotdogs.

In a minute the dogs came to the door and sat, looking up at Malina. "Heel," she told them and led them into the house. They were a little nervous at being in the house but she insisted and they followed her. She brought them to a rug in front of the sofa and told them "down."

They lay on the rug and Calley brought them the chicken breasts and laid them on the rug. They eyed the chicken and licked their lips but didn't move.

"Why won't they eat?" she asked.

"They won't eat it until you tell them too. I don't want them eating things people give them. They can't be poisoned that way."

"Eat," she told them, pointing at the chicken.

They made short work of the chicken. They licked their lips and looked at Davis. He opened the hotdog package and gave one to Malina. "Tell them 'catch' and throw them a hotdog."

"Issus, catch," she threw her the hotdog.

Issus moved her head quickly and the hotdog disappeared. She threw another one to Anubis with the same result.

"Watch this," Davis said. He walked to the refrigerator and came back with a slice of dill pickle. He broke a hotdog into four pieces and told Anubis "open."

He opened his mouth and Davis put in the pieces of hotdog and the pickle.

"Eat," Davis said.

Anubis chewed a few times and the pickle flew out the side of his mouth onto the floor. He swallowed the hotdog and looked expectantly at Davis.

The girls hooted with laughter and sprang on Anubis' back. He growled in mock menace and they rolled him over on his back and Calley tickled his belly while Malina seized him by the loose skin under his neck and shook him.

"You are such a good boy," she cooed, hugging him and putting her cheek against his. He waved his feet in the air and licked her face. Issus was feeling left out. She stood up and crowded between Calley and Anubis. She nuzzled in and began licking Calley. Calley threw her arms around Issus' neck and scratched under her chin."

"Good girl," she told her and hugged her close.

"Do you not love them Davis?" Malina asked.

"Yes, I do. But they're not pets, girls. They're my friends and they help me work and keep us safe but they're dangerous if we don't handle them right. They aren't human and they don't understand how human relationships work. They know I love you and so they protect you. You're part of their pack. They think you're superior to them or they wouldn't let you handle them like that. You can play with them and wool them around and they'll love it. But, you've got to keep giving them commands. When you give them a command and they don't do it, you've got to punish them. When they do it you reward them. That's the way you keep your place in the pack. They think I'm the pack leader so they defer to me. They're smart and they know there's more to it than that but they react the way dogs have reacted for millions of years. They can't help it."

"But they're so cute," Calley protested.

"Yes they are. But those cute puppies just tore a man's face off because he was an enemy. He killed their puppy and threatened their pack. They don't know what pity or mercy is. There's the pack and then everyone else. They're friendly to things they don't see as a threat, but they will attack and kill anything they think is dangerous to them, me or you girls. I do love them and I think they love me, but I don't make the mistake of thinking they're not killers."

"You are a killer too, Mr. Davis. You killed that man at the fence and those two men that were raping Calley."

"They were threatening my pack," he laughed.

When Friday rolled around the girls were very excited for the dance. They had been hard at work all week making dresses to wear. Davis had bolts of material in the bunker, but few were suited for dresses. They found two, a pale yellow silk Mikado for Malina and a deep red two ply Chiffon for Calley.

Calley was very good at sewing and Malina was very careful at tracing patterns and cutting the material. Davis had a very nice sewing machine of a commercial grade. It was easy to go too fast and Calley had to take out a couple of seams but the dresses came together nicely. They had browsed through stacks of Magazines Davis kept to start fires with and had found what they wanted.

They raided the jewelry boxes in the treasury and got exactly what they wanted. Shoes were the only problem. They made slippers with leather feet on the bottom and the remains of the dress material for the top.

They insisted that Davis wear a suit. He was very reluctant. "Those cowboys won't have suits on," he protested. "I'll be overdressed and so will you."

"Imbécil," Malina scolded him. "Of course you will wear a suit. You are not a cowboy. You are a rancher. The other ranchers will wear suits. Mr. Angus is going to wear a suit. I asked him. You are our date for the dance and you must look beautiful." 

"I don't think it's common for pretty girls to call their date's imbeciles, for that matter," he shot back.

She was instantly contrite. "Of course not; I am very sorry Mr. Davis. Only you insist on not making yourself beautiful for us. It is very frustrating and I lost my temper. We Latin's are known for our hot tempers. But I am very sorry. Do you forgive me?" She pressed herself against him and offered him her lips.

"Of course, little girl. I wasn't mad; I was just teasing you." He took the offered lips and kissed her for a long time. She was breathless when he let her go.

"Oh, you are recovering very quickly Mr. Davis. Are you sure we should not stay home and test how much you are recovered?"

He laughed. "As tempting as that sounds, I think you're still too much for me Malina. We'd better go and I will wear a suit."

The girls went to their rooms and dressed. Davis had many suits from his baseball days and he picked out a tuxedo he had worn when he won the National League MVP. It was black and he found a red and yellow bow tie. He struggled with it for a while before remembering how to tie it.

He got the Suburban out of the garage. It didn't seem right to drive a Jeep or a truck to a dance.

He went inside and poured a couple of fingers of bourbon and sipped it while he waited. The bourbon was gone and he was becoming impatient. Calley's door opened and he heard her call. "Close your eyes Davis."

He obeyed and heard the swishing of material as they stood in front of him.

"Ok," Calley said, "you can open them now.

Two visions of loveliness stood in front of him. Calley's dress had no shoulders leaving her brown and bare to the top of her deep cleavage. Her mane of black hair glistened with the auburn highlights and fell down her back. Her breasts were confined to make a deep and mysterious valley and the ruby pendant he had given her hung inside. The dramatic swell of her hips flowed into a tapered full length dress with a high cut on one side exposing one leg nearly to the top of a gorgeous brown thigh. She wore a ruby ring and matching ear rings dangled.

