Storiesonline.net
-------

                              Country Boys
                            by Lazlo Zalezac

Copyright© 2010 by Lazlo Zalezac


-------
Description: It started with a botched robbery in which Sonny Daniels was shot. All that his family wanted was for the robbers to get put in jail, but they were in Los Angeles and things work a little differently there than in the country. When cultures collide, the potential for misunderstanding is huge.

Codes: slow violent
-------



-------

Chapter 1


The tall lean cowboy walked into the hospital with a swagger that spoke of a confidence that he could handle anything that life threw at him. He was wearing tight fitting boot cut blue jeans, a blue denim plaid shirt, a pair of leather harness boots with the dust still on them, and a big belt buckle that had the name of a rodeo competition on it. His straw hat was worn low to the front and had seen better days.

Upon reaching the main lobby, he paused to check his surroundings. There was a man wearing a hospital uniform leaning against a post watching the front door. Confident that he had found someone who belonged there, the cowboy walked over to the man. Touching the brim of his hat, he said, "My name is Donny Daniels. I'm looking for my brother, Sonny Daniels. He's a patient here. Can you tell me how I can find his room?"

"I'm on break," the man said dismissively while starting to walk off. It was obvious that he wasn't headed anywhere in any kind of hurry. He was just putting a little distance between him and what he considered to be an ignorant yahoo from the country.

"I'm not done talking to you," Donny said grabbing the man by the arm and pulling him back.

Donny recognized rudeness when he saw it, and wasn't about to let an insult pass without comment. The man tried to tug his arm away, but the grip holding him in place was too strong.

Offended, he said, "Unhand me."

Not releasing the man, Donny said, "I'm asking politely. Can you tell me where my brother is or point me in the direction of someone who can tell me?"

"See the woman at the counter over there," the man said sullenly. He pointed to a long counter with a couple of elderly women behind it. They were wearing the uniforms of candy stripers.

Donny released the man's arm and said, "See, that wasn't so hard. Thank you for your help."

The man walked off muttering, "Damn cowboy. They shouldn't allow his type in the hospital. He probably has manure on his boots. He's a health hazard."

Donny walked over to the counter and tipped his hat.

"Howdy, Ma'am. My name is Donny Daniels. I'm looking for my brother, Sonny Daniels. He's a patient here in the hospital. Can you help me?"

After typing some information into a computer, the elderly woman answered, "He's up in room 412."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

Donny turned towards the entrance of the hospital in time to see someone leave. As soon as the door opened, he let loose a whistle that echoed through the room.

The woman said, "Quiet. This is a hospital."

"Sorry, Ma'am."

Two men (obviously brothers) dressed in a style similar to Donny's, entered the hospital. The sun-etched lines on their faces gave ample proof that they had spent years in the outdoors. They were at least twenty years older than Donny, and their shared rugged masculine facial features gave ample proof that they were family. The difference in facial features was just enough to suggest that they were uncles to the younger man.

The two brothers were arguing gently with each other as they walked along; one occasionally dug an elbow into the ribs of the other to make some point. There was no anger in their gestures;. It was only the kind of easy teasing common in friendly brotherly relations.

Donny gave a softer whistle, and when the two men turned to him, he said, "He's in room 412."

"Well, let's find out what happened to him, Dan," the younger of the two men said.

Dan said, "We know what happened to him, Joe. He got shot."

"There's getting shot and there's getting shot," Joe said. "They shoot him with a nine millimeter and he'll be lying there in bed getting pissed off. The bullet is too small and moves too fast to cause any damage. It will just pass through him. The bigger slower moving bullet of a forty five will put him down for a long time."

"I know, and you tried to teach grandma how to suck eggs, too," Dan said. He knocked Joe on the arm in a friendly little tap.

"So what? You tried to teach her how to milk ducks," Joe said. He returned the good-natured blow.

Pointing down the hallway, Donny said, "The elevators are over there."

While the men strolled towards the elevator, Dan sniffed the air taking in the antiseptic scent. Making a face as if he had bitten into a lemon, he said, "I hate big city hospitals. I was in one like this when that bull gored me back in my rodeo days. They want to dope you up before stitching a little cut closed. If that wound wasn't on the back of my leg, I would have done it and saved a bunch of money. As it was, I lost money on that trip."

"I remember that time. I had to drive out to pick you up because they said you couldn't drive," Joe said. He knew his brother was exaggerating his ability to deal with the injury a little, but it had cost a lot of money to get the gash stitched.

Dan said, "They were full of it. I drove home just fine."

"They didn't know that you can't drive worth a damn anyway. In case you don't remember, you only made it out of the parking lot before I had to take over," Joe said.

"That's it. Complain about my driving some more and you can stay here," Dan said.

Donny asked, "Don't you two ever stop bickering? You're worse than two women fighting over the last wedding gown in a bridal store."

The three men reached the elevator. Donny pushed the up button to summon the elevator. The three men stood there; each with their left leg supporting themselves. Their right leg was kind of cocked, and their thumbs stuck in their front pockets. The fingers of their hands were slightly curled and generally pointed towards their crotches.

The elevator door opened. After checking that it was headed in the right direction, they entered.

A very frail looking woman was seated in a wheelchair looking sick to her stomach. Her most obvious feature was that she had lost most of her hair. Her skin had a pale almost transparent sheen to it. A catheter for injecting drugs was inserted into the back of her left hand. Dan looked at her taking in her general state of poor health while the doors closed. Holding his hat over his heart, he said, "Ma'am. Why are you in the hospital?"

The woman looked up at Dan incredulous that anyone would ask a question like that straight out in an elevator. The little black woman who was pushing the wheelchair stared at Dan without changing her expression. With a little anger boiling up within her, the woman in the wheelchair answered, "Cancer."

"That's horrible," Dan said as he reached in his shirt pocket and pulled out a business card. Handing it to her, he said, "When you get out of here, why don't you give me a call. You need a bunch of fresh air and sunshine to heal up proper like. A hospital is not a place to get healthy. I've got a small trailer out back of the house that you and yours can use while you're out there."

"He's got a view from his place that God must have blessed when he created the Earth. There's open land surrounded by trees with mountains in the distance. Come autumn time, those trees turn a thousand different colors. It makes you realize that there is a God, and he is good. It is real peaceful, Ma'am," Joe said.

Nodding his head in agreement, Donny said, "It is a good place to heal both physically and spiritually."

"That trailer of mine is in pretty good shape. There's room for four people in it. Me and the misses used it while we were rebuilding our house after a fire took part of it," Dan said.

The woman glanced down at the card seeing that it advertised rodeo bulls for sale with an address in Montana. Not quite sure what to make of the offer, she mumbled, "Thanks."

"Don't think anything of it, Ma'am," Dan said.

"You get better now, you hear?" Joe said.

"This is our floor," Donny said when the elevator came to a stop. He took off his hat and said, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Ma'am. I hope to see you up at Uncle Dan's place real soon."

The three men ambled off the elevator and followed the signs towards room 412. They entered with Donny leading the way. There were two beds in the room with Sonny lying in the one nearest the door. The other bed held an old man who was asleep. Sonny was wearing a hospital gown and only partially covered with a thin blanket. The sheets under him were pulled out suggesting that he had been moving around a lot rather than just lying there.

Donny stopped at the end of the bed and looked at the man lying there. Shaking his head, he said, "You look like something that fell out the south end of a north bound cow."

"At least it took getting shot to look this way. You always look like something that fell out the north end of a south bound cow," Sonny said struggling to sit up in the bed. His voice was weak and there was a wheeze when he breathed.

"Donny, don't go getting your brother riled up," Joe said. He looked around and spotted two chairs. He nudged Dan with an elbow and pointed at the chairs. Both men took a seat and grinned up at Donny who was still standing at the foot of the bed looking around for a place to sit.

Slapping his thigh with one hand to get everyone's attention, Dan said, "We're here to find out what happened to you."

"Don't say a word until I get a chair," Donny said. He looked around for a chair and didn't find one. He stepped out in the hall and found a stack of chairs. He grabbed one chair off of the stack and carried it back to the room. Putting it so that the back was to Sonny, he sat astride it facing the seatback. He said, "Tell us what happened to you."

"I was working at the store..."

"What in the hell were you doing working at a store? You're here to go to school," Dan said interrupting Sonny before he had even managed to get once sentence into the story.

"It is expensive out here. It isn't like at home where the food comes out of the garden and doesn't cost anything except sweat. I was working there to earn a little extra money," Sonny answered.

"All you needed to do was ask us. We would have sent you some more," Joe said. "We could have sold off a cow or two. I got a rodeo bull that would fetch a real good price."

Pointing at Sonny with his forefinger, Dan said, "You're the first one smart enough in this family to go to college. We want you to do well and we'll do whatever it takes to make it happen."

"You know me better than that," Sonny said.

He coughed bringing up a mouthful of phlegm. He spat it into a wad of tissues, which he tossed into a wastebasket that was beside the bed. The doctor said that his cough was a result of the anesthetic, but it tasted pretty foul. He suspected it was an infection.

"I can take care of myself," he added.

"You aren't doing just this for you. We've got a stake in your college, too," Donny said.

With a stubborn look on his face, Sonny said, "I know, but I can and will pull my own weight. There isn't a thing you can say that will change that."

Knowing that this discussion was going nowhere fast, Joe said, "Tell us some more about what happened to you."

"I was working at the store when two gang members came in. One look at them and I knew that they wanted to rob the place," Sonny said. "Next thing I know they've got guns in my face."

"Did you pull your piece?" Dan asked.

"I didn't have it with me," Sonny said. He coughed some more.

Donny asked, "Why in the hell not?"

"That's against the law out here. Only the criminals carry guns in this damned town. A law abiding citizen doesn't stand a chance," Sonny said in disgust.

Dan said, "So you're standing there with only your dick for a weapon."

"There was a revolver under the counter and I grabbed it," Sonny said.

"Did you get the bastards?" Joe asked.

"No. I drew down on the first guy and pulled the trigger. All I heard was a click every time I pulled the trigger," Sonny said.

"Are you telling me that the gun wasn't loaded?" Joe asked looking at Sonny in disgust.

"It was loaded. I don't know what the hell happened," Sonny said. He sounded mystified that the gun didn't work.

"How do you know it was loaded?" Dan asked.

Indignant, Sonny said, "I'm not an idiot. I checked that gun every time I went to work. There were bullets in it. Every chamber had a round in it."

Donny said, "I want to see that gun."

"So while you're pulling the trigger on a gun that doesn't go bang, what was it that the robbers were doing?" Dan asked. He was wondering why Sonny was still alive. By all rights they should be visiting Sonny at a funeral home instead of the hospital.

"Those two assholes were shooting at me. Lucky for me they were lousy shots. They were dancing around like hens on a hotplate holding the guns sideways and pulling the trigger without even looking to see where the damned thing was pointed. It was all show and no go," Sonny said.

"So what did you do?" Dan asked.

"I threw the damned gun at one of them and climbed over the counter to go after the other with my buck knife," Sonny answered as if the answer should have been obvious. "That's when they actually hit me. Even a little ankle biter couldn't miss at that range."

"There aren't many things worse than bringing a knife to a gunfight," Joe said.

"Did you get a piece of them?" Donny asked.

"No. They started running like hell," Sonny answered. "I heard they fired sixteen rounds and only two hit me."

"Nine millimeters?" Joe asked.

"Yes," Sonny answered.

Dan snorted and said, "I hope the rounds went through you."

Sonny said, "One of the bullets bounced off my backbone. I get little twinges of numbness in my legs on occasion, but the good news is that my legs work. I even walk around until the nurse catches me."

Donny asked, "What does the doc say about the numbness?"

"You know doctors. They won't tell you one way or the other. I'll be walking out of here," Sonny said.

"That's good," Dan said watching Sonny move his legs around.

"Did the police catch the two guys that shot you?" Joe asked.

"No. I don't think they are even looking for them," Sonny answered in disgust.

Joe said, "Don't that beat all?"

Donny asked, "Can you describe the two guys that shot you?"

"I can do better than that. I took their pictures," Sonny said with a smile.

"You did what?" Joe asked sitting up straight.

Sonny said, "Like I said earlier, I knew the minute those two guys walked in the store that they wanted to rob it. I got out my cell phone and took their pictures."

"Where is your cell phone?" Dan asked.

"I dropped it when I went for the gun. As far as I know, it is still at the store," Sonny answered.

Dan and Joe looked at each other. Dan nodded and then said, "We'll be stopping by that store. I want to see that gun."

Sonny said, "My truck should still be parked out back of the store. You can use it while you're here, if some asshole hasn't striped it down for parts."

"I think we will," Dan said. He wasn't happy that the guys who had shot Sonny were not in jail and he was more than happy to have a role in correcting that situation. He added, "I'd like to make sure the boys that shot you go to jail. I think we're going to be here for a while."

Sonny said, "I've got to warn you that those two guys are part of a gang. You mess with one of them and they figure you're messing with all of them."

"You don't say," Joe said with a smile. He exchanged glances with Dan and Donny. "I know a couple of country boys that feel the same way."

"Damn straight," Donny said.

Joe asked, "Is there any chance they might come here and finish the job they started?"

"I doubt it," Sonny answered.

"Saying that you doubt it is a lot different than a definite no," Dan said. Looking at Joe, he said, "We'd better get him something."

Joe reached down into his boot and pulled out an American Derringer Simmerling LM4 pistol. It was a small .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol. The small size made it a defensive weapon, but the large caliber made sure than anyone that was hit was going to stay down. Handing it over to Sonny, he said, "Just in case you get some company. I loaded it with hollow points. You've got five shots, since I've already got one in the chamber."

"Nice ankle gun," Sonny said impressed by the small size and weight. "Are you sure you don't need it?"

"I got a spare out in the truck," Joe answered.

"I better warn you, that little thing kicks like a mule. It makes a whole lot of noise, too," Dan said.

Sonny checked out the handgun. He slid it under his pillow and said, "I probably won't need it, but I'll sleep better knowing it is there."

Dan pulled out a cigarette and lit it. After exhaling a cloud of smoke, he asked, "How many of them are there in that gang?"

"A hundred or so," Sonny answered.

Dan said, "We'll try to get the police to arrest them first. If they don't do their jobs, we'll just have to do it for them."

"We could have a few problems getting those two gang members down to the jail particularly if the other ninety-eight gang members try to stop us," Joe said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

Donny said, "The numbers don't look too good for our side."

Joe looked thoughtful for a second or two before he said, "We could use a helping hand or two to even the odds."

Dan pulled out a cell phone and dialed a number. After a few seconds, he said, "Hank?"

"Yes, it is me."

"I'm out in California visiting Sonny."

"He's okay, but I might have a problem."

"There's a problem with stray dogs that have gone feral, out here. They've got a hundred of them. Can you come out here and help me with them?"

"Great."

"You never know. There may be some stumps that need removing."

"I figure a dozen or so."

"Just you and your two boys ought to be fine."

"Great."

"I'll be seeing you in three days."

"I'll give you a call and let you know where we're staying."

Dan closed the cell phone and said, "Hank and his two boys are coming down here for a visit."

"That's nice of them," Joe said with a smile.

"I hope that we don't need their help, but it will take them at least two days to get here. I'd rather have them around when we need them than need them and not have them," Dan said.

Donny said, "I take it they are going to do some shopping before heading out."

"I reckon so," Dan said. He took another drag off his cigarette. He exhaled before he said, "They'll be bringing some stuff to help remove a dozen stumps. Of course, knowing Hank he'll be here with enough bang to take out a forest. Good old Uncle Sam taught him how to remove stumps with the best of them."

Joe laughed knowing full well that Hank always came over prepared for anything that could happen. He said, "I think it is about time we got the lay of the land out here."

"Yep," Dan said. "Then we see if we have to do something about that feral dog population."

"Before you go, can you leave some Skoal behind? They won't let me smoke in here," Sonny asked. He smiled when Donny pulled out a can from his shirt pocket and tossed it to him. He hid it under the sheet. He said, "There is a nurse on this floor who is meaner than hell. She took my smokes away from me."

A nurse entered the room, took one look at Dan, and then screeched, "What are you doing? You can't smoke in here!"

"Why not?" Dan asked, looking around the room to make sure there weren't any no smoking signs. While the nurse was standing there with her mouth opening and closing, Dan took another drag off the cigarette. He said, "There aren't any signs in here."

The nurse grabbed the cigarette out of his hand and threw it to the floor. She then gave a good impression of doing the Mexican hat dance on it. Dan stood there with his mouth opening and closing. The nurse said, "You aren't allowed to smoke here. It is against the law."

Looking down at the mangled mess that had once been his cigarette, Dan said, "I don't know what you're so hot about. Old Doc Taylor smokes when he's examining patients. Every time I've been to see him, he bums a cigarette from me."

"What is he? A vet?"

Sonny winked at his brother and said, "That's the nurse I was telling you about."

"Well Sonny, I think war has just been declared in Los Angeles."



-------

Chapter 2


The pickup truck with a camper top lumbered slowly down the street. The three occupants of the truck were too busy looking at the scenery to be worried about the cars behind them despite the fact that Los Angeles drivers are not known for having much patience. The drivers behind them first tried honking their horns to get them to move faster and then passed them despite the dangers involved. Most of the drivers gave them a one-finger salute although a few looked like they wanted to make it a little more physical than that.

By any definition known to man, this was an ugly neighborhood. Half of the buildings had bars on the windows while the other half of the buildings didn't have windows. The whole place looked tired and rundown. Every building needed its' façade refinished. The windows needed washing. The sidewalks needed to be swept. Like a hundred year old woman it was in dire need of a face-lift. Even with one it would never look new again.

Staring at a building that was boarded up, Donny said, "What a shithole."

"I've seen outhouses better than this place," Dan said.

Joe stared at a woman walking down the street. She was a very large woman wearing an outfit that was a little small for her build. He stuck his head out the window and looked back at her after they had passed her by.

Disgusted, he said, "A woman that big shouldn't be wearing anything that tight. I could see every roll of fat on her."

"She's somebody's love object," Donny said with a grin.

"Boy, you are sick," Joe said.

"I can't believe that Sonny actually took a job in this place," Dan said. "He should have just asked us for a little more money."

"The only businesses around here are bars, beer stores, pawn shops, check cashing places, and strip joints," Joe said taking a quick inventory of the signs around them. "I haven't seen anything that looks like a grocery store."

"You missed the bail bond joints and the law offices," Dan said as they passed a bail bond place.

Joe said, "There's a massage parlor. I'd bet good money that no one has ever gotten a massage there."

"It doesn't look to me like anyone around here actually eats food. Judging by the people I've seen, I would have to say that they drink their meals," Donny said.

In fact, he had a seen a few folks that were drinking their meals.

"I can't imagine living in a place like this," Dan said. This was so different from the wide-open spaces that he called home, that it could have been a completely different planet.

"Even the trees are ugly. No wonder they drink," Donny said while staring at a tree that was stunted from a lack of water and care. There was a scar on the tree trunk that suggested someone had once hit it with a car.

"I don't see how they can even walk around here considering all of the broken bottles and trash that is all over the place," Joe said after watching a guy finish a soda and toss the can into the street. "It is a pig sty here. Don't they have any pride?"

Dan said, "The people who live here don't own anything. They can't take pride in something they don't own. The owners don't live here, so they don't care how it looks. All they care about is the rent. The end result, is what you see around us."

"That makes sense in a twisted kind of way," Joe said. He stuck his head out the window and looked at the building they were driving past. All of the windows in it were broken, and the door was propped open. He could see people sprawled out on the floor, but couldn't tell what they were doing. He wasn't sure that he wanted to know.

"What in the hell is that guy doing?" Donny asked pointing at a guy who was staggering around the centerline of the street. The man was acting like he was going to jump in front of cars whenever they passed him. The whole time he was doing that he was talking to some woman who was standing on the sidewalk.

Dan answered, "He's forcing us to admit he exists. If we hit him, he's going to sue us for everything we own. He knows that we have to drive around him with care. This is as much recognition as he is ever going to get in his whole life."

"That's pitiful," Donny said wondering what kind of world it was that required a person to be a nuisance in order to be recognized as existing.

"Sure is," Joe said while Dan drove around the man.

When the traffic light started to change, Dan slowed down and stopped while other cars shot past. It seemed as if an eternity passed before other cars stopped. They hadn't been sitting at the light for more than fifteen seconds when a man stuck his head inside the window of the truck.

With breath that could kill a skunk at five paces, he said, "Give me a dollar."

Without missing a beat, Dan pulled out a handgun, cocking it in the process, and put the business end of it to the guy's forehead.

Dan said, "Run."

"Shit!" the man shouted taking off across the intersection. A car had to swerve to avoid hitting him.

"Subtle," Joe said watching the action.

Donny said, "Real subtle."

"He had a knife," Dan said releasing the hammer. He put the handgun back in the holster under the dash.

"I guess we look like tourists," Joe said.

Donny shook his head in disgust.

Getting angrier about his brother working in that part of town, he said, "I can't believe that Sonny drove down here to work."

"You don't think much of your little brother's survival skills, do you?" Dan asked looking over at the younger man.

"I don't know. He spent so much time on that computer of his that I have to be concerned about him. I used to have to drag him out of the house by his ears to get him to do his chores," Donny said. It used to bother him that Sonny actually preferred doing things on his computer to going fishing.

The traffic light changed and Dan drove on. Once he was through the intersection, he said, "You forget that he bought that computer with money that he made off the furs he got on his trap line."

"Sonny is a country boy in heart and by birth. He's been hunting and fishing since he was a little ankle biter," Joe said.

"I know," Donny said.

Joe said, "I remember when you two were just little kids. Your dad, Dan and I, would go bird hunting. You and your brother would be our bird dogs. You'd chase down whatever we shot. I don't think either of you ever lost a bird that we brought down."

Dan said, "We taught both of you boys everything we know about surviving. Either of you could get dropped in the middle of nowhere with nothing, and come out having gained ten pounds."

Joe said, "Your Dad would have taught you the same things we taught you if he hadn't been killed."

"He was our little brother and knew everything we know. Hell, our Dad taught him just like he taught us," Dan said.

It had been a horrible day when that drunk driver had killed his brother when he was down in Oklahoma competing in that rodeo. Dan swiped a hand across his mouth to help get control over his emotions. Some things hurt even after years had passed.

"Don't ever forget that Sonny is a Daniels," Joe said.

Dan said, "He knows how to take care of himself. Sonny probably would have been killed by those robbers if he wasn't a fighter."

Donny said, "I know. It is just that he's my little brother and I can't help but worry about him. He's just so different from me."

"He just doesn't like being a rancher," Joe said. "He marches to a different drummer than you. You got to respect him for that."

"I do ... I guess," Donny said.

He spotted to a bag lady pushing a grocery cart loaded with junk. From the way her mouth was moving, it was obvious that she was talking to herself continuously.

Pointing at the woman, he said, "Look at that woman. I bet she doesn't have a home. Someone should be taking care of her."

"This is not like back home where folks help each other," Joe said. "We're in the big city, now. Everyone is a stranger, and no one is a neighbor."

Donny spotted a teenager with his hair cut in a Mohawk and piercings covering his face. He was wearing ripped blue jeans and a leather coat despite the heat.

He said, "Look at that punk kid over there. He looks like trouble."

"He's just a dumb kid trying to look tough. We haven't seen anything yet. So far, all we've seen is the scum that floats on the surface of the water. We haven't seen the barracudas or the sharks yet," Dan said.

"Oh, joy," Donny said sarcastically.

They drove two blocks down the street in relative silence. Each man was looking at things that had caught their eye. Joe said, "Speak of the devil. I think we've spotted our first pimp."

A wildly dressed man was getting out of the black luxury sedan and talking to two nearly undressed women. Taking in the whole scene, Dan said, "I think you're right. Of course, I'd consider that a parasite rather than a predator."

Joe pointed to a building up one block and asked, "Is that the place?"

"Looks like it to me," Dan said. The street signs at the intersection suggested that they were within a block of their destination and the sign along the street had the correct name of the store.

After running a hand into his boot, Joe said, "Dan and I should go in and talk to whoever is in there. Donny should stay out in the truck and make sure that nothing walks off."

"What about Sonny's truck?" Donny asked. He felt that they should at least check it out before doing anything else.

"We'll see about that after we've gone in the store," Joe said.

Pulling into the parking lot of the store, Dan said, "Besides, according to Sonny the keys to the truck are in the store. We'll get the keys. Joe can check out the truck, while I have a few words with that Pepper fellow who runs the place."

Dan and Joe sauntered into the convenience store like they owned it, while Donny watched them go. A few minutes later a man who was an obvious member of a gang, as evidenced by the tattoos bearing the name of a nationally known gang on his arms, walked out of the store. Donny watched the man walk off down the street as if he didn't have a care in the world.

Inside the store, Joe and Dan watched the gang member walk past them. From what they knew about how gangs staked out territories and kept other gangs out, it was a sure bet that the two men who had shot Sonny, were members of the same gang as the man in the store.

Dan put a hand on Joe's arm and said, "Later."

"I am not that stupid," Joe said rolling his eyes.

"I didn't say you were," Dan said.

Joe said, "You sure as hell implied it."

"I didn't imply nothing. Besides, he's gone," Dan said looking back at the door.

"Let's see if you can find this Pepper fellow," Joe said.

He stepped back a bit so that he could watch the door.

Dan walked over to the counter and said, "Howdy. I'm Dan Daniels. My nephew, Sonny Daniels, works here."

"He's not here. I don't know if you are aware of it or not, but he was shot the other night," the man behind the counter said.

"I know that. I just came from the hospital," Dan said.

He examined the man behind the counter thinking that he looked weak; it was almost as if he had never done a day's physical labor before.

He asked, "Are you Pepper?"

"That's me."

Dan said, "Sonny said that he left his keys, cell phone, and truck, here. He wanted me to pick them up for him."

Pepper reached under the counter and pulled out a set of keys and a cell phone. He handed them over to Dan while saying, "The truck is parked out back. Last I checked no one had touched it."

"Good," Dan said. He tossed the keys over to Joe and said, "Bring the truck around to the front of the store. I'll be out in a minute or two."

"Sure thing," Joe said. He noticed that Dan had moved to where he could cover the door.

Dan watched Joe walk out the door before he said, "I was curious about a little thing concerning the incident where my nephew was shot."

"What?" Pepper asked. He had thought that Sonny was country, but the man standing at the counter looked like the definition of a cowboy. He frowned when the man lit up a cigarette right there in the store. He had images of the Marlboro man smoking a cigarette while riding his horse out on the range.

After exhaling, Dan said, "Sonny said he pulled out a handgun from under the counter. When he pulled the trigger though, it didn't go 'boom'."

"I know," Pepper said. He stared at the cigarette wondering if he should tell the man to put it out.

"Can I see the handgun?" Dan asked pointing at Pepper with his cigarette.

Pepper said, "The police took it for evidence."

"Well, can you tell me why it didn't fire?"

"I had a guy take the firing pin out," Pepper answered with a satisfied smile.

Incredulous, Dan stared at Pepper, wondering if the man was all there.

He asked, "Why on earth would you do something like that?"

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt. I figured if I waved the gun around, that it would scare any robbers away," Pepper said.

"Are you the dumbest human being in the world?" Dan asked.

"Don't talk to me like that," Pepper said.

Dan said, "Don't you know that if you draw down on a man, that you better be ready to kill him? He's expecting you to kill him, and is going to do everything he can to keep from getting killed."

"People are afraid of guns and run away when they see one," Pepper said in a lame attempt to defend his position.

Dan snorted as if he were talking to a moron.

"I can guarantee you that even if I was buck naked with nothing but my dick in my hand that if you were to pull a gun on me that I'd be all over your ass trying to kill you. If your gun went 'click' when you pulled the trigger, I would take it away from you and beat you with it until you were dead."

"No you wouldn't," Pepper said while taking a step back. Despite his words to the contrary, he had a feeling that is exactly what Dan would do.

"Yes, I would. That gang member who just left here would do the same thing," Dan said in disgust.

"Well, they're criminals," Pepper said. "I wouldn't pull a gun on one of them. That whole gang would show up here to kill me."

"Did you tell Sonny that the gun didn't work?" Dan asked knowing the answer to his question.

"I didn't think I needed to," Pepper said. "Everyone knows that you don't fight a gang member. If they come in here, and want everything in the cash register, you just give it to them."

"Not in my world. You come into my place and try to take my money the only way you're leaving is feet first and horizontal," Dan said.

He couldn't imagine just standing around while someone carried off his hard earned money. It didn't matter to him if it was spending money or money on the hoof.

"That kind of attitude is what got Sonny shot," Pepper said feeling like he was proving his point.

"He wouldn't have been shot if he had known the gun didn't work. He would have gone after them with his knife," Dan said. In one smooth motion he drew his knife and had it open before Pepper even realized what he had done.

"He'd have been killed," Pepper said wide-eyed.

He knew that the surveillance tape had showed Sonny pulling out a knife and leaping over the counter.

Folding his knife and putting it back, Dan said, "I can guarantee you one thing ... at least one of those bastards would have been dead. I raised Sonny well enough to know that."

"You're crazy," Pepper said.

"I'm not crazy. I'm here to see that justice is done. Those two boys that robbed this place, and shot Sonny, are going to jail," Dan said.

Pepper said, "The police are smart enough to leave the boys alone until they can catch them for some small thing that won't rile up the gang."

"The police had better hurry. If they don't arrest those two, soon, I'll catch them all by myself. Then I'll take them to the police station," Dan said.

Pepper pointed to the door and said, "Get out of here before someone overhears you talking. I'm not going to let you turn this store into the Wild West."

"No. You're just going to let the gang turn your store into their cash cow," Dan said.

Pepper said, "Look, I'm trying to let you know how things work around here. You don't talk about going against the gang. If Dingo or Taco find out you're talking about dragging them into jail, they'll kill you and Sonny. They might even send a couple of guys after you, to let them prove they've got what it takes to be in the gang."

"You know the names of the two guys that shot Sonny?" Dan asked incredulously.

There was no way that the two guys should be walking around free if people knew exactly who did the crime.

"Everyone knows who shot Sonny. Everyone knows why he was shot," Pepper said. "Sonny should have just handed over the money."

"It wasn't Sonny's money to hand over," Dan said.

Disgusted, he turned and walked out of the place.

Dan went over to the truck where Joe was waiting.

On reaching it, he said, "I just met the stupidest man in the world."

Joe looked around at the surroundings. He felt that anyone with a bit of common sense wouldn't stay in that neighborhood.

He said, "I've got a feeling this whole town is loaded with stupid people."

Deciding it was time for them to get to a place where they could talk, Dan said, "Follow me to the Wally Mart. We'll camp there for the next few nights."

"Sure thing," Joe said.

Dan got into his truck and handed the cell phone over to Donny.

He said, "Check out the photographs on that thing."

"Sure thing," Donny said while opening the cell phone. It was a little more complex than the one he had, but that didn't cause him more than a moment of delay in figuring it out. They didn't get cell phone service out where they lived, but all of them had 'pay as you go' phones for use when they traveled away from home.

After fiddling with the GPS system for a minute, Dan pulled out of the parking lot.

He said, "When we get to the Wally Mart you go in and see if there isn't a way to print out a copy of the pictures of the gang members who shot Sonny. Pick up a disposable phone, while you're there."

"Why?"

"We have to tell the police where they are, and let them deal with it. If the police don't do something, then we'll haul them down to the station ourselves," Dan said.

"It would be easier to shoot them," Donny said.

Dan smiled and then added, "Only if the shit hits the fan. When that happens, then we can start shooting."

"That sounds like a good way to get killed. There's nothing stupider than giving them the first shot," Donny said shaking his head.

"Not if we are smart in how we do it," Dan said.

He pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

Smelling the smoke, Donny said, "Damn. I forgot to ask you to buy a can of Skoal while you were in the store."

Dan said, "I wouldn't have needed to buy it. According to the jerk in there, all I would have needed to do was tell him to give me a can free of charge. Apparently here, if you're tough and mean enough, people give you things."

"That's a hell of a way to run a business," Donny said shaking his head.



-------

Chapter 3


It was late the night of their second day in Los Angeles as three men were watching the activity up the street from where the truck was parked. None of the three looked very happy.

Joe asked, "What do you think?"

"Looks like we found gang central," Dan answered. There were two-dozen people standing around a number of tricked out cars, doing nothing but drinking and talking. Music, loud enough to be heard a block away, was coming from one of the cars. All of the men sported the same tattoos on their arms.

Recognizing two of the men from the pictures that Sonny had taken with his cell phone, Joe said, "There are the two guys who shot Sonny."

The two guys were walking around and drinking beer like they didn't have a care in the world. One of them was carrying a bag from a taco stand, and was walking around eating a taco. There wasn't much doubt about which one was named 'Taco.'

"I see them," Donny said.

Glaring at the two men, Dan said, "We've been in town two days and we've found them already. It has been five days since Sonny was shot and they are still haven't seen the inside of a jail. I wonder what is taking the police so long to find them."

"It is hard to find something when you aren't looking for it," Joe said.

He knew that anyone familiar with the area would have known exactly where to look for the two men. He suspected they hadn't even hid out for a single day.

Dan said, "I'm going to call the cops and let them know where Dingo and Taco are."

Dan pulled out the cell phone Donny had purchased at the Wally Mart and called 911. Despite an expectation that he would get put on hold, the call went right through to an operator. Taking care not to identify himself, he explained where the two suspects in the robbery were located. He named the two men and specified the robbery and the shooting that had taken place just to ensure that sufficient details were provided to give credibility to his report.

A half an hour passed before they spotted a patrol car. A five-minute delay would be understandable. A fifteen-minute delay would suggest that something significant was happening nearby. A thirty-minute delay convinced all three men that the police were uninterested in catching the gang members.

Donny said, "Finally, they got here. Let's watch what they do."

The bright lights of the city showed the policemen in the car quite clearly. The men in the patrol car looked away while driving past the gang. It was as if by not looking at them they could pretend they weren't there.

"They didn't do squat," Dan said in disgust.

Joe said, "They are scared. I don't think they would have stopped and arrested those two who shot Sonny, even if they did see them."

"I noticed that," Donny said shaking his head. The two men who had shot Sonny hadn't even bothered to turn their backs to the police car. "The gang doesn't seem to be worried about the police at all. They just laughed at them."

It was obvious who was in control of this neighborhood and it sure wasn't the police. The police car drove past the truck. The car slowed down when it passed by them. Both cops in the car were checking out the occupants of the truck. Joe touched the brim of his hat with his forefinger while smiling directly at the police officers.

Once the police car had passed, Joe said, "Assholes."

Dan said, "Those two cops sure as hell checked us out though."

Looking back at the police car, Joe said, "We better get the hell out of here before we attract any more attention."

"You just can't keep from stating the obvious, can you?"

Snorting, Joe said, "It is a necessity. Look at the company I keep."

"Don't be a smart ass," Dan said.

Joe nudged Donny with an elbow and said, "Hey, he quit calling me a dumb ass and has started calling me a smart ass. I'm moving up in the world."

Donny laughed.

Dan didn't feel much like laughing considering that the police didn't respond to the 911 call.

He said, "Calling the police didn't do much good. We'll drive by here tomorrow in the light and find a good place to watch them. Maybe we can get the police to arrest them tomorrow."

"One of the rooftops of the buildings around here ought to do," Joe said. The dark made it a little difficult to see the roofs. From his perspective, that made it a perfect place from which to watch the action.

"The question is, which one gives us the best coverage of our game," Dan said studying the buildings that lined the street.

"We'll see, tomorrow," Joe said.

Dan just shook his head and started the truck. He pulled onto the road so that he would drive past where the gang was hanging out. He wanted to get an idea of what the gang was doing.

"What time will we start scouting around tomorrow?" Donny asked watching how the gang reacted to their driving past. The gang members gave them a quick glance and then ignored them.

"I figure about six in the morning. We won't have an audience," Dan answered. He looked out the window at the gang while he drove past. There sure were a lot of them doing nothing.

"We'll find a good spot and then spend the day there. We need to figure out their habits before we do anything," Joe said.

He had already accepted that the police weren't going to do anything and that it would be up to them to get the gang members to the jail.

"All three of us?" Donny asked.

"No. It will be just me and Joe. You need to take care of Sonny if he gets released from the hospital tomorrow. Hank and his sons are supposed to show up sometime in the afternoon. It would be nice if someone was there to greet them," Dan said.

He headed the truck in the general direction of the Wally Mart. It was getting late, and they would need to be up early in the morning.

"Why me? Why not you?" Donny asked thinking about spending an evening with Hank.

Knowing why Donny was trying to duck out on staying back, Dan said, "I guess I could take Sonny over to the college when he gets out of the hospital tomorrow. I wouldn't mind checking out all of those coeds for an hour or two. You know what they say about California girls."

"I suppose I can help Sonny move back into his dorm," Donny said suddenly coming to the realization that he was about to blow a golden opportunity to check out a lot of attractive single women.

"What do they say about California girls?" Joe asked.

"Hell if I know," Dan answered.

Donny laughed at the exchange, and then said, "I'll tell you tomorrow night."

"We'll probably be gone most of tomorrow night," Dan said. "You and Hank can take the next day."

Donny groaned and said, "I'm going to have to listen to him tell the story about the twelve point buck again."

"It only takes him two hours to tell it," Joe said.

Hank had a reputation for never shutting his mouth. He liked to tell stories and told them in such detail that an hour could pass while he related how he brewed his coffee in the morning. The story would have digressions about how he had once talked to someone who had visited a coffee farm in Columbia, the physics behind perking, and the current price of coffee beans on the international market.

Donny said, "Two and a half hours."

Dan grinned and said, "He'll probably tell you all about that fight he was in back in his rodeo days. That'll eat up another fourteen hours."

"Too bad Flower won't be there," Donny said.

"You mean Rose?" Joe asked with a smile. Hank's wife's name was Lily and Donny had once made the mistake of calling them the flower girls. They hadn't been happy about that.

"Yes," Donny said.

"That girl is sweet on you," Dan said.

"Don't talk like that," Donny said.

Everyone expected them to get married one day. Even Rose and he expected that. There weren't many women his age out where he lived so he didn't have many choices. For that matter, Rose didn't have that many choices in men. The lack of choice didn't affect their feelings towards each other, though.

Joe enjoyed the subtle art of rubbing salt in wounds, so he said, "She's a pretty girl. She'd make a good wife."

"Yes, she is," Donny said, "The problem is that if I take up with Rose, I have to put up with Hank."

"Don't forget about her two brothers," Dan said with a grin.

Joe said, "They aren't all that bad. Compared to Hank they are kind of quiet. Of course, they are a bit high strung when it comes to guys taking up with Rose."

"Until Rose tells them otherwise. What Rose wants, Rose gets ... as far as those two are concerned," Donny said.

He had found out the hard way that they tended to go overboard in the other direction when they tied him up and delivered him to Rose after she had expressed an interest in him. That was the beginning of a long courtship.

"I remember that time when she happened to mention to them that she wanted you to visit one Saturday night," Dan said with a grin.

"They are just good old country boys," Joe said with a laugh.

He also knew all about the time when Donny had been delivered to Rose by her brothers.

Donny was about to make a reply when Dan's telephone rang. Picking it up off the dashboard, Donny opened it and handed over to Dan.

Putting the phone to his ear, Dan said, "Hello."

"Really?" Dan asked with a very serious expression on his face.

"Are you all right?"

"Where are you?"

"We'll be there to pick you up in thirty minutes."

"Just hold tight, and lay low," Dan said.

He closed the cell phone and set it on the dashboard.

"What was that about?" Joe asked. It was obvious to him that Dan's mood had taken a turn towards angry.

"Sonny left the hospital and is waiting for us to pick him up," Dan said. His voice was tight.

"Why did Sonny leave the hospital?" Joe asked.

Dan's grip on the steering wheel tightened before he answered, "We'll talk about it later."

"I'd rather talk about it now," Joe said. He wanted to know if they were going to be walking into a situation that might require a little preparation.

"And I'd rather not," Dan said.

"If it is what I think it is, I bet it will be on the radio," Joe said while he reached over and turned on the radio. It hadn't been on for more than thirty seconds before there was an announcement that there had been a shooting at Central General Hospital. The station's disk jockey said that they would have more details as soon as they become available.

"Are you ready to talk about it now?" Joe asked reaching over to turn off the radio.

"Three gang members showed up in Sonny's room and he shot them. He slipped out of the hospital and is waiting for us in a parking garage," Dan said. Looking at Joe, it was obvious to him that the man wanted a few more details. He said, "That's all Sonny told me."

"Three guesses as to why they showed up there and the last two don't count," Joe said.

He was pissed and that wasn't good for the subject of his anger.

"Pepper. He told the gang about the discussion I had with him."

"Got it in one," Joe said. He swore that Pepper was going to pay for that.

"I think we're going to pay a little visit to Pepper," Dan said.

He was so angry that he could chew nails.

Donny said, "I imagine that the police are looking for Sonny about now. I'm sure they aren't pleased about him leaving the hospital. We're going to have to ditch Sonny's truck. The police will assume that he's using it as a getaway vehicle."

"I didn't even think about the police," Dan said.

It only made sense that since they were law-abiding citizens that the police would go overboard enforcing the law with them. He said, "They are going to want to talk to Sonny and I don't think Sonny should be talking to them. If they throw him into a jail cell then he's probably as good as dead."

"That's going to be a problem," Joe said.

He was thinking about the expense of having to bring in a lawyer to make sure that Sonny didn't end up going to jail.

Dan said, "If they have laws against smoking in a hospital, then you can imagine how they are going to react to him shooting a gun in there. It wouldn't surprise me if they don't arrest him for defending himself."

Donny said, "It is wrong when you can't trust the police to do the right thing. What in the hell kind of place is this?"

"It is the kind of place where a guy in a hospital bed, isn't safe," Joe said.

Thinking about why Sonny had been attacked, Dan said, "We are definitely going to pay a visit to Pepper."

"What are you going to do?" Donny asked. He had visions of Pepper sprawled out on a floor somewhere with a hole in the middle of his forehead.

Dan glanced down at the speedometer and saw that he was speeding. He eased off the accelerator thinking that it wouldn't be a good time to get pulled over by the police.

He said, "Do you remember that bull that gored me?"

Surprised by the sudden change in topic, Donny answered, "Yes."

"If I remember correctly, that was the last time that bull was used in a Rodeo," Joe said. Being in the business of providing bulls to rodeos, he tended to keep track of things like that.

"That's because we ate it at the Fourth of July barbecue," Dan said.

"I thought that meat was the toughest damned thing you've ever cooked," Joe said looking at his brother. He had no idea that Dan had done that.

"It was horrible," Donny said.

Grimly, Dan said, "That bull was lucky. Pepper's luck just ran out."

Joe looked over at Donny and made a zip-it gesture. Too much more talk was going to set Dan off and he didn't want to be around when that happened. Donny nodded his agreement and stared out the front window of the truck.

When they got near the hospital, police cars were rushing everywhere. There were so many emergency vehicles that the entire area was lit up with red and blue. Joe commented, "Someone stirred up a hornets' nest."

Dan said, "I think they get upset when people are shooting at each other in a hospital. I figure it has to do with the noise."

"You think?" Donny asked relieved to see Dan taking a little lighter tone.

Dan pulled the truck over to the side of the road in front of a parking garage that was two blocks from the hospital. There was a thud from the bed of the pickup truck and a quick rap on the back window. Dan drove off while watching the horde of police cars that had surrounded the hospital in his rear view mirror.

Five blocks away, Dan parked the truck in the parking lot of a grocery store. He said, "Donny, you get to ride in the back."

"Sure," Donny said.

Joe got out of the truck so that Donny could slide out. Joe leaned over the wall of the truck bed and said, "Get in the front seat, Sonny."

Sonny climbed out of the bed of the truck and hugged Joe.

"I'm glad to see you," he said.

Taking a look at Sonny in his hospital gown, Donny said, "Nice outfit."

"You like it? I can get you one," Sonny said.

He looked over in the direction of the hospital and could see how it was lit up from the lights of the police cars.

Donny leaned over and whispered, "Take it easy around Dan and Joe. They are real pissed."

"Are they mad at me?"

"No. They aren't even all that pissed at the gang," Donny said.

"What are they angry about?" Sonny asked.

"I'll tell you about it later," Donny said, "You better get in the truck before Dan has a stroke."

"It's that bad?" Sonny asked.

"Yep," Donny answered.

Once everyone had settled into their places, Dan drove off. When the truck turned a corner, a gun slid across the bed and hit him in the side. He picked it up and noticed that Sonny had unloaded it before setting it down. Donny lay in the back staring up at the sky thinking that there weren't many stars in a Los Angeles sky. He wondered why anyone would want to live there.

Inside the truck the atmosphere was a little tenser. Rather than letting Dan start the conversation, Joe asked, "How is your health?"