Malina's dress had a one shoulder sweep and two triangles were cut in the sides leaving golden skin exposed. The long dress made her look taller and she looked like a princess out of a fairy tale with her golden hair held up by a delicate white gold and emerald tiara. Her ear rings matched and a beautiful yellow choker of the same yellow dress fabric with a black felt band held another large emerald to her long slender neck.

"My God," he breathed. "Turn around so I can see the back."

They turned and it was a sight that took his breath away. He walked to them and turned them to face him. He took one girl under each arm and kissed them both, stroking the smooth bare skin.

"I'm the luckiest man alive," he told them. 

"Look at your clever tie," Malina admired him. "It matches our dresses. Is he not magnificent Calley?"

"I'm just a bench warmer tonight. You girls are the stars."

They glowed at the look in his eyes and he offered them his arms. They each took one and he walked them to the Suburban. He opened the back door and helped Calley up. He took Malina to the other side and helped her in beside Calley.

"I'm your chauffeur tonight," he told them. "I'm sorry I don't have a coach and four, but this won't turn into a pumpkin either."

They laughed at his joke and he drove to the gate. Will opened the gate and they drove around the road to the Z bar headquarters. There were ten vehicles parked in the grass across from the house and Hardesty was parking the cars when they pulled up at the driveway. He opened the back doors and assisted the ladies out. His jaw dropped as they emerged and he temporarily forgot to park the car as they walked in on Davis' arms. He shook his head and came to his senses.

Angus had a dining table 20 feet long and all the places were full except for three. Davis escorted the ladies to their chairs and seated them and took his seat between them.

"I see you're fashionably late Davis," Angus called down from the head of the table. "One look at the ladies and I see why. It was worth the wait." His eyes twinkled.

"I think we all know each other here except for the girls. This young lady in red is the lovely Miss Calista De la Vega. Her friends call her Calley. You might recognize her. She was the news anchor that brightened up our screens on channel 3 in Wichita. The charming lady in yellow is Malina Nebrija. She is a visitor from Spain to our country. We hope she'll be staying permanently. They are living with our Davis Rade. Well, not living with him, but you know what I mean." A laugh went around the table. "Please make them welcome.

"You all know that we're going through some tough times. We're all neighbors and neighbors stick together. We're pretty isolated out here and we're all pretty self-sufficient. We've all got food to eat, water to drink and we can take care of ourselves. That's the western way. We've all got western minds; that's why we live out here. This is a party and I want you all to enjoy yourselves. But in the back of your minds I want you to be thinking about how we're going to survive the next ten years.

Some of you are running out of fuel. We need to find a way to get more. Some of us have quite a bit and we'll share but we need a long term solution so be thinking about it. We need seeds. Most of us are growing hybrids and when we harvest that's the end of the line.

Davis saw this coming and he's the only person here that's growing open pollinated wheat, corn and vegetables. I suggest we ask him if he'll trade for our hybrids and eat them and save his crop for seed. That will mean a lot more work for him and I expect you'll all want to pitch in and help him.

He was attacked the other day and I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't come along and helped him. He's dug in pretty tight and he'd probably have been OK but I might be next or you might be next. I think we ought to get a posse together to help each other out if we're attacked. I'm done with the speech now so let's eat and get the party started."

Dishes were passed and plates filled as the buzz of conversation sprang up. A young man sitting next to Malina introduced himself as Greg Wilson.

"My older brother played baseball with Davis at Wichita State," he told her. "What part of Spain are you from?"

"I am Castilian, from the north part of Spain. My city is León. Are you born here?"

"I was born in Wichita, but I've lived here all my life. I love your accent. Can I call you Malina?"

"But of course. I shall call you Greg."

"Will you dance with me Malina?"

"Perhaps, I wish to dance with Mr. Davis. If Calley dances with him first or when she is dancing with him I will dance with you. Are you an expert dancer Greg?"

"I've got moves the world hasn't seen yet," he laughed. "Why are you so keen on dancing with Davis? He's got two left feet. You'd be better off sticking with me. Besides, he's old. You can hang out with the kids."

"I have decided not to dance with you at all Greg. You are a great estupido. Mr. Davis is not at all old. He has saved my life and you shall not speak of him like that." She glared at him fiercely.

"God, Malina, I'm sorry. I know he's a great guy. My brother worships him. I didn't know you would be so offended. I didn't know he saved your life. I just thought you're way younger than him and you might like to dance with someone your own age. Please, I'm sorry. Now will you dance with me?"

She relented. "Yes, but you are not to speak to me about Mr. Davis like that again."

"No, I won't. Jesus Malina; I've never met a girl like you before. I'm sorry."

"I am sorry too. I lose my temper easily. I'm Latin you know. We are famous for our high tempers." She flashed him a rueful smile.

They chatted and Greg was hopelessly enchanted by this beautiful and exotic girl.

Davis and Calley were talking with a man seated beside her and his wife. Davis made the introductions. "These are our neighbors to the west, Joel Anthony and his wife Cynthia." The talk soon turned to economics. The fuel shortage was a pressing problem and Anthony had an idea.

"What if we could get to one of the refineries down south and make some kind of a deal with them?"

"Where would we get crude oil?" Davis asked.

"I've got three wells on my place and you've got five. Angus must have 50 and if we get everyone pumping we could have truckloads in a week."

"What about trucks?" Calley asked.

"My brother owns a fleet of tankers," Cynthia said. "He lives south of Greensburg and I'm sure we could trade with him to haul for us."

"That sounds like a good plan to me," Davis said. "The problem for me is that I'm afraid to leave my girls by themselves. I won't leave my place unguarded either."