"I got a bit of an infection in my lungs," Sonny answered. He coughed and there was an ugly rattle in his lungs. "It is almost cleared up though."

Hearing the rattle in Sonny's lungs, Joe said, "I think we have some antibiotics in the back of the camper."

"You aren't talking about giving me that stuff you use on the cattle, are you?"

"It is the same stuff they give you in the hospital," Joe said.

"No it is not. I just discovered that they give it to you in pills. All my life you have been giving it to me in a hypodermic that is intended for use on cows," Sonny said.

"Quit whining," Joe said. "I use the same stuff."

Sonny said, "I know. It is just that the damned needle hurts."

"No other problems with your health?" Dan asked. He wanted to get back to the Wally Mart where he would have a good chance to check Sonny over. For all he knew, the young man could have been wounded again.

"I keep getting weird twinges in my legs," Sonny answered. "It wasn't so bad until I shimmied down the telephone pole."

Joe grimaced at the idea of climbing down a telephone pole. He said, "I bet climbing down a telephone pole wearing a hospital gown is one of those 'experiences of a lifetime.'"

Sonny said, "You can reproduce that feeling by trying to have sex with a roll of barbwire. I've got splinters on parts of my body where wood just doesn't belong."

Thinking of the kind of damage that could be done trying to shimmy down a telephone pole after getting shot, Dan said, "I'd like to get you to a doctor, but I'm afraid he'd turn you over to the police. We aren't going down that road until we have to."

Joe said, "You're going to get off your feet and stay that way until you've healed up a bit more."

"Okay," Sonny said. He was relieved to have his family around him.

Dan said, "So tell me what happened."

Sonny said, "I'm in bed trying to sleep and I hear the door to the room open. I'm thinking it isn't time for the nurse to show up so I grab the handgun. The three bastards walked up to the bed and pulled out their pieces. I take out the first two before the third one is able to get a shot off. I guess the noise of that gun scared the hell out the last one because he started to do that stupid ass chicken dance routine while pulling the trigger on his pistol. I just took aim and shot him."

"Did you kill them?" Dan asked. It wasn't good that Sonny had fired first. He knew how the police would view it.

"I hit them dead center of their chest with a forty-five at eight feet. They are pushing up daisies," Sonny said. He wasn't sure how accurate the little gun was, but he was close enough that the bullet should have hit where he was aiming.

Dan hit the steering wheel in anger and said, "I should have known they were going to go there. One of us should have stayed in the room with you."

Pointing his finger at Dan, Sonny said, "You know something that I don't. Why did they come to my room?"

"Pepper."

"What in the hell did he do?" Sonny said. There were times when he didn't think too highly of his boss, but he didn't think the guy was nasty.

"You know that gun of his that didn't work. Well, it didn't work because he had the firing pin removed from it," Dan said.

"Why did he ruin a perfectly good gun?" Sonny asked incredulously.

"He didn't want anyone to get shot," Dan answered.

His tone of voice didn't leave any doubts about how he felt about the matter.

Disgusted, Sonny said, "He's got to be the dumbest man in Los Angeles."

"I agree," Dan said.

"I do, too," Joe said.

"He should have told me that the gun didn't work," Sonny said getting angry. There was no way to describe the feeling he had when he had pulled the trigger and the gun had gone click. Pepper had seen him check the gun to make sure it was loaded on several occasions.

Dan said, "I told him the error of his ways, but I don't think it registered. He was of the opinion, more or less, that you deserved to get shot. I guess he told the gang that I had a long discussion about what happens when you point a gun at a Daniels. I think he took it as an eye for an eye kind of justice thing and passed word to a gang member. Hell, he probably told them what room you were staying in."

"What now?" Sonny asked. He was half tempted to go down to the store and shoot the dumb idiot who effectively sent the gang members to kill him. He was pretty sure that Dan was already planning to do that.

"You're going to lay low," Dan said. "Joe and I will find a nice place to watch the gang tomorrow. We'll see what we do after we learn a bit more."

"What about Pepper? Is he going to end up like that bull that gored you?"

"You knew about that?" Dan asked looking over at Sonny with surprise.

The young man had only been six or seven at the time.

"We ate him at the Fourth of July barbecue," Donny said. "One taste of that meat and I knew it didn't come off a steer or a heifer, and there was only one bull that you would have barbecued."

"You are too damned smart for your own good," Joe said shaking his head.



-------

Chapter 4


Donny was sitting on a lawn chair, next to Dan's truck in the far corner of the Wally Mart. The truck was fitted with a large camper top that easily slept three, but was rated for four. He had ended up spending the night on the floor of the camper. He hadn't gotten much sleep until after Dan and Joe had headed out to look for a spot to watch the gang. That had been about eleven in the morning rather than the planned six o'clock.

The delay that morning had been a result of having to deal with the Sonny's truck. The car problem had been solved by buying a used car from a private individual with cash, and never making it over to the DMV to register as the car's new owners. Sonny's truck had been parked in a rest area on a highway, leaving town. They figured that it would lead the police to look in the wrong direction.

It was now mid-afternoon, and he was waiting for Hank to arrive while Sonny was napping in the back of the camper. Donny had a small portable radio on, listening to news reports about the shooting at the hospital. Even after eighteen hours had passed, there was a lot of confusion about what had happened. All they knew for sure, was that there were three gang members dead in a hospital room, and that one person was missing. There was an APB out for Sonny.

Donny was about to open his second beer of the day when he saw a pickup truck pulling a trailer pull into the parking lot.

He said, "Well, there goes the neighborhood."

He reached into the cooler and dug out three more beers knowing Hank and his two sons, Calvin and Vincent, would want some. He set the beers out by the chairs and waited for them to pull in beside the truck. It didn't take them long to park and get out of the truck. After the ritual of stretching and complaining about sore butts, Calvin and Vincent came over to Donny and grabbed him. He would have fought them, but they were big boys and more than a little happy to mix it up when the occasion arose.

Donny shouted, "Hey, what the hell are you doing?"

"Just holding you here," Vincent said. Calvin just laughed.

Further complaints were cut off when the door of the trailer opened and Rose stepped out. She was wearing tight blue jeans and a shirt that was tied off under her breasts. She didn't normally wear her shirt that way. She smiled and said, "That's it. Hold him just like that for a minute."

"What are you doing here, Rose?" Donny asked starting to struggle a little.

He glanced over at Hank and saw the man was grinning from ear to ear.

Without answering, Rose strolled over and kissed him. After a good long minute had passed and his struggles had stopped, she broke off the kiss.

Then she asked, "Did you miss me?"

"Yes," Donny said.

He had to admit that she was a good kisser.

Rose said, "You can let him go. I don't think he's going to run off now."

"What are you doing here?" Donny asked once he was released.

"When I heard that you and your uncles might be getting into a bit of a mess, I figured you could use a little help in case someone got hurt," Rose said. She was the de facto nurse in the area, although she hadn't had any real training. She helped out old Doc Taylor in the office.

Donny said, "Well, Sonny is asleep in the camper. He could probably use having you check on him in a bit."

"We heard about what happened in the hospital. It made the national news," Rose said.

For some reason, it had turned into a real big story. They had seen the story when they had stopped for lunch at a truck stop on the way there. The television news shows were showing pictures of Sonny and the three dead gang members every fifteen minutes.

Hank came over and clapped Donny on the back. Grinning, he asked, "So how is my future son-in-law doing?"

"I don't know. Who is he?" Donny asked feigning confusion.

"Boys, I'd say that kiss was grounds for a shotgun wedding. What do you think?" Hank asked while winking at Rose.

"I know we packed that shotgun somewhere," Vincent said.

Rose gave a mock glare at Donny before she said, "I am getting a little impatient."

Knowing the perfect way to deflect the conversation, Donny pointed to the beers and said, "Have a seat and cool off with a beer."

"That's real hospitality," Hank said heading straight for a lawn chair.

Donny got out another chair for Rose and fixed her up with a beer. Once everyone was settled, the conversation got around to the reason they were there.

Donny said, "According to Rose, you heard about the three gang members who went to the hospital to visit Sonny."

"They are calling him a suspected participant in the shooting rather than a suspect in a triple homicide on the television. Some reporter did his job and dug up the fact that it was two of the members of that gang that put Sonny in the hospital," Hank said.

"That's good," Donny interjected before Hank had a chance to start talking too much.

"There was some speculation that the original shooting was about drugs until they played the video tape of the original robbery. Now it is just a lot of babble and wild assed guesses," Hank said. He looked around and asked, "Where's Joe and Dan?"

"They went out looking for a good spot to watch the gang. They are going to be out there until morning watching the gang," Donny said.

"Good. It is always best to know your quarry," Hank said. "We heard a bit about them. They are a nasty bunch."

"According to Sonny, they can't shoot," Donny said.

"We saw the video tape of the robbery. The two gang members were dancing around like chickens, holding their guns sideways, and shooting without looking at what they were shooting at. They were too busy ducking in case of return fire to hit the broad side of a barn," Hank said.

Calvin said, "Sonny just stood there and drew on them as calm and cool as can be. Shame that gun misfired."

"It didn't misfire. The idiot who owns the store had the firing pin pulled on it," Donny said.

"Why would a man do that to a gun?" Hank asked incredulous.

"Apparently he did that because it worked and he didn't like the idea of having a useful weapon around," Donny said in disgust.

Calvin said, "That has got to be the dumbest man on the planet."

"Dan and Joe are going to go have a long talk with him in the near future about his future," Donny said.

Although ruining a perfectly good gun was stupid, it wasn't worth hurting someone over. Hank asked, "Why do they need to talk to him?"

"We think he told the gang where Sonny was, and that we were going after them to haul them off to jail," Donny said.

"It sounds to me like Pepper doesn't have much of a future ahead of him. If some fool were to help a gang that was trying to kill one of my kids, then that fool would be begging for entrance to heaven with Saint Peter. I don't think Saint Peter is stupid enough that he'd let him in," Hank said.

"Dan isn't happy about the matter," Donny said. He thought about the things he wanted to do to Pepper, and realized he wasn't any more forgiving than Dan. He added, "To tell the truth, I'd like to see the jerk in serious pain."

Hank took a long drink from his can of beer. He belched and shook the empty can. Looking over at his sons, he said, "The beer is gone. It is time for you two to set up the trailer."

"We're still drinking our beers," Calvin said looking down at his can. It was still half full.

"Finish them and get to work," Hank said. He settled back in his chair and put a chaw of tobacco in his mouth. After working it around for a minute, he asked, "Did I ever tell you about when I got that twelve point buck back three years ago?"

"Yes," Donny said with a groan.

Rose stood up and headed over to the camper walking quickly. Calling over her shoulder, she said, "I'll check on Sonny."

"Let's set up the trailer," Calvin said getting a nod from his brother. Both brothers stood up taking their beers with them.

"Do you need some help with the trailer?" Donny asked sounding a little desperate.

"Nah, they can handle it," Hank said dismissively. He spat into the empty beer can.

"I'll be glad to help," Donny said lamely.

Getting into storytelling mode, Hank said, "It was opening day three years ago when I got this twelve point buck. That year, opening day was on a Thursday. I had gone out to my stand early that morning, it being opening day and all. It was still dark when I got out there, but the day looked like it was going to..."

Donny tuned Hank out and gave the appropriate sounds periodically suggesting that he was actually listening to the story. Hank's two sons were over by the trailer working real slow on setting it up. It looked like everything they had to do required ten minutes of discussion. Rose had disappeared into the camper.

An hour later, Hank was saying, "Now out in the middle of field was this scrawny little tree. Actually, it was more like a bush than a tree. Anyway, it forked about three inches off the ground. One fork had two leaves at the end and the other fork had three leaves. When the wind blew, those leaves would rattle around..."

Donny glanced down at his watch and realized that it was getting late. This would be a good time to start a fire to cook some steaks. He got up and dumped a bag of charcoal in the grill, a fifty-five gallon drum that had been cut length-wise. Speaking a little louder Hank just kept talking.

"This little spike buck came out of the woods through that break and headed straight for..."

Hank's two sons had finished setting up the trailer and stood around looking for something else to do. Donny watched them head off into the Wally Mart jealous that he couldn't join them. He went over and checked the fire. The fire was about ready for the potatoes.

Hank spat and then said, "While that spike buck was busy working over that little tree, this twelve-pointer stepped out of the tree line about a hundred yards from..."

Donny wrapped some potatoes in aluminum foil and tossed them into the coals. He figured that Hank had another thirty minutes to the story before he got to the point of actually telling about shooting the buck.

"That little buck looked up from his scrape and spotted that big buck. Now it is a scientific fact that small bucks don't know they are small bucks. You don't have to take my word for that. I was talking to this fellow from the..."

Donny went over to the camper and opened the door. He stuck his head in and said, "I started the potatoes. We've got some steaks in the cooler."

Rose asked, "Is Dad still telling his hunting story?"

Donny looked over his shoulder. Hank was still talking. Vincent and Calvin were sitting there looking miserable.

He nodded his head and answered, "He just got past the point where he met with the fellow from the university agricultural extension."

"He'll be done in thirty minutes or so," Rose said. "I'll bring out the steaks in fifteen minutes."

"Great," Donny said. He went back to his lawn chair and took a seat wishing that he was out with his uncles. He figured that sitting on top of a building watching a bunch of people do nothing had to be easier than listening to this story yet again.

A half an hour later, Donny had just finished putting the steaks on a plate when Hank said, "And that's how I got that twelve-pointer three years ago."

Donny said, "That's a great story."

"I see that dinner is ready," Hank said. He grabbed a plate and threw a steak and potato on it. After returning to his chair, he asked, "Did I ever tell you about the time that I found myself in a tree with a bobcat?"

"Yes," Donny said rolling his eyes.

Rose winked at him and said, "I'm sure Donny would love to hear it again."

"Flower... ," Donny said hoping that enough noise would postpone the storytelling for a bit.

"Don't go calling me Flower, Donald Albert Daniels," Rose said shaking a fork at him.

Hank laughed with glee at the exchange. It reminded him of when he had been dating his wife.

"Whatever you say, Flower," Donny said with a grin.

"I'm going to give Sonny a plate of food to eat," Rose said.

Thinking he saw a chance to get out of listening to one of his Dad's stories, Vincent said, "I ought to see how he's doing."

Calvin said, "Me, too."

Donny was left in the chair listening to Hank telling about the time he found himself in a tree with a bobcat. It was a while before the two boys came out of the camper. Donny went in and sat down on the floor of the camper. The little table of the camper was in use as a bed for Sonny and there just wasn't a place to sit down.

He said, "Your dad is in good form today."

"He drives me crazy with his stories sometimes," Rose said.

She loved her father, but there were times when his story telling wanted to make her scream.

"You and everyone else," Sonny said.

Shrugging his shoulders, Donny said, "There is an art form to telling stories, and Hank has it. I know that we've all heard his stories a dozen times each, and we're sick of hearing them, but he's good at it."

Rose asked, "How long does it take to tell a story about shooting a twelve-point buck?"

Donny said, "You know that I went hunting with him last year."

"Yeah. You wrote me that you got a nice eight-pointer," Sonny said.

He was homesick every time he missed opening day of deer hunting season. That was a special time of year and sitting in a classroom taking notes just wasn't the same as sitting in a deer stand.

"Hank sent me down this little trail and told me that when I reached an old ponderosa pine tree that had been hit by lightning that I should take a left and walk two hundred yards to reach a good tree stand. I did what he told me to do and by God I knew exactly where I was. It was the same place he described in his story about shooting the twelve-point buck. Every tree, rock, and bush that he described was exactly where he said it would be."

"Interesting," Rose said.

"His story isn't really about shooting a buck, he's describing a place so that if you ever find yourself there then you already know it. He's also telling how to do things so that they work out right. He could have shot that spike buck, but he didn't. He waited to see what else came by and was able to take advantage of the fact that the twelve-pointer showed up. It was a lesson in taking your time when you aren't pushed to rush," Donny said.

"I didn't think about it that way," Sonny said.

"There's a lot more to his stories than his one sentence summary would suggest," Donny said, "I'll be the first to admit that knowing that doesn't make it any easier to listen to that story for the tenth time."

"Try thousandth," Rose said.

There were times when she thought she would scream if she had to listen to one of his stories, just one more time.

Sonny smiled and said, "And you wonder why Donny is afraid of marrying you."

"If I wanted to be married, all I would have to do is tell daddy that I'm pregnant and we'd be marching down the aisle with a shotgun stuck in the middle of Donny's back," Rose said.

"You aren't; are you?" Donny asked with a worried expression on his face.

Without answering his question, Rose smiled at him. She leaned over to Sonny and said, "He had better not keep me waiting too long. Accidents do happen."

Seeing a good chance to tease his brother a little, Sonny said, "Did I ever tell you about the time when he came back from visiting you and he was so excited that he..."

Donny put a hand over his little brother's mouth and asked, "Sonny, have you heard about the time that Hank was up in a tree with a bobcat?"

Donny used both hands to shake Sonny's head to signify a no. He said, "That's a shame. You really need to hear that story. I think I'll ask Hank to come in and keep you company."

When Donny released his hand from over Sonny's mouth, Sonny said, "I can't believe my own brother would take advantage of the fact that I am weak from my wounds to torture me like that."

Rose laughed and said, "You two are just as bad as Joe and Dan."

There was a knock on the door of the camper.

Donny said, "Lie down and cover yourself while I see who it is."

"It's me!"

"Come on in, Hank," Donny called out.

Hank opened the door and climbed into the camper. He said, "I just came by to see how Sonny was doing."

"He's doing fine. I'd say he's a little lonely," Donny said winking at Sonny.

"Well, I'll just sit a spell and talk with him a bit," Hank said.

Donny said, "I'll go outside and start packing up. We're going to have to move. We've been here three days and even Wally Mart gets a little bothered when you stay too long."

"Where are we moving to?" Hank asked.

"There's another Wally Mart about thirty minutes away," Donny said.

Nodding his head, Hank said, "I'm going to have to find a septic dump station soon."

"Same here," Donny said. "We figured another couple days at the next Wally Mart and then we'd head over to a campground for a day or two."

"Los Angeles has campgrounds?" Hank asked.

He hadn't thought of Los Angeles as anything except city.

"There's a national forest not too far from here," Donny said.

"I can't imagine that," Hank said shaking his head.

Donny said, "Dan thinks we're going to need to put a little distance between us, the police, and the gang. I doubt anyone will figure that we're operating from so far out."

"Smart," Hank said. He rubbed his chin and said, "Have your uncles come up with a plan, yet?"

"Not really. First we are trying to get the police to take care of the matter and if that doesn't work then we'd try to take them to jail. When it starts getting exciting around here, we'll probably want to sleep a good distance away," Donny said.



-------

Chapter 5


It was midmorning and the seven men and one woman were seated in a circle in the parking lot of the Wally Mart drinking coffee. Although some observers might have thought that it was a cowboy rendezvous, this was a war council.

Dan said, "I can tell you one thing, they aren't morning people."

"Why do you say that?" Hank asked. He took a long sip of his coffee.

Dan took a last drag off his cigarette and then flicked it away. He said, "The earliest one of them showed up was around two in the afternoon."

"I'd say you're right about them not being morning people," Hank said.

Joe looked over at Donny and said, "I figure if you and Rose get over there about noon you'll be able to settle in before anyone shows up. You'll probably be able to come back here about three in the morning."

"Me and Rose?" Donny asked.

"We'd hate to stand in the way of your courtship," Dan said with a grin. Everyone else in the circle laughed with the exception of Donny. "It will give you a chance to propose."

Hank clapped Donny on the back and said, "Welcome to the family, son."

Getting back to the serious business at hand, Dan said, "We found a way up one of the buildings there. I'll describe how you get there in a bit. Joe jimmied the door to the roof. You can go in and use the bathroom. That makes it a whole lot more comfortable, believe me."

"Good," Rose said.

She had been worried about that little detail. It was one thing to squat in the woods when men were nearby, but it was something else entirely to do it in the city.

"It's a nice spot that overlooks one of their hangouts. They got a strip joint where they tend to gather. There's a parking lot for the strip joint where a bunch of them stand watch. We watched about fifty of them come and go over the course of an evening," Dan said.

"You'll be far enough away that the two of you can talk quietly without anyone overhearing you. You will need to pay attention to what is going on though. They might look like they are doing nothing, but there is an organization at work," Joe said.

"What do you mean?" Hank asked.

Joe answered, "Take the parking lot where all of them gather. Some gang member comes along who wants to talk to one of the bosses. Now, he doesn't go into the strip joint right away unless he is important. Instead, he goes out to the parking lot and talks with other folks for a while. It looked to us like he would tell someone what he wanted and they would go in the strip joint to pass the message along. After a while, some guy would come out and then the person would be allowed into the club."

"That makes it easy to figure who is in charge there," Calvin said.

"It is even easier than that," Joe said.

After lighting up another cigarette, Dan said, "You can actually tell when one of the important guys is coming. That entire parking lot tenses up. We saw a car drive up to a side door of the strip joint. Two guys got out of the car and went directly in without stopping in the parking lot. Everyone in the parking lot moved behind cars and watched the street before they arrived. It was like they were setting up a standing watch. After the two important guys got in the club, people started milling around again."

"The weird thing is that we didn't see anyone announce that someone was coming," Joe said.

"Of course, we were too far away to hear what they were saying," Dan said.

Nodding his head in agreement with his brother, Joe said, "We noticed some other things. They've got a bunch of real young kids who frequently come and go from the parking lot. I guess they are messengers or something."

Calvin nodded his head and said, "They are probably running drugs."

"I'm not sure about that. We didn't see any of the gang members actually pass anything to the kids. I've got a feeling that these kids are getting job assignments, running errands, or passing messages. They're getting trained to be the next generation of gang members," Dan said.

Joe said, "There's probably a couple of houses around there somewhere that has the drugs. With another couple days of observation we'll be able to figure out who is who and where they go."

Dan said, "I want to get a picture of the big boss, but not from our hunting stand."

"Why not?" Calvin asked.

"Well, we're going to use the pictures to address a couple of envelopes to specific gang members. If we take it from our hunting stand then they'll know where we are," Dan said.

"How are you going to deliver that?" Hank asked.

"One of those little kids will deliver them for us. I figure five bucks and the envelopes are as good as in the hands of the ones we want to get them. We'll send one to the head of the gang and the two who shot Sonny," Joe said. "The letter inside the envelope will demand that the two guys that shot Sonny go to the police and confess."

Calvin said, "You know they won't give up."

"I don't expect them to give up. I don't even expect our message to stir things up a bit. They'll probably laugh it off," Dan said.

Sonny who was basically the catalyst for this whole thing had been feeling pretty useless. Thinking that he would contribute something, he said, "I can take care of getting you a picture."

"You aren't going anywhere," Dan said giving Sonny a sharp look. "You shouldn't even be out here."

Seeing how Sonny looked like he was about to argue, Joe said, "That's right. There are cops all over this city looking for you."

Giving up, Sonny said, "Well, I can tell you how to get a picture."

"That's better," Dan said.

"You'll need to go by my dorm room to pick up some equipment," Sonny said.

Joe looked over at Donny and said, "You can do that."

"Sure thing," Donny said thinking about the coeds on campus.

"I'll go with you," Rose said thinking about the coeds on campus. Her thoughts were remarkably similar to those of Donny, but her attitude towards them was vastly different.

Hank swirled the last of the coffee around in his cup and then flicked it off into the parking lot. He put his cup down and took out his pouch of chewing tobacco. He put a wad in his mouth and moved it around a bit until it was where he wanted it. He said, "When we first heard that two fellows had shot Sonny, we figured there was going to be a bit of mess. As result, we came with a bit more firepower than we figured that we would need.

"Then on our way here we learned that three more of them tried to kill him in the hospital. I don't know about you, but I would say that you're justified in going after all of them. I sure would if this had happened to either of my sons."

"What are you saying?" Dan asked knowing pretty well what Hank meant. He was trying to keep from just declaring outright war on the gang.

"I'm saying that after they fail to turn themselves in, we go after them hard," Hank said. He spit into his cup. "We let them know that we mean business. In the country, that means none of them survive."

"We are pretty outnumbered. How do you suggest we do that?" Dan asked.

Hank stood up and said, "Come look at what I got in the back of the trailer."

Calvin grinned and said, "You're going to love this."

Everyone followed Hank to the trailer. After Hank opened up the storage compartment in the rear side, Dan asked, "What have you got there?"

Hank pulled out a box and opened it. He said, "I've got a couple dozen sticks of TNT with radio controlled detonators."

"That's good," Dan said.

"I've got something even better than that," Hank said.

"Did you raid an armory or something?" Dan asked not trusting Hank's grin. He looked a little too self-satisfied.

Hank looked serious for a second and then said, "That's not a bad idea."

"Don't," Dan said. "All we need are the Feds after us too."

"As soon as one of those sticks of TNT goes boom, you know the Feds are going to get called in," Hank said.

"Let's wait on that," Dan said.

"Listen to this. I've got Ball jars, roofing nails, and M-1000 firecrackers. Not the shitty ones, but the good M-1000s that are the equivalent of a quarter stick of dynamite," Hank said. Pointing to a box of Ball jars, he said, "You fill a jar with roofing nails and a firecracker and then screw the lid on with a hole for the fuse. When that firecracker goes off, you've got glass and nails flying in every direction. I tried it out in the back forty and you wouldn't believe what it did."

Calvin said, "We were lucky we were standing far enough way to avoid getting hurt."

"Lucky?" Donny asked looking over at the younger man. "I would say that you were stupid if you didn't plan on standing far enough away."

Shrugging his shoulders, Calvin said, "We had to light the fuse."

Vince added, "And then we had to run like hell."

Laughing, Hank said, "You can only throw them if you wrap them in duct tape, but that tends to do weird and unpredictable things to the explosion."

"We could roll them under a car to where the gang members are hiding," Dan said with a grin.

"That's what I was thinking when you started talking about how they parked their cars," Hank said. He spit tobacco juice onto the parking lot and said, "Those boys won't know what hit them."

Joe asked, "How are you fixed for ammunition?"

Hank said, "We bought out the Sportsman Emporium. Freddy didn't have a round of ammunition by the time we were done."

Calvin said, "We got everything he had in .45 cal, .30-06, and .30-30, as well as 00 buckshot in 12 and 20 gauge."

Vincent said, "We bought ten Remington 1100 shotguns; four 20 gauge and six 12 gauge. That's all he had. We pulled the magazine plug on all of them. They'll hold eight rounds each in the magazine."

"Nice," Dan said. He looked at Joe and said, "Leave it to Hank to get good weapons. I always wanted one of those gas-operated semi-automatic shotguns."

Hank gave a mock bow and then said, "I figured you guys didn't come down here loaded for a war so I got 5 Mossberg .30-06 and 5 Marlin .30-30 rifles. They might have fully automatics in 9mm, but you stand off a hundred yards and they aren't hitting you. It would be like shooting fish in a barrel."

Wanting to let his contribution be known, Vincent said, "We spent all day putting Bushnell 6-24x40 scopes on them and getting them sighted in for 100 hundred yards."

Joe asked, "What about pistols?"

Hank said, "I got five Smith and Wesson Model 625s. You know I prefer revolvers ever since that semi-automatic jammed on me when I was up in the tree with that bobcat. As far as I'm concerned, simpler is better."

Looking over at his father and knowing the look he would get back, Calvin said, "I got a Ruger."

"We each have a Simmerling LM4 and a Ruger," Joe said.

"What in the hell are you doing with a Simmerling LM4? Even I can't get one of those," Hank said. They were a difficult gun to purchase.

"Swung by the place where they make them when I was on the rodeo circuit last summer," Donny said with a grin. "I took one look at them and knew I had to have one."

Dan patted his boot and said, "It fits just perfect in my boot."

Calvin said, "I've got a M360 Revolver that fires a .457. I carry it in my boot."

Donny said, "I had a Smith & Wesson 342, it was a nice little .38 caliber. I still like the Simmerling LM4 better. It fits well in my hand and makes a loud boom."

Rose said, "I brought my old Winchester .30-30 Model 94. I know it isn't a semi-automatic, but it is a damned good shooting rifle."

Hank patted her on the shoulder and said, "We all know you love that gun of yours."

Knowing that he'd get kicked out of school if it was ever discovered that he had firearms in his dorm room, Sonny said, "All I've got is a Marlin .30-30 and a Ruger back at the dorm with two boxes of ammo each."

Dan lit up a cigarette while thinking about how they would have to do things.

He said, "The problem is going to be using these things. In this damned city, you can't get more than ten feet away from another person. We're going to have witnesses galore."

"Yeah. You pull a rifle out of the trunk of a car and some guy will run down the street shouting gun. It seems to me that the folks out here think everyone with a gun is crazy," Joe said.

"Considering what we're talking about doing, they might be right," Dan said.

His comment was met with chuckles from everyone.

Sonny said, "The people out here don't understand that they have to take care of themselves on occasion. They think that some superhero is going to appear magically and disarm the bad guys, while wrapping them up in some bars of steel or something."

"They believe in Superman, huh?" Joe said.

"Yes, they do. They don't have a firm grasp on reality out here," Sonny said sadly.

"Give me an example, "Dan said.

Sonny shook his head and said, "There are some idiots out here who think animals should have lawyers so that they can sue people. How would you like to get sued by your herd of cattle?"

"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard," Joe said. He could believe it though.

Hank spit out some tobacco juice and said, "Bunch of dumb asses."

"Hell, I've heard folks out here say those kinds of things. There was a guy a year back that was being robbed by a guy carrying a knife. He picked up a two by four and swung a home run on the robber's head. He killed him dead. Folks wanted to charge him with involuntary homicide," Sonny said.

"They should have given him a medal," Calvin said shaking his head in disgust.

He agreed with Calvin on that score. Sonny said, "Well, their attitude was that he should have waited for the police to show up and arrest the guy."

"You wait for someone to show up save your life and you'll be planted six feet under," Joe said.

Hank said, "What's that old saying -- when seconds count, the police are minutes away."

Disgusted, Dan said, "The police could have already caught the two assholes that shot Sonny. We found them within forty-eight hours of getting here. Have they arrested them? Hell no."

"Maybe they don't know where they are. They might have more things to do than look for those two guys," Rose said.

Joe said, "We called the cops last night to see if they would stop and arrest them. We gave them everything they needed to know. Nothing happened."

Sonny said, "The police are afraid of them. Rather than going after them for violent crimes where they have to go in and arrest one of them while their buddies are standing around, they'll bring in a whole swat team and take out a couple of them for drugs."

"These gangs are packs of feral dogs. There's only one thing you can do with a feral dog and that is to put him down," Dan said.

"It doesn't matter which member of the pack attacks you, you have to take out the whole pack," Joe said.

"Amen to that brother," Calvin said.

Joe said, "All that means is that we're not going to get any help getting justice around here."

Still trying to keep from stepping over the line into vigilante justice, Dan said, "We give the police some more chances to catch the guys."

The group returned to the circle of chairs. They sat there thinking about what they were getting ready to do. Finally, Sonny brought up the subject that no one had mentioned so far. He said, "You know they are going to charge me with three counts of homicide for killing those guys at the hospital, don't you?"

"I know," Dan said quietly.

Taking the discussion a step further, Joe said, "We're all going to be facing prison time if this turns into a shooting war."

Dan looked around the circle at the people seated there. His gaze lingered on Hank's kids. In a quiet voice, he said, "Vincent and Rose, I think both of you ought to head back home. Vincent, you've got a wife and kids. Your kids need a daddy. Rose doesn't belong out here. I'd tell Calvin to head home, but I know he wouldn't do it."

Vincent nodded his head knowing that there was a lot of truth in what Dan was saying. His kids did need a father. Despite his agreement with Dan's statement, he wanted to help. He said, "I'd rather stay."

"Go home, boy. Take care of your family," Hank said.

It was one of those 'Statements From Dad' that the kids didn't argue against.

Dan said, "It is for the best, Vincent."

Rose asked, "What about you, Joe, and daddy? You're all married."

"Donny is going to be family as soon as he marries you. Joe's wife and your mother are sisters. Your mother wouldn't respect me if I walked away from this," Hank said. He spit into his foam cup and then added, "Hell, I wouldn't respect me."

Joe said, "My wife would leave me the minute I got home if I didn't stay here long enough to see those guys in jail."

"You can say that again," Dan said.

Everyone was quiet for a minute thinking about the ties that bound them together. Joe said, "Maybe Donny ought to head back with Rose."

"Hell no!" Donny shouted while rising from his chair.

Rose shook her head and said, "This is family business. He'll stay out here with his family and take care of business."

Knowing why Joe had recommended that Donny go home, Dan said, "Someone has to take care of our places. That's family business too. Someone has to be there. Our wives can't do it alone."

"No," Donny said returning to his seat. "Those assholes attacked my little brother. I can't leave."

Dan smiled and then said, "Donny, I'm going to have to insist. You'll be helping us out more if you're at home. Besides, you three won't be going back alone."



-------

Chapter 6


Donny parked the sedan in the parking lot of the little market where it would be out of sight. He and Rose walked the two blocks to the back of the office building they were going to use to watch the gang. It was a rundown neighborhood that had seen better days, but those days had been long in the past. They passed a house in which the lawn was littered with used condoms and broken syringes.

The building was just like Dan and Joe had described. There was an employee entrance in the back with stairs leading up to the second floor and then the roof. The door to the roof was closed, but the lock had been busted by Joe, the previous day. It was a simple matter for them to get onto the roof.

The roof was flat with the stairwell and a large air conditioner unit standing up like mesas in the desert. Off to the side was a ladder that led down to the roof of the building next door. That would be how they would have to leave once the office building had been locked up for the night.

The pair moved over to the air conditioner unit and sat down facing the main street with their backs resting against the casing of the A/C unit. Donny put the food they had packed over to the side. They took a moment to study the strip joint. Dan had been right in saying that this location gave a good view of the strip joint.

The building sat at the corner of the main road and a narrow two lane dead-end street. The long front of the building faced the main road and was set back from it by about forty feet. The space between the building and the main road was used as a parking lot. The area had once been covered with asphalt, but time and use had destroyed it to where the asphalt had become little more than chunks of black mixed in with the dirt. There were drums set around the parking lot filled with beer bottles, cans, and litter. A dumpster sat in the back corner of the lot. The broken remains of a neon sign advertising, 'Girls Girls Girls', with what might have been a go-go dancer under the words graced the corner. Not enough of the dancer remained to be sure what it had looked like.

The side of the building was set back from the dead-end street by fifteen feet. There was just enough room for three cars to park, a small walkway next to the building, and a sidewalk. The space for the cars was bare dirt, which might have been planted with grass at one time.

The stucco building had seen better days. The main part of the building had been painted a pale green, but the building was dirty enough that it now looked grey. What had once been windows had been filled in with pale brown bricks. The metal door in the center of the front of the building was painted black. There were signs of bullet holes in the door that had been patched. There was a sign that ran along the top of the building giving the name of the place along with an announcement of full nude girls. One panel of the sign was missing. The metal door facing the side street was painted black.

Looking over the sad tableau below, Rose said, "Dan's description of the strip club was very accurate."

"We'll have to take his word on what is on the other side and back," Donny said. He looked around to see if they would be visible to anyone in the other buildings around them. As near as he could tell, they were on one of the tallest building along the main street.

"I wonder how many women's lives have been ruined inside that place," Rose said pointing to the strip club.

Donny shrugged his shoulders before he replied, "I figure that their lives were ruined before they ever got into the building. Going in there just made it official."

"You're probably right," Rose said. She was quiet for a while and then asked, "What do you think of them sending us back home?"

"I don't like it," Donny said. "I am angry that those two guys who shot Sonny will get away with it if we don't do anything about. I can't even describe how I feel thinking that Sonny is liable to get charged with murder for killing those three men that came to the hospital to kill him."

"I don't think they'll charge Sonny with murder. It was obviously self-defense," Rose said.

Donny said, "The way that Sonny was talking suggested that self-defense is not a legal excuse out here. I tend to believe him. He did say that he might get away with a defense of impaired judgment due to painkillers. The people out here are crazy if you have to be insane or mentally impaired to defend yourself."

"I'm sure the people out here aren't all that bad," Rose said. She didn't sound like she actually believed what she was saying.

"Did you see that woman climb all over Dan for smoking in the restaurant this morning? She was foaming at the mouth the whole time she was hitting and scratching him. How was he supposed to know that you can't smoke after eating a meal in a restaurant in California? " Donny asked. At home, folks sat around after eating breakfast in the local diner talking about crops, work, politics, sports (as in football and baseball), hunting, and fishing. It was one of Donny's favorite things to do when he went into town. At least a third of the men smoked, while talking. It wouldn't seem right if they all got up and left to smoke right after eating.

Rose laughed thinking about the scene at the restaurant and said, "I'm a little surprised Joe didn't shoot her thinking she had rabies."

"If Calvin hadn't pulled her off of him, I was ready to put her down," Donny said. He had never seen anything like it in his entire life. He said, "The whole place was mad at Dan. You would have thought he had been sprayed by a skunk by the looks people were giving him."

"You're right about that," Rose said shaking her head. "Some woman was screaming that Dan was murdering her by smoking."

"There was that guy who yelled at him when he lit up outside the restaurant," Donny said shaking his head.

"I guess the guy figured Dan was polluting the air," Rose said.

"I really don't think Dan is responsible for the fact that the air stinks here. It smells like rotten eggs, burnt tires, sewage, rotting food, and disease. The people who live here can't even smell it. They breathe this air every day thinking it is healthy. They get upset about one little cigarette and don't realize that they are getting killed with every breath of this air here," Donny said.

Rose said, "I noticed that smell when we first got here. Now I can't smell it."

"I know. That's because the air is dead here. It gets up in your nose and just stays there," Donny said.

"You get desensitized to it," Rose said nodding her head.

Donny said, "You can always smell the air back home. It is alive with scent. Healthy air smells of pine, grass, and animals. I can tell you where I am on my place just by the smell. Each place has a different smell based on what is there. You can sniff the air with your eyes closed and know where the pond is. You can take another sniff and know where the barn is. When the wind is right, you can smell Mom's cooking a quarter of a mile away. You can smell the weather in healthy air. You know if it is going be dry, raining, or snowing that day just by the scent in the morning air."

"What is your favorite weather smell?" Rose asked.

"I like the scent of fog. It is like rain, but it surrounds you closer while filtering out all of the other smells. It smells ... mysterious," Donny said.

"I like the scent of snow, particularly around Christmas time. I don't know why I like it around Christmas time and not February. Maybe it is because most of the other smells have disappeared by February," Rose said.

Smiling, Donny said, "When the temperature gets really cold and snow covers the ground, the air gets clean. You breathe it, and feel the air come in your nose, but there is no scent. You look up at sky at night and the stars are bright. There is nothing in the air to filter the starlight.

"Then along March and April it seems like all of a sudden it smells like mud and growing plants. You can smell the plants coming back in the air."

"I like the smell of spring," Rose said.

Sonny put an arm around Rose. He said, "The air at home is full of energy. It can carry sounds for miles. I can hear your car pull up and the car doors close at your place in the evening. That's a good mile and a half. I hear that and know that you are safe at home."

"That's sweet," Rose said opening her eyes and looking over at Donny.

Pointing to a kid kicking a can along the sidewalk, Donny said, "We're fifty feet from him and can't hear the racket he's making. The air is dead here."

Looking down at the kid, Rose said, "I don't like it here."

Noticing a little activity by the strip joint, Donny sat up and said, "What is this? Someone has pulled into the side parking lot."

"It is a little early for someone to be there from what Dan and Joe were saying," Rose said.

They watched the activity below. A middle-aged man, sporting gang tattoos, went into the building while leaving the side door open. He emerged a little later pulling a ramp that he set up in front of the side door. Donny said, "He seems a little old to be running in a gang."

"I don't know. He's about the same age as my daddy. I guess they are in the gang for life," Rose said.

They discussed the matter until a beer truck pulled up alongside the building. Donny said, "Beer delivery. I guess the old guy runs the bar."

They watched the deliveryman take a hundred cases of beer into the club, at the rate of ten cases a trip. Donny said, "That's a lot of beer."

"I don't know. How many guys did your uncles say hung around here?" Rose asked.

"Forty to fifty guys," Donny said. It was hard to get an accurate count since people came and went all of the time. Some were in the parking lot while others were in the building.

"A six pack of beers for each guy every night and that load would barely last a week," Rose said.

"You think they'd get kegs," Donny said watching the guy make another trip.

"Yeah," Rose said. "Maybe plastic cups of beer aren't macho enough."

Donny watched the beer man make a last trip and said, "That's a lot of money. I doubt they are charging the gang members for the beers."

"Drugs are big business. That's where these gangs get their money," Rose said.

"I think California deserves these gangs. They must like them because they let them do whatever the hell they want. I think that anyone that lets folks run amuck like that deserves what he gets," Donny said shaking his head in disgust.

"What can the people here do about them?" Rose asked.

Donny said, "Back home, Sheriff Greaves would deputize half the county one morning and by nightfall there wouldn't be one of those bastards left. For each gun firing at us, there would be a hundred guns firing back at them. You can't tell me there aren't enough law-abiding citizens willing to step up to the plate to take care of this trash in all of Los Angeles. They don't do it because they like having them here."

"I'm sure there are a lot of law abiding citizens out here, they just don't know how to use guns," Rose said.

"A hundred near-sighted fools can all point a gun in the same direct. Odds say that one of them is liable to hit something," Donny said.

Rose took the conversation back to where it had started, "Dad, Dan, and Joe aren't near-sighted fools. I'm sure with Sonny and Calvin here that they won't miss you or me."

"It feels wrong to leave them here," Donny said with a frown. "I know that I have long term responsibilities to the family, but they sure could use my help now."

"Dan has his ranch, Joe has his ranch, and you have your ranch. Someone has to take care of all three places," Rose said.

All three places had once belonged to Donny's grandfather. Back in those days, he had thirty ranch hands helping to take care of the huge spread. When the three sons had gotten old enough to take care of the place, he had divided it into three parts giving each son one part. When Donny's father had died, Sonny and Donny had stepped up to take care of the ranch along with the help of their mother. She had since given the place to her two sons. Donny had stayed behind to take care of the ranch while Sonny had gone onto college.

"My cousins would help out for a while, but none of them want to be ranchers," Donny said, "It would be a shame if Granddad's legacy was wasted because two idiots tried to rob Sonny."

"That would be a real shame," Rose said. Of course, not having a younger generation to carry on a ranch was a common story out in the country. It seemed to her like half of the old spreads were getting sold to city folk as summer homes because the kids didn't want to take care of a ranch. She sighed and added, "A lot of the kids we went to school with have moved away from home. There aren't many people our age who want to stay out in the country."

"Neither of Dan's kids wanted to stay on the ranch. John went off and joined the Army to see the world. Sally is married and lives with her husband in Atlanta. He doesn't know which end of the horse the manure comes out of," Donny said shaking his head.

It wasn't that he thought poorly of Sally's husband It was just that he wouldn't be able to do anything to help out on the ranch.

"Maybe John will come back to the ranch after he's had his fill of the Army," Rose said.

"Maybe, but I doubt it. Besides, it won't help us for the next two years," Donny said. "It's a shame Joe Junior didn't survive his stint in the Army. No one knows where Jack went. As much as I don't like him, the good Lord knows that he could run the place."

"You know that Jack and Joe didn't see eye to eye on anything," Rose said. She had watched Jack and Joe fight about whether the diner meatloaf was better than the spaghetti or not. They couldn't agree on anything. No one was surprised when Jack walked out of the diner one morning after breakfast and drove off without saying a word.

"Jack didn't really have a problem with Joe. His problem was with Sonny and me."

"I know that you and Jack used to fight all of the time, but I never understood why," Rose said.

"Jack was envious of every minute that Joe spent with us," Donny said.

His cousin wouldn't have admitted that in public since it would make him look petty. Instead, he found every excuse possible to fight with Donny.

He shook his head and said, "I don't know. Maybe he was right that Joe spent too much time with us. Uncle Joe took my Dad's death pretty hard. He wanted to make sure that we were okay."

"Junior didn't have a problem with it," Rose said.

Donny said, "He was older than Jack. Jack and I are the same age. I figure that he felt we were stealing his father away from him. Every time Joe would talk about family there would be a fight, within hours."

Rose said, "Despite the fact that we all went to school together, I never really knew Jack. He was so angry all of the time."

"That's because you were with me," Donny said. "Well, that is all water under the bridge. I doubt I could convince him to come home even if I knew how to contact him."

"So keeping the ranches running falls on your shoulders," Rose said making it sound half like a declarative sentence, and half like a question.

"That's right," Donny said.

Rose said, "I guess that we'll be going home."

Donny was silent for a minute and then asked, "Are you pregnant?"

"No. I just say that to let you know that I'm interested," Rose answered nudging him in the side. She added, "You hint about marrying me, but you don't come out and say it."

"That's because I figured it was a done deal," Donny said. He had an engagement ring back at the house.

"So why haven't you asked me?" Rose asked.

Thinking that atop a roof while watching a violent gang was not the most romantic spot in the world to ask a woman to marry him, Donny said, "I'll get around to it sometime."

"Right," Rose said dryly, "Don't wait too much longer."

"I understand," Donny said with a grin.

Rose looked down at the strip club and said, "The beer truck is leaving."

"I noticed," Donny said. "There are some more gang members coming from down the street."

"They probably have to stack the beer in a storage room or something. Too bad we can't see what is going on inside that place," Rose said.

"I'm not sure that we want to know what goes on inside there," Donny said.

The time passed with the young couple talking about their dreams of a family and his plans for the ranch. It was late that afternoon when more of the gang started arriving. Twelve of them showed up in three cars, which were parked in a pattern around the lot. Superficially, it appeared random.

Rose said, "Notice how those two cars are angled to the road. That far one is almost parallel. The near one is forty-five degrees with the road. The third car is parked nearly ninety degrees to the road."

"That's because the far one can't cover as much road because of the building next to it. That center car is parked perpendicular to the road to give cover from the side for folks that are at the cars. I'd bet they'll park two more cars where they can cover the far end with extra men," Donny said looking at the arrangements. It was obvious from above what they had done, but passing by it looked like cars randomly parked.

A panel van pulled into the parking lot and parked back in the corner near the dumpster. Rose asked, "Why did they park it there?"

"I've an idea but I'd rather not say," Donny answered. He figured that it was a place for the guys standing around in the parking lot to get a little entertainment with the females who weren't good enough to be indoors.

A couple groups of women showed up and went inside the strip club. Rose said, "I bet they are the strippers."

"They might be strippers, but I think it is more likely that they are gang property," Donny said. "I doubt anyone is earning any money in there by taking her clothes off on a stage. The sign might say strip club, but it is a gang hangout. The men in there are smoking, drinking, talking, and planning their next crime. The girls are heifers brought in to keep the bulls docile."

"Do you mean they are prostitutes?" Rose asked looking over the women.

She knew of only one woman who was a prostitute and she did it because she was a widow and couldn't afford to live in her home without bringing in some extra income. Half of the boys in high school had lost their virginity to the widow woman. People tended to look away when men came calling, but there were more than a few marital fights that resulted from visits to her house.

"No. That implies that they are getting paid. I'm saying that if the boss decides someone did some good, the guy is given one of the women for an hour or two. She is common property to be used by anyone in the gang," Donny said.

There might be a hierarchy among the women, but it would be a pretty flexible one. New girls were probably used by the leaders, before being handed down to the lower ranks.

"That's sick," Rose said. "I can understand a woman making money by being a prostitute, but to accept living a life where you are treated like property? No. That's slavery. That kind of thing doesn't happen here in this country. This is America."

"I'm sure those law abiding citizens down there are real concerned that they are breaking the anti-slavery laws," Donny said.

"They can't be doing this willingly," Rose said. She wanted to take the women out and have a nice long talk with them.

"I image that they view it a little differently than we do. They are probably getting fed, have clothes, a place to sleep, and a certain amount of protection from being raped. I'm not sure that all of the women in this neighborhood can make that same claim. A woman without family in the gang is probably very vulnerable around here," Donny said.

He noticed that there was a complete absence of women who were not with the gang in the area. There weren't even any couples.

Rose watched the action around the van for an hour.

Finally, she said, "There are three women down there by that van."

"So? Donny said.

"One of them has gone into that van with different guys on two different occasions. She spent about twenty minutes in there with each one," Rose said. She imagined that they had gone in and done the deed without any kind of foreplay. It had to be humiliating for the woman.

"That's about what I figured would happen in the van," Donny said.

"I bet she's only fifteen," Rose said.

Donny looked at the three women and saw that not one of them was older than seventeen. He said, "If I was her father, there'd be a lot of dead gang members down there."

"She probably doesn't have a father," Rose said with a sigh. No father would allow his daughter to live and act like that.

Shaking his head, Donny said, "That's what happens when you don't have family watching out for family. They'll take kids and turn them into something ugly."

Rose watched the girl go into the van with a different man. The guy hadn't even waited to get her in the van before he was lifting her shirt exposing her breasts to everyone in the parking lot. Rose felt sick watching the way the girl was being treated. Looking away, she said, "I want to get out of here."

"We've got to stay. We need to know what they do and how they do it," Donny said.

He got a weak nod of agreement from Rose.

Another man walked over to the van. He took one of the girls by the arm and led her around to the backside of the van. They couldn't see what the man was doing, but they could see a good portion of the woman. Based on the kneeling position taken by the woman and the movement of her head it was pretty obvious what was happening.

Rose's voice turned flat when she said, "All of those men have to die. Anyone who can treat a woman like that can't be allowed to live. What they are doing is a crime against God."

"I know," Donny said giving Rose a hug.

Donny spotted the two men who had shot Sonny. He sent a text message to Dan to let him know that the two men were at the strip club. The plan was for Dan to call in an anonymous tip to the police letting them know where the men were located.

Police cars drove past the strip club a dozen times that evening without stopping a single time. As far as Donny could tell, they never once looked at the gang members. It was well after midnight when he said, "The police aren't going to do anything."

"I know," Rose said.

"It is going to be up to us to get those two in jail," Donny said with a sigh.

"No. We will be going home soon," Rose said.



-------

Chapter 7


Donny looked over at Rose who was fussing with her seatbelt, trying to get it fastened.

When he heard the click of the mechanism catching, he asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"I guess," Rose answered.

Her father and brother stood beside her window. They were leaning down to watch her and Vincent. It was one of those awkward moments when everyone stands around a car waiting for it to leave. They were there for support and didn't have much to say. The wishes to have a good trip had already been said.

Donny turned to look at Vincent in the back seat and asked, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes," Vincent said.

His voice carried the disgust he felt at having to leave.

"Let's get out of this town," Donny said starting up the car.

Rose and Vincent gave a last little wave to their father and brother, while Donny drove away. It was the middle of the morning and they were leaving late. Usually they would have left around sunrise, but Sonny and Dan had a little errand to run using the sedan before they could leave.

When they pulled out of the parking lot, Vincent said, "I hate leaving like this."

"Me too," Donny said.

"We could still turn back," Vincent said.

Rose said, "Dad needs you to take care of our place, while Dan and Joe need Donny to take care of their places. Someone has to do it."

There were so many things wrong in Los Angeles that it wasn't funny. The police knew where the suspects in the robbery were and did nothing to arrest them. Hank witnessed the gang dragging some poor woman off to be raped. At least, that is what it looked like to Hank and Calvin. The woman definitely didn't want to go off into the alley with the men. Hank had to hold Calvin back so that he wouldn't blow the surveillance.

Donny said, "They also need us here."

"You can say that again," Vincent said. He looked out the window and said, "Do you know that for four nights in a row, Dan called the police to tell them where the guys who shot Sonny were?"

"Yes," Donny said. "I also know that the police made no attempt to arrest them. I can't imagine letting someone walk around free when they committed armed robbery and attempted to murder someone. It is almost like they can't arrest them or something."

"They sure aren't the kinds of cops I grew up knowing," Vincent said.

There were some who might have considered him naïve, but he had grown up believing in law and order. Watching police, who didn't enforce the law on the lawless, had really bothered him.

"I don't know what to think any more," Donny said.

Rose was of a much more forgiving nature than either man.

She said, "The police are people too. They've got families and they've got worries. They might have a good reason to be afraid. For all we know, the gang might go after the policemen like they went after Sonny in the hospital."

"As long as the gang is around they are going to have that problem. If they take out the gang, then the problem goes away," Vincent said.

To him it was cut and dried.

"You do realize what you are talking about," Rose said looking over at her brother with concern.

Shrugging his shoulders, Vincent said, "I know. I'm talking about the wholesale killing of a hundred or so people. You two sat up on that roof and watched them train the next generation of gang members. That gang isn't going away by growing up. It's only going to grow larger."

"You can't think that way about people," Rose said with a frown.

Donny said, "I saw how you reacted to watching those girls the other night. They were fifteen and sixteen years old and being treated like property. Those guys cared about them as much as if they were inflatable dolls. You wanted all of the men dead."

"I know, but I can't help think that they can still be saved," Rose said.

Donny shook his head. He said, "They might be saved in twenty years. The problem is that they will have created replacements for their evil selves before they see the light."

Rose sighed thinking about the future of the children growing up in the area. She said, "I know. I just can't help thinking that at some time they were small innocent children who could have grown up to be anything."

"They grew up and chose to be members of a gang. I don't care whether they blame their parents or society. The fact is that they are now members of a violent gang that views itself as above the law. They are busy forcing kids into the same future," Vincent said. "They made their choices. At some point in time they need to suffer the consequences."

"I agree, completely," Donny said. "It is best if it just comes to an end all at once."

Concerned about what was going to happen now that they were gone, Rose asked, "What do you think Dad, Dan, and Joe are going to do?"

"They'll try to get those men arrested until we get home. After that, they'll take justice into their own hands," Vincent answered.

His father had told him privately that he expected things to escalate quickly into a full out war.

"That's vigilante justice," Rose said.

"If you tell the police for a week straight where the bad guys are and they do nothing, you know that nothing is ever going to get done. Someone has to do something. What if the next guy isn't as good or as lucky as Sonny? They'll be dead, a family will lose a father, and there will be one less good person left to balance the bad," Donny said.

Vincent said, "Donny's right."

Rose said, "I know, but I don't have to like it."

The three were quiet for the next two hours of the drive. Rose napped a little in the front seat while Donny drove. Vincent sat in the back looking out the window at the scenery they drove past. When they were halfway to Las Vegas, Donny pulled off the highway. He parked the car and said, "We better check on our passenger."

Rose woke up when the car had stopped. She said, "I'll get him some water."

Donny opened the trunk of the sedan. Pepper was lying there with a gag in his mouth and his hands in restraints. Donny and Rose had spent a little time in a sex shop picking out something that wouldn't be too uncomfortable for Pepper. They had found a bondage belt with leather wrist cuffs that would keep him helpless without hurting him. He was going to be living like that for the next few days.

Pepper glared up at Donny and made some noises through his gag. He was not happy about his situation. He had been in the store when Sonny had come in. The next thing he knew, he was trussed up and getting put into the trunk of the car.

Donny said, "Now now. Don't talk that way to me."

Donny and Vincent lifted Pepper out of the trunk and set him on his feet. Pepper nearly collapsed, but they held him up until he was able to stand on his own.

Donny said, "Vincent, why don't you take Rose for a little walk? I've got to talk with Pepper here and I've got a feeling that the language isn't going to be suitable for a lady's ears."

"No problem," Vincent said with a smile.

Rose handed Donny a bottle of water and said, "I guess we'll be back in a little while."

Donny watched the brother and sister walk down the dusty dirt road. Once they were out of earshot, he turned to Pepper and said, "You done fucked up, boy.

"Sonny spent a little time in the store while Dan was bundling you up for this here ride. A lot of your customers were surprised to see Sonny at work. The stories they told him were very interesting. It seems that you were telling everyone about how Dan had made threats against the gang and that the gang was going to go after Sonny. You kept talking about how stupid Sonny was to stand up to the gang when they came in to rob the store."

Pepper made some noises into his gag.

Donny held up a finger to his mouth and said, "Shush! I don't want to hear a word from you. Your mouth has gotten you into a lot of trouble. You don't want it to get you into more trouble.

"My uncle Dan wanted me to take you out here and shoot you for what you did to Sonny. Basically, we feel that you sent three men to kill him. You know how Dan feels about people who do things like that to his family. To tell the truth, I am all for the idea of shooting you out here. It sure would be easy to do."

Donny spun Pepper around slowly while saying, "Take a look around you. This might be the last thing that you ever see. How do you like the view? There's lots of desert and no people. It is real peaceful. You could spend the rest of eternity out here."

Pepper's eyes had gotten huge. He stared at his captor.

Donny said, "Joe felt that killing you was too easy. He said that you'd suffer fifteen seconds of anticipation and then 'bam' nothing. To tell the truth, I agreed with him, too. We talked about staking you out here and letting you die slowly, but that is kind of risky for us. I mean ... someone could drive by and rescue you. Where's the justice in that?"

Donny was silent for a minute letting Pepper think about it for a while. Finally, he said, "Here's the deal. You can stay here or we can take you home with us where you're going to work until Sonny gets home."

Pepper didn't look very happy with that deal. Of course, the alternative was worse.

Donny said, "Sonny could be home in a couple of days if Dingo and Taco decide to give themselves up or the police actually get around to arresting them. In that case, Sonny will come home and lay low for a year or two before going to a different school to finish college. After all, he hasn't been charged with a crime and officially he wouldn't be a fugitive from the law. You'd be home in no time at all."

Pepper kind of liked the idea of that. Donny said, "On the other hand, he could get arrested and sentenced to twenty years in jail. In that case, you'd be working your ass off for me for a long, long time. Of course, once Sonny comes home you'll be free to go home. You might not have much to go home to, but at least you'll be going home rather than spending eternity out here."

"The worst case scenario is that something bad happens to Sonny ... like he gets killed. You wouldn't like that alternative. I can guarantee you that," Donny said.

Pepper really didn't look very happy.

Donny reached up to remove the gag. The guy at the sex shop had said that a person could wear that particular style gag all day without much chance of injury. They just needed to take it off every once in a while to allow the person to rehydrate.

While he was removing the gag, he said, "When I remove the gag you can tell me if you would rather spend eternity out here or work at our place until Sonny gets home."

As soon as the gag was removed, Pepper said, "You won't get away with this."

"You're probably right. I should just kill you here. I'll probably be old and gray before anyone finds your body," Donny said.

"Don't kill me," Pepper said shaking his head.

Donny said, "So what is your choice?"

Figuring that he would rather work than die, Pepper said, "I'll work for you."

"Damn. I was hoping you'd choose the other. If you change your mind, I'll be more than happy to kill you," Donny said in a matter of fact tone of voice. He grabbed Pepper by the shirt and pulled him close. In a low voice, he said, "Don't think I wouldn't kill you in a minute if you give me even half a reason."

"I believe you," Pepper said.

He was pretty close to losing control of his bladder.

Donny tugged on the belt that was around Pepper's waist. He asked, "Do you know why we picked out that particular belt and cuffs to restrain you?"

"Not really," Pepper said. He wasn't sure that he wanted to know.

"I realized that you could actually take a piss while wearing it. You've got just enough range of motion to lower your fly and pull out your dick," Donny said.

"Oh," Pepper said looking down to examine the restraint. There were short chains holding his wrists to the D rings of the cuffs and belt. The chains were welded to the D rings and weren't going to come off easily. He realized that Donny was right about being able to relieve himself.

Donny said, "I suggest that you take advantage of that little feature before I put you back in the trunk of the car."

"Here?" Pepper asked looking around.

"You've got legs. You can walk over to that cactus over there and piss on it. I'm sure the cactus would appreciate the water," Donny said shaking his head. "I don't suggest trying to run off."

Pepper made his way over to the cactus occasionally looking over his shoulder at his captor. He didn't trust that the man wouldn't put a bullet in his back.

He was nearly to the cactus when Donny called out, "Watch out for snakes."

Pepper danced backwards a couple of feet looking around wildly for snakes. He shouted, "What snakes?"

"I didn't say there were any snakes. I said to watch out for them," Donny said.

"What do I do if there is a snake?" Pepper asked in a near panic.

Thinking that God had given earthworms more sense than Pepper possessed, Donny said, "I suggest you keep your distance from it."

With a little effort, Pepper was able to relieve his bladder. He made his way back to the car feeling a little better. That didn't mean he was any happier.

Donny held out a water bottle and said, "Time for you to replace what you just lost."

"How am I supposed to drink that with my hands like this?" Pepper asked staring at the bottle.

"Good question," Donny said. He reached into the car and pulled out a box of straws. Holding one of the straws up for Pepper to see, he said, "I'll put the bottle on the hood of the car with the straw in it. You bend over and suck on the straw."

While Pepper drank his bottle of water, Donny waved to Rose and Vincent. They started walking back to the car.

Donny leaned against the car and said, "I bet you're not very happy right about now."

"You can say that again," Pepper said glaring over at Donny.

Donny said, "Actually, you and the gang are lucky that Sonny had a gun in the hospital. I can tell you that if he had been killed, that you would be wishing you were here like this instead of where you would be."

"What would you have done?" Pepper asked.

"You don't want to know," Donny said with a grim expression on his face. "Just thinking about what we would do to you is enough to give me nightmares."

It wasn't so much the words as the look on Donny's face that scared Pepper. He was convinced that he had fallen in among some homicidal killers. He sucked up some more of the water. He stood up and said, "I really didn't expect the gang to go after Sonny."

"Well, they did," Donny said.

"He should have just given them the money," Pepper said. He felt it was unfair that he was in the situation because a dumb kid from the country decided to play John Wayne.

"It wasn't his money to give away," Donny said.

"That other fellow said that. I don't get it," Pepper said staring at Donny blankly.

Donny said, "You're his boss. When you hired him, Sonny accepted that you were making him responsible for the store, the stock, and the money in the cash register. Our uncles raised us to take our responsibilities seriously. It wasn't his money. It was yours. He nearly died because he was fulfilling his responsibilities to you by protecting your money. After all of that, you screwed him over."

"I didn't mean to," Pepper said uncomfortable with how they viewed his actions.

"Well, you did," Donny said flatly. "My family doesn't take that very well."

Rose walked up to Donny and said, "I take it he decided that he'd rather work for you than to serve as fertilizer for cacti."

"That's right," Donny said.

"It is not too late for him to change his mind," Vincent said.

Rose looked at Pepper and said, "You do realize that your actions, choices and cowardliness have turned you into a slave, don't you?"

"Slave?" Pepper said realizing exactly what the deal had been. He got angry and asked, "What choice did I have? It was either I agree to be a slave or die."

Vincent leaned against the car and crossed his arms. He said, "He's got a good point. What would you have done in his position, Donny?"

Rose said, "I can answer that."

"Please do so," Donny said.

"He would have kicked the shit out of the other fellow when we were way the hell down road. Once he had the other fellow down and out, he would have taken off across the desert to take his chances on reaching the highway," Rose said.

Nodding his head in agreement, Vincent said, "That's what I would have done."

"Me too. In fact, that is what I figured was going to happen when we walked on down the road," Rose said. She took a step towards Pepper and said, "I thought this whole thing was a stupid idea, but you know what? I actually think that you might learn how to be a man as a result of this. Right now, you disgust me."

"What if he had killed me?" Pepper asked thinking these people were crazy.

Donny said, "You don't get it. There are some things that you just don't give up without fighting to the death for them. Your freedom is one of those things. My cousin died overseas so that we could be free."

"You should have been willing to die for your freedom," Rose said. She turned away in disgust and said, "Put the gag in him and throw him in the trunk."

Donny put the gag back in Pepper's mouth. He and Vincent then lifted the man into the trunk of the car. Once they were sure that he was completely inside, they shut the trunk.

Vincent said, "When I heard that he had ruined a perfectly good gun, I thought he was the dumbest man in Los Angeles. I've revised my opinion since then. I think he's the dumbest man in the world."

Adjusting the hat on his head, Donny said, "I don't know. Those girls back with the gang made the same choice. They choose to be the property of the gang. Only a slave would allow herself to be used for sex by anyone, anywhere, and at anytime, without resisting."

"Even being a prostitute is better than being a slave. At least she is trading sex for something and not giving it away to an 'owner' for nothing," Rose said.

"Maybe people have forgotten the price that freedom demands," Vincent said.

Donny said, "Maybe people don't know what it means to have freedom."

Vincent looked down at the dusty ground and said, "That's sad. That's real sad."



-------

Chapter 8


Pepper looked around at his surroundings in confusion. He was currently standing in the middle of nowhere. There wasn't a single thing made by a human within sight. There were a few scrub trees, a lot of dirt, a few cacti, and not much else.

He asked, "Where's the hotel?"

"What hotel?" Donny asked amused by the question.

"You said this is where we are staying for the night," Pepper said.

"That's right," Donny said.

Pepper said, "So where's the hotel?"

"We aren't staying in a hotel," Donny said.

Rose giggled at the expression on Pepper's face.

"So where are we staying?" Pepper asked.

He was beginning to wonder if they were having a problem communicating.

Pointing down at the ground with the forefingers of both hands, Rose said, "Here. We are staying right here."

"There's nothing here," Pepper said blankly. "Where are we supposed to sleep?"

Vincent said, "I swear that he is the dumbest man in the world. I really think we ought to make a call to the folks at the Guinness Book of World Records."

Rose was too busy laughing to make a comment.

Donny said. "We are sleeping on the ground."

"There are liable to be animals around here," Pepper said looking around frantically.

He really didn't like the idea of being around wild animals. He was pretty sure that all wild animals attacked people.

Rose said, "We are in the wilderness. I can guarantee you that there are animals around here."

Worried, Pepper asked, "What will we do if something shows up?"

Donny said, "If it is small and furry, I suggest that you piss on it. If it is big and dangerous, then we'll kill it with our guns. If it is between those two extremes, we'll just hold a world conference to decide what to do."

Rose broke out laughing. She said, "I can just picture Pepper running around after a jack rabbit with his pants around his ankles trying to piss on it."

Vincent chuckled and said, "I can just imagine the head guy at the United Nations getting up in front of the General Assembly and saying, 'A cow showed up at their camp, whatever should they do?' I figure they would come to a decision, a couple of years after the cow dies of old age."

Irritated at being the butt of so many jokes, Pepper said, "Quit making fun of me."

"Stop saying stupid things," Donny said.

"I've never been out in the wilderness," Pepper said in protest of yet another attack against his intelligence.

"Welcome to the real world," Vincent said while gesturing to their surroundings.

Donny said, "Look around you, it doesn't get more real than this. If you strip away the houses, the cars, energy, appliances, tools, and clothes that have become so essential to most people's lives, you're left with you, and this. It doesn't get more basic than that."

"That can't happen to us," Pepper said.

He knew even while protesting that it had just happened to him and he wasn't happy about it.

"It can happen at any time. If you spend enough time out here you'll come to appreciate that civilization is just a thin veneer over what is real. Circumstances can lead you to where it is you and nature. Nature has all of the advantages. There are things that will eat you, weather that will freeze you, and things that you can't see that will make you sick," Donny said.

Vincent said, "You can fight nature, or you can go along with it. If you fight it, you'll lose. If you go along with it, you'll lose. The point is that you'll last a whole lot longer if you go along with it, than if you fight it."

"Old Doc Taylor likes to say that life is a terminal disease -- we're all going to die, someday," Rose said.

Vincent said, "The preacher says that we all owe God a death."

"What we saw in Los Angeles goes against nature. The people there have come to the mistaken conclusion that the veneer is what gives them strength rather than the reality underneath. They posture and pose while spouting ideas that just don't hold water. They've never learned the basics," Donny said.

Pepper asked, "What are the basics?"

Rose looked over at Donny and smiled.

She said, "You live so that you can raise a family."

"You protect the family, so that it survives," Vincent said.

"You protect what is yours so that your family can grow," Donny said.

He put an arm around Rose and hugged her.

Rose said, "You sacrifice yourself, so that those you love can live."

"That's the simple version of the basics," Vincent said with a smile. "It's the implementation that gets a little complicated."

Looking at the sun, Donny said, "Speaking of implementation, I suggest we get camp set up before night falls. I don't want to go looking for firewood in the dark."

Pepper's store carried charcoal in paper bags and little bundles of firewood wrapped in plastic.

He asked, "Where will we buy firewood?"

Shaking his head, Donny asked, "Do you see that tree over there?"

"Yes."

"What is that stuff under it?"

"Branches that have fallen off the tree," Pepper asked.

"Those branches burn," Donny said. "There's our firewood."

"Oh," Pepper said. "What about the owner?"

"If the owner comes by, we'll politely ask him if we can stay the night here," Donny answered.

"What if he says no?"

Vincent said, "We will apologize for having trespassed and then we'll pack up and go."

Seeing that Pepper was about to ask another question, Rose said, "Before you ask, we'll take turns driving through the night."

"Dumbest man in the world," Vincent said looking up at the sky.

Glaring at Vincent, Pepper said, "I'm sorry. When I travel, I stay in hotels and eat in restaurants like you're supposed to. I don't park out in the middle of nowhere and burn branches to cook my food."

Donny went over to the car and returned to stand behind Pepper. He grabbed Pepper and pulled him to the ground. Pepper squawked like a hen at finding himself being manhandled. Vincent went over and sat down on Pepper's legs. Donny went around to Pepper's feet and put on a pair of hobbles with ankle cuffs that locked.

Once the ankle cuffs were in place, Donny said, "You can get off him now."

Indignant, Pepper asked, "What did you do that for?"

While unlocking the wrist cuffs, Donny answered, "We don't want you to run off when we free your hands."

"Oh," Pepper said watching what Donny was doing.

After the locks had been removed, Donny undid the strap on one of the cuffs.

He said, "You can get the other one yourself."

"I never thought I'd be able to move my arms again," Pepper said working on the other cuff.

"You'll have plenty of opportunity to move your hands," Donny said. He pointed to the tree and said, "You're in charge of collecting firewood."

Pepper looked over at the tree. He didn't want to collect firewood. He wasn't even sure what it meant.

He was about to object when Vincent said, "Do it. Don't complain. Just do it."

"I can only move my feet eight inches," Pepper said after trying to take a step forward.

"Then I suggest you carry as much wood as possible each trip," Donny said. "We need enough to burn for three hours."

"How much wood is that?" Pepper asked.

"Just keep bringing wood until we tell you to stop," Rose said.

"I'll get out the sleeping bags," Donny said.

"I'll make the fire pit," Vincent said.

"I'll get the stuff for dinner," Rose said.

Rose always ended up getting the stuff for dinner whenever they went camping.

She looked over at Vincent and asked, "Who makes dinner when I'm not camping with you?"

"We eat it raw," Vincent said with a wink.

Donny said, "I do."

Everyone went to work on their various tasks. Pepper shuffled his way slowly to the tree and looked around at the branches. He reached down and picked up a thick one. It was so old and dry that it broke. He picked up the rest of the branch, which broke into two lengths of four feet or so. He carried the three pieces back to camp.

Vincent looked up at him and said, "You'll need to carry more than that each trip. You should try for three times that much each load."

Pepper made his way back to the tree shuffling with six-inch steps.

He mumbled, "They are making me do all of the heavy work. It is not fair. I didn't do anything to deserve this."

He picked up a bunch of branches and headed for the campsite. He had to be careful not to trip over anything while shuffling his way back.

He muttered, "They're treating me like a slave. I don't have to do this. I'm not going to do this."

When Pepper reached the camp, he threw the branches to the ground. He crossed his arms and, like a petulant little child, announced, "I'm not doing this."

Vincent looked over at the car and said, "Rose, get the switch."

Rose climbed out of the car carrying a long horsewhip. She tried to hand it to Vincent, but he said, "Keep it for now. Donny!"

Donny and Vincent picked up Pepper and carried him over to the front of the car. They pushed him down so that he was bent over at the waist with his hands resting on the hood. They held onto his arms to keep him there.

Donny said, "Give him five to start with, Rose. If he still refuses to work, give him an additional ten. If he still refuses, give him an additional twenty."

"Let me go," Pepper shouted.

"You want me to do it?" Rose asked.

She swung the whip back and forth making a nice whishing sound. Pepper didn't think much of the sound.

"We're holding him down," Vincent answered.

Pepper was struggling to get loose, but his actions were not successful at all.

"You can't possibly intend to hit me with that thing," Pepper said his voice was an octave higher than normal.

His head was spinning at the idea he was actually going to be whipped. This was barbaric. His parents had never spanked him when he was a kid. It was their belief that they could talk him into behaving nicely.

Rose asked, "What do you do to a slave that is misbehaving?"

"According to those history books we read in school, you are supposed to whip the slave," Donny answered.

"I'm not a slave," Pepper said. Of course the leg restraints and being held down like that tended to argue against his claim.

Vincent said, "I think he changed his mind about working for us until Sonny comes home. We can just shoot him here."

"I haven't changed my mind," Pepper said.

A bolt of fear shot through him. He was positive that they would kill him and leave him there for the coyotes.

He growled at Rose and said, "Do it, bitch."

Rose was going to be firm, but gentle until Pepper had added that last word. She wound up and laid one across his butt with every ounce of strength she possessed. There was the thwack of the whip when it hit, a short moment of silence, and then a bloodcurdling scream when the pain finally registered. He was lucky that he was still wearing his pants, or his ass would have been cut by the blow.

Vincent said, "Don't forget to count and thank her."

"One, thank you," Pepper managed to get out.

He had never experienced anything so painful in his entire life.

Rose let loose with another swing of the whip. Pepper screamed even louder this time. Tears started flowing from his eyes.

After taking a couple of breaths and further prompting by Vincent, he said, "Two, thank you."

By the fifth swing, Pepper was sobbing.

When it struck, he screamed out, "Five, thank you."

Vincent asked, "Are you going to collect firewood or do we have to give you ten more?"

"I'll collect the firewood," Pepper said. He honestly believed that he would not survive another ten strikes of the whip.

The two men released him. He staggered backwards finding that the chain was making it hard to keep upright.

Donny said, "Then get to work."

When Pepper was out of earshot, Vincent looked over at Rose and said, "If Donny doesn't propose soon, Calvin and I can hold him for you. I bet it would only take fifty swings of the whip before he was begging you to marry him."

"That's not a bad idea," Rose said swinging the whip menacingly. She grinned at Donny and asked, "What do you think of the idea?"

"I'm trembling in my boots," Donny said dryly.

"Ooh, tough man," Vincent said.

"I'm a smart man," Donny said. "I'll start begging her to marry me, before the first swing."

Rose laughed. Her laughter died when she looked down at the whip. She asked, "Were we too hard on him?"

"I don't think we were hard enough," Donny said. "He's got a lot of garbage to get rid of in his head. At least he finally tried to show a little spirit."

"Miniscule amount of spirit. He looked like a five year old boy about to have a temper tantrum," Rose said.

Donny said, "I'll never forget the first time that Uncle Dan took a switch to me. I mouthed off to my momma, and he overheard me. He gave me five licks with it. Each time he had me say that I would respect my elders. It hurt like the dickens."

Rose said, "My mom was the one that disciplined me. She had an old wooden paddleball paddle that she had gotten from somewhere. I decided one day that I wasn't going to do my chores. She would hit me with that paddle, explain how everyone had to pull their weight, and then ask me if I was going to do my chores. I lasted until the eighth one before I decided that doing chores was a better alternative."

"Dad used a big old leather belt on me. He would double that belt up so that when it hit it would make this really loud sound. He'd just lay that old belt across my butt so hard that the world would spin. All he had to do was reach for it and I was already feeling it. I used to lay awake at night dreaming of burning that belt," Vincent said.

"I remember that belt," Rose said.

She could remember Vincent and Calvin yelling when her daddy was punishing them.

"He's still got it," Vincent said.

Rose laughed and said, "I figured you or Calvin would have hidden it away from him by now."

While watching Pepper pick up some more firewood, Vincent said, "I used to think that Dad was really angry when he took the belt to us. Then one day I heard him talking to Mom after he had lit into Calvin. He was saying how much he hated punishing us like that, but the fastest way to a boy's brain was through his butt. He sent Mom over to Calvin to comfort him a little."

"Dad used to comfort me after Mom paddled my ass," Rose said.

"Dad was never angry when he punished me. If he had hit me with that belt when I was five with the same force he used when I was twelve, I would have died. Nope, he hit just hard enough to really hurt and not do any damage," Vincent said.

Rose said, "I was watching television and they were talking about spanking being a form of child abuse. They were saying that a parent was supposed to discuss the matter with the child in a logical adult fashion. I don't know about that. All of us kids were stubborn as Missouri mules. Talking to us like adults would have been about as effective as talking to a wall."

Donny said, "When I was a little kid, my Dad was the one who punished me when I was bad. After he died, I kind of figured that I could get away with anything. Dan and Joe set me straight on that idea. Dan was always a little harder on me and Sonny than Joe. I realize now that I could have turned into a real mean bastard if they hadn't stepped in to administer the occasional whipping."

"There were times when I did something knowing that if my Dad ever learned of it that he would blister my butt. I did it anyway, but I knew even while doing it that I was doing wrong," Vincent said. There weren't shades of gray. He knew right from wrong very early in life.

"I know what you mean," Rose said. "When I was caught, I knew what was coming. The weird thing is that even when I wasn't caught I felt bad after doing something wrong. I'd look at Mom and Dad and think that they would be so disappointed in me. After a while, I just stopped doing things that I knew were wrong."

Donny said, "Someone should have paddled Pepper's butt when he was a kid. He might have grown up knowing that actions have consequences. If he had known that, Sonny wouldn't be in trouble, and Pepper wouldn't be a slave."

"We better get back to setting up camp. It is going to be dark soon," Vincent said.

The three of them went to do their chores knowing that everyone had to pull their weight. It was a lesson they had learned early in life.



-------

Chapter 9


"Let's move this stuff from the back seat into the trunk," Donny said stretching his sore back.

He had been riding in the back seat, while Vincent had been driving.

"Thank God. I was getting tired of sitting back there with all of that gear," Vincent said.

The camping gear, clothes, and food had taken up most of the back seat. It had not been entirely comfortable riding back there.

"We all took turns," Rose said.

"You're all smaller than I am," Vincent replied.

He was feeling a little surly after driving for so long.

Pepper said, "What are you complaining about? I've been stuck in the trunk for two days."

"If you want to complain we can let you ride the rest of the way there, in the trunk," Donny said.

They had taken a lot of care to make sure that Pepper didn't suffer too much in the trunk. They had taken breaks every two hours to give him a chance to walk around, rehydrate, and take care of his bodily functions. During the heat of the day they had put a bag of ice in the trunk to help cool him off.

"I'm not complaining," Pepper said frantically.

He thought that another hour in the trunk would kill him.

It didn't take too long for them to transfer the gear from the back seat to the trunk. Pepper, still wearing his wrist cuffs, stood and watched them work. It had become obvious over the past two days that none of them were strangers to hard work. He couldn't believe how easily Rose pitched in to do physical work. He hadn't heard her complain once about something being too heavy.

Holding open the door of the car, Donny said, "You get to ride in the front seat from now on."

For the first time, Pepper wondered why they would let him ride where he could be seen by other folks. Almost as if reading his mind, Vincent said, "We're about an hour from home. We thought you might like to know exactly what you'll be facing in case you try to run off."

"People will see me," Pepper said. Almost as soon as the words were out of his mouth he wanted to kick himself. He wanted people to see him. That was his best chance of getting out of this mess.

Rose laughed and said, "Don't worry. These are our neighbors. Half of them are related to us by blood, or by marriage. Everyone out here already knows all about you. You're the guy who screwed over Sonny."

"A lot of folks are wondering why we didn't just kill you," Vincent said.

Donny gestured to the front seat while he said, "It was the preacher who suggested that an act of contrition would cleanse your soul."

Rose said, "It is a real shame you don't believe in God."

"He's a crutch that the weak use, because they aren't strong enough to face life's challenges," Pepper said.

He had been incredulous when they had said grace before eating.

"We've heard you say that a couple of times," Vincent said shaking his head.

He thought it was strange how people could believe in a human organizations and not God.

Holding up the ankle cuffs, Donny said, "We've got to put the hobbles on you."

"Why?" Pepper asked.

"You're going to be riding in the front seat. We wouldn't want you to get any funny ideas," Donny answered.

It didn't take long to get Pepper ready for the last leg of the trip. Sitting in the front seat, he looked around at his surroundings. After the first day in the desert, the wooded area was a relief. At least it didn't look so desolate.

Once everyone got into the car, Donny sniffed the air.

He said, "Oh man, you stink."

"What do you expect? I've been in the trunk of a car for two days," Pepper said.

"We'll just keep the windows rolled down," Donny said.

He rolled his window down before starting the car. Rose and Vincent followed suit. Vincent then leaned forward and opened Pepper's window. Once he was sure that everyone was ready, Donny pulled out onto the dirt road.

"It sure will be nice to be home," Vincent said looking out the window.

Pepper stuck his head out of the window. After so much time spent in the trunk, it was nice having a fresh breeze blowing in his face.

Donny said, "You can say that again."

Rose said, "I can't wait for a hot shower and a soft bed."

Turning onto a paved road, Donny said, "Back that way is the highway we were on. It is about a mile away from here. About thirty minutes up the road is our home town."

Pepper looked at the speedometer and said, "You're driving sixty miles an hour."

"That's right. It is only thirty miles up the road from here," Donny said. He pointed to a house and barn when they drove past. He said, "I see that the Hendricksons painted their barn."

"They were out there working on it when we headed out to Los Angeles," Vincent said. "We stopped to chat for a bit when we were leaving. Dale said that he had a number of boards that were beginning to rot and had to be replaced."

"He should have painted it last year," Donny said.

"Well, he had that accident and couldn't do it last year," Rose said justifying Dale's lack of action in taking care of the barn.

Donny said, "He could have asked for a little help. I would have shown up. We all helped bale his hay last fall."

"He didn't want to impose when it could wait," Vincent said. "He felt bad enough when Nancy and I stopped by to replace his hot water heater."

Pepper asked, "You drove thirty miles to help that guy out?"

Vincent said, "No. We drove fifty miles. Dale Hendrickson is my wife's uncle. He's family."

As soon as he heard the word, 'family', Pepper shut up and looked out the window knowing that future discussion would not achieve anything. Family justified a whole lot of things with these people. Back at home, he would have hired a painter to take care of the problem. He had a feeling that they would have laughed at the whole idea of doing that.

He was beginning to understand that he was entering an entirely different world now.

Donny pointed to another house and asked, "What do you think is going to happen to the Mueller place, now that the old man has passed away?"

"I heard that Skip Marks is thinking about buying it. He finally got around to asking Valerie to marry him, and wants to get his own place," Vincent answered.

"Really? How much are the Mueller kids asking for the place?" Donny asked.

All of Mueller's kids had moved out of the area more than thirty years ago.

Rose answered, "I heard that they wanted a million five."

"What?" Pepper asked.

His little store in Los Angeles had cost a third of that. He couldn't believe that these hicks were talking about that much money.

Vincent said, "He'll probably get it for a million three."

Donny asked, "What's he doing to raise the money for the down payment?"

"His family is kicking in some money," Vincent answered. "The Lord knows that he has enough relatives in the area."

"It is going to be rough for a while," Donny said.

Vincent said, "I know. He's got eight thoroughbred mares that are of pretty good stock. He's got that stallion that is worth more than seventy thousand. A couple of years of a decent breeding program, and he'll be established."

"His place is just up the road a bit. Maybe we ought to stop by and say howdy," Donny said.

"I'd like to see him," Rose said.

About five minutes later, Donny slowed down and turned into the driveway of a small place. A guy was on a riding lawnmower, taking care of the front yard. In Los Angeles they would have called it a park. The man stopped the mower and looked over at the sedan. Suspicious, he got off the mower and approached the car. By the way his posture suddenly relaxed, it was obvious when he recognized Vincent seated in the back of the car. His pace picked up a bit. When he reached the car, he bent down to look in Pepper's window.

He said, "Howdy."

"Hello, Skip," Donny said, and was echoed by Rose and Vincent.

Skip looked at Pepper and asked, "Is this the guy that screwed over Sonny?"

"Yes," Donny answered.

Skip looked down at Pepper taking in the restraints. Shaking his head, he said, "I'm really surprised that Dan didn't kill him."

"We talked about it," Donny said.

"I can't believe that you guys are actually doing it," Skip said with a chuckle. "Your whole family has got to be crazy."

Donny said, "The way we figured it was that you can always set a man free, but you can't unkill him."

"That's true," Skip said. "I didn't look at it that way."

Pepper looked at Skip and asked, "It doesn't bother you that they kidnapped me?"

Skip said, "Like Donny said, he can always set you free, but he can't unkill you. My daddy would have killed you if you did to me, what you did to Sonny. You're lucky to be alive."

Pepper slouched down in his seat. He couldn't believe these people. He wondered how anyone was still alive out in the country considering the ease with which they talked about killing someone.

Donny said, "I heard that you were looking to buy the Mueller place."

"Yes. I've got an offer in for a million and a quarter. We'll see if they accept this one. Those kids of his are awful greedy," Skip said.

Donny said, "Well, if you do get the place I wanted to let you know that I've got that old stallion you can use to improve your herd. He's only got about two years left on him, but he's of real good stock."

"Are you talking about Doug's Pride?" Skip asked with his eyes lighting up.

"That's right," Donny said. "I'll let you have him, free and clear, for one colt of his bloodline two years from when I bring him over."

"Mare or stallion?" Skip asked.

"I'd prefer a mare, but I'd be happy with a gelding. All of my stock is descended from him and a stallion wouldn't do me any good," Donny said.

"I made a deal with Hollander over in Great Falls. We swapped stallions for a year. He's getting the better deal, but I really need to breed my mares to a stallion of a different bloodline. I'll have a year's worth of foals from Morning Sparkle. How about you take a stallion from him instead?" Skip asked.

Donny reached out a hand and said, "You got a deal."

"That's if I get the Mueller place," Skip said shaking his hand.

"Of course," Donny said.

"It's always nice doing business with a Daniels," Skip said with a grin.

Donny said, "If you need a hand, you let me know."

"I will," Skip said. He looked over at Rose and winked. He asked, "When are you going to put your brand on this here broken down poor excuse for a stallion?"

"I've got the branding iron in the fire. It is just a matter of time," Rose answered with a smile.

Vincent drawled, "Talk about dragging down a bloodline."

Skip laughed and said, "I'm sure there are a few Daniels around who would argue that."

Grinning, Rose said, "Tell Valerie that I'm expecting to be a bride's maid at your wedding."

"She has been real busy planning the wedding with her mother. We're looking at a low cost affair. Money is going to be real tight if I manage to buy the Mueller place. I know she is planning on calling you once you got back," Skip said.

Rose said, "You're lucky. My Dad thinks that planning a wedding involves remembering where you left the shotgun."

Skip laughed and said, "Your dad is real piece of work. Is he still telling that story about getting the twelve point buck?"

"Nearly every day," Vincent said with a groan.

"I'm going to have to swing by when he gets back," Skip said.

Vincent said, "Why don't you come by during pheasant season? We'll go hunting one day."

"Sounds good," Skip said.

Donny said, "We better head home. You take care and let us know when you get the Mueller place."

"Will do," Skip said stepping back from the car.

Donny started the car and backed down the drive.

When they got back on the road, Vincent said, "You really got a good deal."

"We both did. He's getting use of Doug's Pride for two years," Donny said.

Not familiar with the intricacies of horse trading, Pepper said, "I don't understand. What's the big deal?"

Rose said, "Donny and Skip just made a deal that could be worth tens of thousands of dollars for each of them. They are both improving the bloodlines of their stock, without having to pay stud fees or buying a new stallion. It might kick up the price of their colts by five thousand dollars each. When you've got a bunch of horses, then that's a lot of money."

"He's getting my old stallion that I can't use anymore and I'll be getting a colt in two years that he won't need. Both horses are worth ninety thousand dollars," Donny said.

"You did that on a handshake?" Pepper asked.

"Yes."

"What if he doesn't deliver the colt?" Pepper asked.

There was no way that he would trust someone to deliver a colt two years from now without a battalion of lawyers working up a contract.

Donny said, "He will. His word is good."

"What if something happens?" Pepper asked.

"Like what?" Donny asked.

Pepper asked, "What if a horse dies or something like that?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. He's an honest man, and will make it right," Donny said.

Rose said, "It is all about integrity."



-------

Chapter 10


Donny drove through the town talking the whole time. "Here it is. You'll notice that there are two churches sitting side by side. One is a Baptist church, and the other is a Lutheran church. You might think the preacher and the pastor wouldn't be friends, but they are except when it comes to horseshoes; then watch out."

"Horse shoes?" Pepper asked.

He looked at Donny out of the corner of his eye. Donny ignored his question.

"Over there is the gas station, general store, and post office all in one. It opens at six and closes at six. If you need bread and you aren't there by six, you're out of luck. Next to it is the diner. They are open for breakfast and lunch. It opens at six and closes at two. The nearest place for dinner is sixty miles from here at the truck stop."

"Truck stop?" Pepper asked.

"That big building is the school. We've got fifty six kids in it. Most of them live within thirty miles of here. Just about everyone you'll meet around here went to school there. My graduating class was six kids."

"Six?" Pepper asked staring openly at Donny.

"Over there is Doc Taylor's office. He's our doctor. Rose works for him."

Rose said, "He's got an x-ray machine. He also has a defibrillator, in case you make it to him alive while having a heart attack. He can also do some surgery. You know, take out an appendix, set a broken bone, sew together a cut, and take out your tonsils."

"Oh boy," Pepper said rolling his eyes. He asked, "Where's the nearest hospital?"

"It is only seventy miles away as the crow flies, but you have to drive nearly a hundred and fifty miles to get to it," Donny answered. "We're all worried about what is going to happen when old Doc Taylor retires."

"He's been trying to bring in a doctor for years," Rose said.

"I can't imagine why you would have a problem bringing in a doctor," Pepper said sarcastically.

"We'll probably end up having to visit the vet once Doc Taylor retires," Vincent said.

Thinking about waiting in an office full of dogs, Pepper said, "No thanks."

Donny continued being a tour guide. "That building over there with the silos is the feed and grain store. If you need seed, that's the place to get it. They also sell tractor parts over there. If you want to buy a new tractor, you have to drive sixty miles to the nearest place that sells them. That area over there is where we hold the monthly swap meet. You can get just about anything there, particularly if you let folks know that you need it."

"Swap meet?" Pepper asked.

"That house over there with the two cars parked in front of it is basically our only car repair place around. Although Hal doesn't have a real tow truck, he can tow your car in case it breaks down in the middle of nowhere. He does all of his work out of the garage. The house next to it is where the Baptist preacher lives. The house next to that is where the Lutheran pastor lives. The family that owns the gas station lives across the street there. The principal of the school lives next to them. About four miles down that road is one of the three vets in the area."

Incredulous, Pepper asked, "You have more vets than doctors?"

"We've got more patients for a vet than we have for doctors. There are only a thousand two hundred people within thirty miles of here," Donny answered.

Rose smiled and said, "Don't worry. None of the vets around here would shoot you if you broke your leg."

"That's reassuring," Pepper said thinking he was now in Hicksville.

Donny said, "That is our home town. What do you think?"

"You don't even have a traffic light," Pepper said.

He was more than a little underwhelmed by the town.

"We don't need one," Donny said in a very serious tone of voice. "We do have a stop sign."

"I didn't notice," Pepper said.

He was thinking that if you looked up hell in the dictionary that they would have a picture of this place next to it.

Donny said, "We'll be driving along this road for another fifteen minutes."

They hadn't gone more than a mile when Rose said, "There's Uncle Charles."

Donny stopped in the middle of the road. Rose stuck her head out the window, and waved to the truck that was approaching them. The truck slowed down, and came to stop beside them.

The man inside said, "I see you guys are back. How was Los Angeles?"

Donny said, "Things are really messed up there."

"Ugly," Rose answered.

Charles said, "I always hate going into big cities. Those people are crazy."

"You can say that again," Donny said.

"Speak for yourself," Pepper muttered.

He couldn't believe that they stopped in the middle of the road to talk. He looked around but no other cars were approaching.

Charles said, "I'm glad to see you back."

"It is good to be back," Rose answered.

"I was watching the whole thing on the news after Sonny took out those three guys in the hospital. That was a real mess," Charles said. "Did Dan or Joe kill the guy that told the gang where Sonny was?"

"No," Donny said. He gestured to his passenger and said, "We brought him back with us."

Charles laughed and said, "I couldn't believe it when I heard what you were going to do. That's the craziest thing I've ever heard anyone doing."

"I'm sure we're going hear that a lot," Donny said with a laugh. "I'm sure that folks are going to look at Rose and think she can do better than me."

"Boy, I've been meaning to ask you a serious question," Charles said.

"What?"

"Are you ever going to propose to my beautiful loving niece?" Charles asked with a grin.

"One of these days," Donny answered.

Rose gave him a love tap on the top of his head and said, "By one of these days, you can assume that he means tomorrow or the next day."

Charles suddenly got very serious and said, "Don't wait too long, Donny. I'm sure that Hank will want to know she's finally gotten engaged. I've got a feeling that Hank and your uncles are going to create a big stir there in Los Angeles. It may be a long time before we see them again."

"Why do you say that?" Donny asked.

"Sonny got a lawyer and turned himself over to the police this morning. The news folks have been having field day with this. The way they are talking, it is like Sonny and the gang are going to have it out some kind of shootout," Charles said.

"Did they put him in jail?" Donny asked.

That had been the one thing they were worried about. There was no telling what kind of connections the gang had inside the jail.

"The police arrested him, but they took him to a secure hospital room instead of jail, since he is still healing from his wounds. His lawyer was all over the television making it sound like he was a death's door as a result of the ordeal that he had been through," Charles said.

Donny had a feeling that the police were going to arrest Sonny. Dan and Joe had talked a lot about letting the police have their chance to do right by the Daniels family. He didn't have the same faith in the police that his uncles did.

He said, "That's better than a jail cell."

"I figured Hank and your uncles wanted him out of the way when things hit the fan. They are giving him an alibi," Charles said.

No one had to tell him their plans. He knew how all of the principals involved in this situation thought. He would let the law take its course, but he'd protect the kids as much as possible.

"What about Calvin?" Vincent asked worried about his brother.

"I don't know anything about what's happening with Calvin," Charles said.

"Thanks for letting us know," Donny said.

He had a feeling that Calvin was busy watching over Sonny. He would make sure that no gang member made it close to him.

"I'm sure your Mom is worried about you, Rose. You might want to get on over there," Charles said.

"I'll see you later Uncle Charles," Rose said.

Vincent ducked down so that he could see his uncle and said, "See you later, Uncle Charles."

"Take it easy," Charles said before heading on down the road.

When they were finally driving off, Pepper asked, "Doesn't anyone care that you kidnapped me?"

"We didn't kidnap you," Donny said. "You were given a choice to work for us or to die."

"That's no choice," Pepper said.

"Sure it is," Donny said.

Pepper didn't want to argue the matter anymore. He shook his head and looked out the window at the country side. His personal opinion was that the view would have been nice on a post card, but he didn't want to be there looking at it in person.

"This is our road. We're almost home," Donny said before turning onto the tree lined one lane dirt road.

Barbed wire ran along the road, offset from it by five feet. There were occasional signs to the effect that there were buried cables. Brush and weeds bordered the road.

Donny drove slowly along the road. There were places where rains had destroyed the level surface, leaving sections that were rough. It wasn't the kind of road that was meant for a sedan.

After a particularly bad bump, Vincent said, "We're going to have to get out the dozer, and work on the road some. It will be two years before the county comes out to grade it."

"It's not that bad. The truck wouldn't have a problem with it," Donny said.

Pepper had never been on a road this rough. It was throwing him from side to side. If he had been able to move his hands more than an inch away from his waist, he would have been grabbing the dashboard with both hands.

He said, "This isn't a road. Roads are made of concrete or asphalt. This is dirt."

"Your powers of observation have increased dramatically in the past couple of days. Your intelligence has not improved at all," Donny said.

"You're all a bunch of stupid hicks," Pepper said shaking his head.

Vincent said, "I wish he'd change his mind, and we could dump his body out here in the woods."

Pepper got angry and said, "You're the most blood thirsty bastards I've ever met. How many people have you killed?"

Surprised by the question, Donny answered, "None. I don't even know anyone who's killed someone, except in the service of our country."

"Why does everyone talk about killing me?" Pepper said.

Slowing down so that he could take a good look at Pepper, Donny said, "You really don't get it, do you?"

Pepper said, "Quite frankly, no."

"I told you that he's the dumbest person in the world," Vincent said shaking his head sadly. "We're even explained it to him before."

Donny said, "Because you screwed Sonny in a way that can't be forgiven."

"What exactly did I do?" Pepper asked.

"Did you ever once tell Sonny that if he was being robbed to hand over the cash?" Donny asked.

"No," Pepper answered.

It was obvious to him that is exactly what someone was supposed to do when getting robbed.

"That was your first mistake," Donny said. "You should have told him."

"Why? He should have known that," Pepper replied.

Donny said, "You entrusted him with your business. He wouldn't have been worthy of your trust, if he just gave your money away to anyone who asked for it."

"That's stupid," Pepper said.

Donny said, "By putting that gun under the counter, you effectively told Sonny that he was to defend the store against robbers!"

"The gun was just there to scare off people," Pepper said.

"What people? Customers? You had that gun there to scare off robbers, and that's exactly how Sonny saw it. Any man raised out here would have done the same thing as Sonny. That brings me to your second mistake," Donny said.

"What?" Pepper asked not quite believing that he had made the first mistake.

"You put a gun that doesn't work under the counter without telling him that it had been disabled," Donny said. He looked at Pepper and said, "That is wrong on so many counts that I can't even begin to tell you."

"I didn't want anyone to get hurt," Pepper said.

He really didn't understand why Donny didn't get it.

Donny said, "You got Sonny hurt. He picked up that gun thinking he had a fighting chance, and he didn't. If you had told him it didn't work, things would have turned out a lot differently. He would have known that you didn't really expect him to protect the money, but that he only had to give the appearance of protecting it. You took that choice away from him."

"I guess I could have told him," Pepper said.

"Your third mistake was exaggerating what Dan had told you. You gave the gang a reason to want to kill Sonny when he was in the hospital. My uncles could have grabbed those two guys and delivered them to the police before they even suspected that anyone was looking for them. Instead you go blabbing your mouth that our family has sworn revenge," Donny said.

Pepper said, "Your uncle came into my store and started talking about how he wouldn't let someone steal from him. He was talking like a lunatic. You don't talk about grabbing two gang members and taking them to the police. It just isn't done. I didn't want them coming after me."

"So you sold out Sonny," Donny said in disgust.

"Just shoot him," Vincent said shaking his head.

Pepper said, "I didn't sell him out. I just told Taco that Sonny's family was looking for him."

Knowing exactly how anyone who had any testosterone at all would interpret that statement, Rose said, "He's hopeless. Just give up."

Donny wasn't even going to reply to the last comment of Pepper. If the guy didn't see the truth of the matter, then he wasn't going to ever get it.

He said, "Your fourth mistake was telling them where Sonny was. We checked. There were three hospitals that Sonny could have been taken to that night. Everyone in the store knew where Sonny had been taken, and they all said that you told them."

"So, I talked about where he was. Big deal. People asked, and I told them," Pepper said.

"You told the gang where he was," Donny said.

"They asked and I answered," Pepper said thinking that they didn't understand what it meant to live around the gang all of the time.

Vincent said, "They showed up there ready to kill him. You might as well have hung a sign saying kill occupant on the door to his room."

Pepper said, "You don't know that. They could have been there to intimidate Sonny."

"I don't know if you've noticed, but a Daniels isn't all that easy to intimidate," Donny said. He said, "Do you know what I do to help bring in some money to our place?"

"No," Pepper answered.

"I ride bulls in rodeos," Donny said. "You try sitting on the back of the meanest angriest two thousand pounds of animal for eight seconds, and you'll find that mixing it up with a scrawny two hundred pound guy just isn't that scary."

"Bulls? You ride bulls?" Pepper said.

If he needed any proof that Donny was crazy, he had just been handed it by the bucketful.

"You might say it is a family tradition. My Dad rode bulls. Both of my uncles used to ride bulls, when they were younger," Donny said.

"You're insane," Pepper said.

Donny said, "I'm just letting you know that Sonny isn't the kind of guy to be intimidated very easily. Even without a gun, he would have taken them on."

Vincent said, "Now Sonny has been arrested because he didn't let three jerks kill him."

Donny said, "Sonny is an A student at the university. He was going to be in a position to make a lot of money when he graduated. We were thinking about having him come back to our area, and setting up an internet company. Because of this mess, he might not be alive to do that."

Pepper shouted, "It is not my fault."

Rose said, "You keep acting like you did nothing wrong. If you really believe that, then you really don't understand right from wrong."

Donny pulled into a driveway and said, "We're here."

A woman came out of the house carrying a shotgun. The way she was carrying it left no doubts about her ability to use it. Pepper looked at the woman and asked, "Who is the crazy woman with the gun?"

"That's my mother," Rose said slapping him on the side of the head.

Vincent hit him on the other side of his head, and then said, "If you ever call her crazy again, I'll show you what crazy is."

"Why is she carrying a shotgun?" Pepper asked as if that was sufficient proof of mental state.

Vincent said, "She doesn't recognize our car, you idiot. What is a woman alone out in the country supposed to do when a strange car pulls up in front of her house? Do you expect her to invite them in for lemonade?"

"It doesn't call for a gun. She could look out the peephole and call 911 if the people look threatening," Pepper said.

"The Sheriff could be two hundred miles away. It could take him and his deputy three hours to get here," Donny said shaking his head.



-------

Chapter 11


Lily set down the shotgun by the front door, and made her way over to the car once Rose and Vincent had gotten out of it. She held out her arms to give them big hugs. Donny got out of the car and walked over to the family. After she finished welcoming her children home, she went over to Donny. She gave him a love tap on the side of his head as a greeting.

She asked, "When are you going to make an honest woman out of my daughter?"

"I didn't realize she was a dishonest woman," Donny said.

He covered his head in case her initial love tap was followed by another. It wasn't.

Lily shook her head and said, "You're just as bad as your father."

"Thank you," Donny said peeking out from under his arms.

"It wasn't a compliment," Lily said with a grin. "He nearly drove your mother crazy waiting for him to propose."

"The acorn doesn't fall far from the tree," Donny said winking at her.

She looked over at him with a smile and said, "You might want to head home. Your mother is waiting for you."

"Yes, Ma'am," Donny said.

Rose gave him a good send off kiss. She wrapped her body around his and made sure that there wasn't a part of him that didn't know he was being kissed. He did not struggle.

Standing off to the side, Lily asked, "Vincent, did he and her kiss like that around Hank?"

"Yes they did," Vincent answered.

"I'm surprised they aren't married yet," Lily said.

Vincent said, "Donny didn't have much choice about the kiss. Calvin and I were holding him. I think Dad understood, although he did threaten to get the shotgun."

"That explains it," Lilly said. She looked over at the young couple and said, "That's enough of that."

Rose eased back and winked at Donny.

She said, "You owe me a proposal."

"Yes, Ma'am," Donny said tipping his hat to her.

Donny eased his way into the car and drove off. When they reached the dirt road, he turned right heading for home.

Pepper asked, "Where is your place?"

"Over there on the left," Donny answered. "We've been driving along it for a couple of minutes now."

"You're kidding?" Pepper asked.

A mixture of aspen, birch, pine, cedar, and cottonwood trees filled the area beside the road. The white trunks of the aspen trees stood out from the dark green of the tall pines. The leaves of the cottonwood trees served as a nice intermediate green between the shiny green leaves of the aspen and the dark green needles of the pines. The trees were so thick that you couldn't see fifty feet into the woods until there was a sudden patch of open meadow filled with lush green grass.

Donny said, "No. I've got five sections of land."

"What is that in something that I understand?" Pepper asked.

"Five square miles," Donny answered. "It starts at a mile from the corner and runs about three and quarter miles along this road. It goes from this road to one and a half miles back from the road. Uncle Joe's place is across the road. Uncle Dan's place straddles the road at the far end of our places. It was the only way Granddad could see to partition it so that all of his sons got basically the same thing."

Pepper whistled and asked, "How much is that worth?"

"About eight million," Donny answered.

Pepper stared at Donny unable to believe that this country hick was worth so much money. He asked, "Why are you working?"

"If I didn't work, I'd lose the place," Donny answered.

"If you sold the place you wouldn't ever have to work," Pepper said.

Donny countered, "If I sold the place, I would have nothing."

"You would have eight million dollars," Pepper said.

There was no way to put into words the way the land made Donny feel. To lose it would rip a hole in his chest the size of the Grand Canyon.

He gestured to his property and said, "Look at what I'd lose. There's not enough money in the world to replace that."

"You could be having sex with porn stars," Pepper said.

"I could. I would also catch something from one of them and have my dick drop off," Donny said shaking his head.

It seemed sad to him that some people were so shallow. They would settle for glitter instead of demanding gold.

"You could have a mansion," Pepper said.

He could imagine living in a mansion with fast cars and fast women. He would smoke cigars and get massages all afternoon. He would never work another day in his life.

Turning into the driveway, Donny said, "I've got a nice house already. I don't need anything bigger."

Pepper looked at the complex of buildings that suddenly appeared in front of them. There was a good sized ranch house, a barn with a corral next to it, an equipment storage shed, a metal Quonset hut that served as a workshop, a greenhouse, and a bunkhouse. Three tractors were parked next to the storage shed. There were almost more buildings there, than in that place they called a town.

Donny said, "You've got all this, and you act like you don't have two dimes to rub together."

"I'm rich on paper, but this is a working farm. The costs of running it are very high. We have five ranch hands to pay, and we hire companies to come in and do the 'combining'. We do pretty well, but we've got a bit of debt to pay off ... things like equipment, seeds, and building material. We're maintaining all of the outbuildings and fences. We've got four trucks, horse trailers, cattle trailers, flatbeds, eight snow mobiles, and six ATVs," Donny said.

"Oh," Pepper said.

"About the time we get something paid off, it needs to be replaced. Mom went through a number of rough years after Dad died. A lot of the credit was in Dad's name. She inherited the debt, but not the credit rating. The price of beef dropped to nearly nothing, and the timber company cut back their harvest," Donny said.

Pepper said, "You could sell it all, and be a millionaire."

"Our dining room is at the back of that house. Every morning I get up, and have a cup of coffee looking at the view from the dining room window. When the weather is good, I sit out on the back porch. Do you know what I see?" Donny asked.

"What?"

Donny answered, "I see God's handiwork in all its glory."

"Okay," Pepper said looking away uncomfortably.

He didn't like all of that stuff about God and glory. He kept waiting for someone to pull out a Bible, and start reading verses from it.

"I know what you're thinking. I figure one day, you'll step out of the bunkhouse, and some sight will just take your breath away. It might be the night sky, the morning light on the mountains, the trees covered with snow, or a magnificent elk standing proudly in a meadow. You'll stand there, staring at it awestruck, wondering how something so beautiful could possibly exist. That is the day you'll become a believer," Donny said with quiet confidence.

"The day that I can run down to that little shithole you call a hometown and buy a burger from a national chain is the day I'll be awestruck," Pepper said shaking his head.

Donny parked the car in front of the house. His mother was waiting for him. They hugged and then split apart.

Donny asked, "How are things around the place?"

"Quiet for the most part," his mother answered.

Concerned, Donny asked, "For the most part?"

"A bear did wander through here the other day," his mother answered.

On the verge of panic, Pepper shouted, "A bear! There are bears here?"

Donny's mother looked at Pepper who was still seated in the car and shook her head. She put two fingers in her mouth and whistled. It was loud enough to carry a half of a mile. A man came out of the barn. She gestured to him and he headed over towards them.

She said, "I take it this is the cretin that tried to kill my baby."

"He's not a baby," Pepper said.

"Yes, Mom. That miserable excuse for a man is Pepper," Donny said.

"Maybe Dan should have killed him."

Pepper was tired of hearing people say that he should be killed. He swore, "God Dam..."

Donny slapped Pepper through the window of the car. The angle made it difficult, and the blow ended up being more of smack than a slap.

He said, "Don't swear in front of my mother."

The ranch hand arrived in time to see Donny hit Pepper. He knew Donny wasn't the type to go around hitting people without cause, so there had to be a little more going on than met the eye.

He said, "Is this the fellow that screwed Sonny?"

"Yes it is, Craig," Donny said.

Pepper's ears were ringing and his vision was blurred from the blow. He took two deep breaths trying to recover. They didn't help.

He said, "Would everyone stop telling me that someone should kill me?"

"I'd have to say that I agree with the fellow. I say stop talking about it, and just do it," Craig said.

"It can't get any worse," Pepper said.

He didn't like the smile it brought to the new guy's face. He was beginning to get worried, even more.

Donny's mother asked, "Is the ankle bracelet ready?"

Looking over at Donny's mother, Pepper asked, "Ankle bracelet?"

"Yes, ma'am," Craig said. "I finished welding it together yesterday."

"Put it on him," Donny's mother said. Her voice was flat and cold.

Donny said, "Once you've done that, take him over to the bunkhouse and send him to the shower. He smells like hell. If he were to take a nap in the field, he would attract every buzzard in the county."

Barely cracking a smile, Craig said, "Yes, sir."

Donny's mother said, "Maybe you should warn him not to wander around. We don't know if that bear is still around."

"What kind of bear are you talking about here? Something cute and cuddly like a Teddy bear?" Pepper asked hoping that it was some kind of small and cute bear.

"Grizzly bear," Donny's mother said unable to believe that someone actually thought that a Teddy bear was a kind of bear.

Donny asked, "Was it a male or a female?"

"It was a big bruiser. It had to be a male," Craig answered.

Pepper's eyes were the size of saucers.

He said, "I saw a movie about a grizzly bear. It ate people."

Ignoring Pepper, Donny asked, "Did you pass out the Winchester Model 70s?"

"Yes," Donny's mother answered. "All the men got one just in case."

Craig said, "I wish you had it in a .375 H&H rather than the .338 Winchester Magnum."

Donny said, "Don't shoot it unless you're attacked. You know that it is protected here in the state."

"I know, it's just that I've seen what one of those bruisers can do," Craig said.

Totally freaked out at the idea of having grizzly bears nearby, Pepper said, "You people are crazy. You're living out here with grizzly bears that can eat people, rather than in a civilized place. If you had any common sense, you'd leave here and move to a place where you have an army to protect you from them."

"Shut up," Donny said.

His mother said, "Craig, put him in the ankle bracelet."

"Yes, ma'am," Craig said. He looked over at Donny and said, "Welcome back."

"Thanks," Donny said.

Craig opened the car door and pulled Pepper out of the car. He took note of the bondage gear that was keeping the man from moving around too freely.

He looked over at Donny and said, "I'm going to need the keys to the locks."

Donny reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small key ring. Tossing the keys to Craig, he said, "Here you go."

"What should I do with the bondage gear?"

"I'll take care of it," Donny said.

His mother smiled and asked, "Are you going to use it on your honeymoon with Rose?"

"MO-om!"

"Come on in the house, and call your uncle. You need to let him know that you arrived home, safe and sound," his mother said laughing.

Pepper followed Craig to the Quonset hut. Although he had never had much experience with tools or repair shops, even Pepper could tell that this was a well-equipped workshop. Craig had him sit down in a chair before disappearing into the backend of the workshop. Pepper sat down and looked around at his surroundings with considerable curiosity until Craig returned with an object right out of a nightmare.

Pepper asked, "What's that?"

"That is your ankle bracelet," Craig answered holding up a manacle.

"No. There's a chain attached to it and a big hunk of metal at the end of the chain," Pepper said staring at the device with a look of horror on his face.

"Mrs. Daniels didn't want you running off," Craig said.

He put the device on the floor next to Pepper. It hit the concrete with a thud.

"That's a ball and chain," Pepper said.

Looking down at his creation, Craig said, "It is more of an iron bar and chain."

"You are not putting that on me," Pepper said shaking his head.

He wasn't in much of a position to fight. His legs were hobbled and his hands were attached to a belt around his waist. Craig knelt down, and, with a few deft movements, had the manacle attached and locked to Pepper with a padlock.

He said, "There you go."

"Take it off," Pepper said.

"I can't," Craig said.

"Why not?"

Craig answered, "Mrs. Daniels has the key out of reach."

"How am I supposed to get dressed and undressed with that on my ankle?" Pepper asked.

"That's why it is an iron bar and chain rather than a ball and chain. That bar will fit through your pants legs with no problem," Craig answered.

He unlocked and then removed the bondage gear that had been used to restrain Pepper. Stepping back, he said, "Stand up and walk around. See how your ankle bracelet works."

Ten minutes later Pepper followed Craig to the bunkhouse. The iron bar was ten pounds, and the chain weighed another five pounds. Pepper struggled to carry the bar, and enough of the chain, to keep from tripping. Halfway to the bunkhouse, Pepper realized that fifteen pounds got heavy, very quickly.

Craig stopped and pointed at the barn.

He asked, "Do you see that little silver reflection from about halfway between the top of the barn door and the roof?"

"Yes," Pepper said looking up at the front of the barn.

About fifteen feet up, was a small silver object. It was hard to make out what it was.

"That's the key," Craig said.

Pepper stared at the key thinking that it was going to be impossible for him to get to it. He didn't think it would be possible to climb a ladder with the bar and chain attached to his ankle.

He asked, "Why did she put the key there?"

Craig answered, "She said something about things getting moved out of your reach because of the actions that others take. I think it was an analogy of how you screwed up Sonny's life."

"An analogy?" Pepper asked.

"It is kind of like that bar and chain around your ankle. You see, Sonny has something like that hung on him, now. He's going to have to deal with that whole mess in Los Angeles, for the rest of his life. It is going to hurt his education, his career, and his whole economic earning potential," Craig said. He shook his head and said, "I really respect Mrs. Daniels. She raised those two boys real good. However, I think she's been a little over-forgiving of you."

"Oh," Pepper said.

He didn't feel like there was much forgiveness going around, considering that it left him holding fifteen pounds in his arms. Craig slapped him on the back nearly making him drop the bar. He knew that carrying that much weight around was going to be difficult.

Craig said, "Let's get you cleaned up. You start work tomorrow."

The two men made their way into the bunkhouse. Much to Peppers surprise there were two men and a woman sitting around watching television.

One of the men said, "Hey Craig, you've got to watch the news."

"What happened?"

The man said, "About ten minutes ago, one of those gang members was shot going into the hospital where they are keeping Sonny. The reporter said that there was no one around him, so they suspect that he was shot with a high-powered rifle. They said that the guy had a gun on him."

Craig asked, "What do you want to bet that it was a .30-30?"

"No. I bet that it was a .30-06. That's what Calvin usually shoots," the man replied.

Unable to believe what he was hearing, Pepper asked, "Someone is killing the gang members?"

"Is this the jerk weed that screwed Sonny?"

Craig answered, "Yes."

Before anyone had a chance to say anything, Pepper said, "I know what you're going to say. They should have killed me."

One of the men said, "I was going to say 'thank you'. Because of you, I don't have to clean the barn anymore. If I never see another shovel full of horse manure, it will be too soon."

Craig said, "Let me introduce you to everyone. That is Sam, John, and John's wife Sarah. I don't know where Carl is, but I'm sure that he'll be around when you get out of the shower."

Pepper said, "I don't have any clothes except what I'm wearing."

Sam was the man who had thanked Pepper for taking over cleaning the barn. He said, "You're about the same size as me. I'll loan you an old pair of jeans, and a shirt."

"Thanks," Pepper said.

He was going to ask about underwear, but thought better of it.



-------

Chapter 12


Pepper's introduction to the concept that a horse is nothing more than a factory for producing manure and urine began at 6:30 in the morning. His introduction to the concept that he was a factory worker whose job was to return the stall to a manure and urine free environment began at six thirty-one, that same morning. Pepper was not happy to learn that this job was called 'mucking out a stall', and that he would be doing that job every day that a horse had been kept in a stall. He thought that the smell was pretty bad, and that the manure was gross.

One of the things that Pepper learned very quickly, was that taking care of a horse was a lot of work. It wasn't just a matter of setting out some food and water, such as you would with a dog or a cat. Mucking out a stall required a lot of time, but at least it wasn't back breaking work. It was just a matter of removing the manure, the dirty hay, and laying fresh hay after cleaning up the floor.

The most physically demanding part of the job, was pushing the wheelbarrow filled with manure and dirty hay out to the compost pits. The bar and chain made that a much more difficult task than it would have normally been.

The one thing that struck him the most about the job, was that horses were big animals. They scared him. He couldn't pick one up, and put it where he wanted it. Instead, he had to work with the horse to move it. Sometimes the horse had other ideas about what it wanted to do. By the time he had finished mucking out the stalls, he had been stepped on, kicked, bit, and squashed against the side of the stall. It seemed that horses instinctively knew incompetence when they saw it.

After finishing his work in the barn, Pepper then learned the meaning of the expression: 'a tough row to hoe', by working in the garden.

His idea of a garden was a little space that was eight feet long by three feet wide, filled with one or two rows of flowers. He discovered that out in the country, a garden was a hundred feet long and fifty feet wide, and was planted with row after row of vegetables. Weeds grew up between the rows, and around the vegetables.

His job was to take a hoe, and remove the weeds. It sounded simple enough when Craig told him what to do. It should be noted that Craig was rather surprised that Pepper didn't know how to operate a hoe. It was calmly explained to Pepper that he was to take what he thought of as a weirdly shaped tool, and use it to dig under a weed and remove it. Pepper's first attempt to follow instructions, involved swinging the hoe like it was an axe. Craig immediately disabused him of that idea. There was a technique to it, which involved short chopping strokes. Pepper soon discovered that it was a lot more work than it seemed.

Pepper discovered that he was pretty inept at the job when Craig chewed him out about destroying the plants. Apparently, the job also involved distinguishing the good plants from the bad plants. His previous experience with vegetables involved fully mature plants or their fruits that had been harvested. He had never seen a bean plant, a tomato plant, or a squash plant. He had no clue what the various plants were.

Complicating everything he did, was the bar and chain. He couldn't move more than five feet in any direction without having to pick up the bar and move it. The chain caught on things and would pull him up short.

He discovered that trying to run while wearing the bar and chain was not a good idea. That discovery came upon encountering his first snake. His struggles to get away had destroyed more plants in the garden. Craig was a little amused, but mostly disgusted.

Pepper was hot, tired, hungry, and sore by the time he returned to the bunkhouse. His hands had blisters on top of blisters. After years of sitting around his little store, he had finally been introduced to the true meaning of the word 'work' ... and he didn't like it. After washing up, he dragged his aching and exceptionally hungry body over to the main house for dinner. He was the last to arrive.

After the bowls and plates of food had been passed around, the meal started with someone saying grace. It was a short prayer thanking God for the food, and asking him to watch over everyone. It was the same prayer that had been said over every other meal that he eaten, since getting kidnapped.

Pepper sat there, fidgeting and uncomfortable, throughout the short prayer. He was half tempted to say amen when the prayer was over just because he was so thankful that he could finally get to eat.

The food looked and smelled delicious. There were two pot roasts, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, creamed corn, and hot fresh biscuits. The food was laid out in quantity. Pepper was pretty sure that there would be a ton of leftovers.

Pepper had just gotten the first forkful of meat to his mouth when Mrs. Daniels said, "Someone destroyed my garden."

"What?" Pepper asked, wondering if she was talking about the same garden he had been working in all day.

Donny had been busy the entire day. He had stopped by Dan's place in the middle of the day, to make sure that everything was running smoothly. This had meant driving around the place checking out the stock to make sure that they were healthy, checking the wheat field, and stopping by the logging operation. The entire visit had taken almost four hours. He then swung by Joe's place, and essentially repeated the same set of activities. His aunts had managed things quite well in the absence of their husbands.

As a result of his busy day, Donny had been unaware of any problems at his ranch.

He asked, "What happened?"

"Someone destroyed almost a week's worth of food," Mrs. Daniels said glaring at Pepper.

She normally took care of the garden, but the absence of Donny for a week had required her to attend to other matters. She took a lot of pride in her garden, and in the fact that it was able to feed so many people. Montana is not the place to grow gardens although it is possible with a lot of planning and effort. Almost all of her plants were started early in a greenhouse, and then transplanted into the garden late in the season.

Looking very uncomfortable, Craig said, "I had Pepper work in the garden, and it didn't go all that well."

"I think you are a master of understatement," Mrs. Daniels said. "What happened?"

"He doesn't know a weed from a vegetable," Craig answered.

All eyes turned to Pepper at that statement. The man looked around a little embarrassed at being the center of attention. It seemed to him that he couldn't do anything right.

"Is that true, Pepper?" Mrs. Daniels asked.

She was of the opinion that the damage had to be intentional. No one could do that much damage in one afternoon by accident.

"Everything looks the same, to me. A plant is a plant, unless it has a flower on it," Pepper said.

The shaking heads around the table suggested that he wasn't earning any brownie points.

Mrs. Daniels said, "Weeding the garden is something we send little kids out to do because it doesn't require any real skill. I find it inconceivable that a grown man can't do a child's chore. Did you destroy so many plants on purpose?"

"I thought they were weeds," Pepper said.

"You managed to mangle a dozen corn plants, destroyed a third of the lettuce bed, dug up half of my herbs, and stepped on dozens of other plants. We are going to have to go a whole week without lettuce because of you. I'm going to have to buy mint from the store until some new plants get established. I really dislike mint from the store," Mrs. Daniels said.

"Which ones were the mint plants?" Pepper asked.

He didn't like the look that came over her face when he asked that question. It was pretty obvious that she wasn't happy.

Unable to believe the words that were coming out of his mouth, Craig said, "The ones that smelled like mint when you picked them up."

"Oh," Pepper said somewhat embarrassed. He had thought that some of the plants had smelled pretty nice.

Seeing the Mrs. Daniels was about to explode, Craig said, "In his defense, I would like to say that the bar and chain was a problem. I didn't realize that it would knock down the plants like it did."

"I guess some of the damage can be excused," Mrs. Daniels said somewhat disgusted.

"Don't forget that snake. That's when I crashed into those tall plants," Pepper said. He put his hands out about three feet and said, "It was that big."

"What color was it?" Donny asked.

"Brown with yellow stripes," Pepper answered.

Craig was starting to feel a headache coming on.

He said, "It was a common garter snake."

Looking at Craig, she said, "I don't want that worm in my garden ever again."

"Yes, Ma'am," Craig said.

Pepper had thought that she was talking about the snake at first. Then he realized that she was talking about him. He didn't like being called a worm, but he wasn't going to protest. He figured that he was in enough trouble already.

"You'll have to find some other job for him to do."

"Yes, Ma'am," Craig said.

Donny asked, "How did he do mucking out the stalls?"

"He did all right," Craig answered.

Donny said, "I guess we will have him muck out three barns tomorrow. He can do ours in the early morning, Dan's in the middle of the day, and Joe's in the afternoon. That should keep him busy."

"I'll drive him over to Dan's place when he finishes up here," Craig said.

"We'll see if someone over there can drive him over to Joe's place, later," Donny said. Taking care of this tinhorn from Los Angeles was a lot more work than it was worth. "We should have just killed him."

"He's here, and we made a deal," Mrs. Daniels said.

"I know, Mother," Donny said.

The discussion had come to an end, and everyone returned to eating. Pepper dug into the food, eating twice as much as he had ever eaten before. He wasn't sure if it was because the meal tasted so good or because he was so hungry. All he knew, was that he took seconds of everything, and thirds of most everything.

Much to his surprise, he wasn't the last one to finish eating ... and there wasn't much food left over.

After everyone had finished eating, Craig asked, "What's happening with Sonny?"

"The police tried to question him, but his attorney stopped it on account of the painkillers he is taking," Mrs. Daniels answered.

She had talked to the attorney earlier that day to find out what was happening. Her brother in law had given her an overview about events in Los Angeles, but he couldn't tell her many details of what happened after the arrest. Most of what she knew concerning that was from the attorney. Dan didn't want the police to know that he was in town so he was avoiding any kind of contact with them ... even indirect contact via the attorney.

"He needs painkillers?" Sam asked.

Donny smiled at the question and said, "No. He was fine while staying in the camper with us, although he was a bit grumpy. That is just a ploy to keep the police from questioning him. According to the lawyer, they can only hold him for ten days without pressing charges. It appears that holding him in a secure hospital facility, counts as part of those ten days."

Craig said, "How good is his lawyer?"

"Uncle Dan seems to think he's pretty good. He picked him after watching the guy talk about the case on the television, during one of the news programs where they were speculating about how the case would be prosecuted. I was pretty impressed when I talked to him," Donny answered.

Mrs. Daniels said, "It is good to know a little about a man's views and politics before you hire him. When you get someone who is already arguing on your side of the story before you hire him, then he doesn't have any words to eat later."

"That's true," Craig said.

Donny said, "Dan and I spent almost three days looking for a good lawyer to handle Sonny's case. I had talk to a dozen of them before hiring this guy."

Pepper couldn't believe what he was hearing. These people didn't fit his mental image of how he thought they would have approached this problem. They seemed to have spent a lot of time researching their options and planning before they acted. They talked slow, didn't dress fashionably, and weren't the least bit cultured, but they weren't nearly as dumb as he thought.

Donny said, "The interesting thing according to the attorney is that the case against Sonny is circumstantial. It is a very weak case, at that. No one saw him shoot the guys, leave the room or the hospital, and they haven't found the gun. With Sonny having been missing for several days, there was no residue on his hands. So long as Sonny keeps his mouth shut, they aren't going to be able to convict him."

"What about the guy that was in the room with him?" Sam asked.

"He was so drugged on morphine that he wasn't even aware there had been a shooting," Donny answered. "It could be speculated that Sonny was taking a walk when the shooting happened, he saw the bodies, and fled the hospital. The nurses were always dragging him back to his room so that is a plausible explanation."

"Is that the story he's telling?" Craig asked.

Donny answered, "No. Sonny isn't telling any story. He is going to let the lawyer do all of the talking for him. All his lawyer has to do is place sufficient doubt on the case that the prosecutor brings. Everyone knows that, so the police are moving slowly in the investigation."

"That's the way to do it. Let the lawyer lie for you," Craig said.

Donny said, "They might not charge him with anything. California law and criminal procedures are a lot different than here. I can't claim to understand how things work there."

"Does that mean I'm free to go?" Pepper asked hopefully.

"You have got to be the world's dumbest man," Mrs. Daniels said shaking her head.

Donny said. "Do you see Sonny here?"

"No," Pepper answered.

Mrs. Daniels said, "When Sonny comes home, you can leave."

Thinking that if Sonny was released and returned to school that he might not be back, Pepper said, "He might never come home."

"Then you might never leave," Donny said coldly.

There was only one reason why Sonny would never come home, and that was if he died before he could make it back. This was Sonny's home.

Seeing the look on Donny's face, Pepper said, "I didn't mean it that way. I meant that he might want to stay out there after having lived in the city."

"That would never happen," Donny said flatly.

Pepper asked, "What about staying for school?"

"He is finished for this semester. He's missed too many classes to return to school," Donny said.

Getting shot during a robbery wasn't an excused absence. Sonny had been put in a position where he had to withdraw for the semester, once the gang members had been killed. He might have been able to stay in school if he had immediately returned to classes after being released from the hospital, but even that hadn't been assured.

"This whole thing set his education back as much as six months. He was taking some summer classes to get ahead on his program," Mrs. Daniels said.

Wanting to change the topic, Craig asked, "So what else is going on in Los Angeles?"

Donny said, "The police are still looking for whoever shot the gang member at the hospital, but they don't have any clues."

"That's good," John said.

Mrs. Daniels said, "Another gang member was arrested today trying to get into the hospital with a weapon. It appears that the police don't like people getting murdered at a hospital, so they've stepped up security there."

"That's good for Sonny," Sarah said.

"It makes it a lot harder for someone to watch over him. You have to assume that the police will stop them, but sometimes they might not. All it takes is one guy slipping past the police," Mrs. Daniels said.

John said, "I didn't think about that."

The discussion continued around the table. Pepper tuned everyone out since he was half dead from having worked so much. Running the store in Los Angeles wasn't exactly a physical job like mucking out a stable or weeding a garden. He was in the process of discovering muscles that he didn't know he'd had.

He picked the bar up and said, "I'm going to bed."

Pepper stepped outside just as the light of day was beginning to fade. There were no streetlights, advertising signs, or porch lights coming on to displace the approaching dark. The light seemed to soften his surroundings in what he considered an unnatural manner. The buildings, trees, and mountains in the distance had lost their hard edges. Colors were muted, nearly bordering on shades of gray.

There was a soft breeze that carried the scent of pine. He could smell the barn from where he stood. There was the smell of things that he couldn't identify that teased his nose. It dawned on him that there was a variety of odors that he had never experienced before.

Despite the fact that there weren't sirens wailing, horns honking, or people yelling ... the country wasn't silent. The breeze made leaves rustle. It provided a soft background noise that was only noticed when the wind stopped for a second or two. A few birds were singing in the trees that bordered the complex. He realized that each kind of bird sang a different call. He'd never listened to birds before. He had always thought of birds as chirping, but these songs weren't chirps. Providing a deep resonant contrast to the high pitch birdsong was the lowing of cows in the distance. He could hear the horses nickering in the stable.

The air was cool, not unpleasantly cool, but nowhere near as hot as the air of Los Angeles. The caress of the breeze on his skin raised goose bumps. There was a hint of moisture in the air, but not enough to call it humid.

Pepper stood there for a minute taking in the sight, sound, feel, and smell of the country.

Finally, he said, "I miss Los Angeles."



-------

Chapter 13


The cowboy strolled into the police station as if he owned the place. He was wearing a straw cowboy hat, boot fitted jeans, a white shirt, round-toed boots, and a belt buckle with an agate stone gracing it. In one hand he carried a small foam coffee cup. In the other, he had a large stack of papers.

He walked over to the desk sergeant and said, "Howdy."

"Howdy back at you," the desk sergeant said amused by the greeting.

He took a second to look over the man standing at his counter. It didn't take him more than a few seconds to recognize him as the cowboy who was the center of a lot of bad publicity for the department.

A reporter who hung around the police station in case there was a story of some kind walked up behind Sonny and started listening to the conversation. He had recognized Sonny the minute he had walked into the station. Now he was busy writing down everything that was said.

He asked, "When did they let you out of the hospital?"

"This morning," Sonny answered.

He had been released from the hospital in the middle of the morning. They had let him go without filing any charges against him. That didn't mean that his ordeal was over. He was still considered a suspect in the deaths of the gang members.

Sonny dropped the stack of papers on the desk sergeant's counter.

"What's that?" the desk sergeant asked.

"I stopped by the country clerk's office and they gave me this stack of papers to fill out. I'm going to need a little help with it," Sonny answered with a wry grin.

The desk sergeant picked up a sheet from the top of the stack and looked at it.

Puzzled, he said, "This is an application for a restraining order."

"That's right. I want to file restraining orders against every member of a local gang. You know ... the gang that the two guys who robbed me belong to," Sonny said.

"Are you crazy?"

The reporter was grinning ear-to-ear, as he listened to the exchange. This story was going to be great. He could just read the headline, "Gang Restraining Order." He was curious about who was going to be brave enough to try to serve the papers to the gang members.

"No. Why would you ask that?" Sonny asked.

"A restraining order won't do a bit of good against a gang," the desk sergeant said tossing the sheet of paper back on the stack of forms.

This was the most ridiculous thing he had experienced in years sitting behind the desk. He was pretty sure that the gang members would laugh at the idea. Restraining orders did little to protect someone, and they wouldn't mean a thing to the gang.

Sonny spit a bit of tobacco juice into his foam cup.

He said, "Well, I want the full protection of the law against those desperados."

"You are crazy," the desk sergeant said. Shaking his head, he asked, "Why are you here?"

"Well, it turns out that I can't get a restraining order against the gang as a whole. I have to do it on an individual-by-individual basis. As a result, I need the names of all members of the gang. I understand that you can provide that for me," Sonny said.

"I don't know about that," the desk sergeant said.

He had never had anyone come in and make a request like that. He wasn't sure if they were allowed to give out that kind of information. There were rights of privacy issues, despite the fact that they were members of a gang.

The reporter piped up and said, "The gang unit has that information, Sonny Daniels."

The desk sergeant looked over at the reporter and said, "Don't do this to me, Arnie."

"Well, the gang unit does have that information," Arnie said. He grinned and asked, "How are you planning on getting those restraining orders served?"

Sonny answered, "It is my understanding that the police will do it, for free."

"That's true," Arnie said writing that down in his notepad.

Imagining what would happen to a police officer who walked into the strip club occupied by the gang members, the desk sergeant said, "You aren't going to find a policeman crazy enough to serve gang members."

"Can I quote you on that?" Arnie asked with a grin.

"No," the desk sergeant answered. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm afraid that we can't help you with the names of the gang members. Our records are highly sensitive."

Sonny spit into his foam cup earning a disgusted look from the police officer.

He asked, "Is that your final answer?"

"Yes," the desk sergeant answered.

Sonny said, "I guess I'll just have to ask my attorney to get that information released to me. I'm sure there is some mechanism ... something like the freedom of information act ... that I can use to force you to give me the names of all known gang members in the Los Angeles area."

It was suddenly difficult to hear over the sounds of half a dozen police cars, with sirens blaring, pulling out of the police station. The radio on the front desk filled with so much chatter that it was nearly impossible to make out a single word. The last time the desk sergeant had heard that much excitement over the radio, there had been riots after some policemen had been found not guilty of police violence.

The desk sergeant asked, "What the hell?"

He picked up the telephone to find out what was happening. After a minute of animated conversation, he hung up the phone and stared at Donny.

He said, "We just got a 911 call from the strip joint where that gang hangs out. It appears someone has reported explosions and injured people there."

"Really?" Sonny said. He looked at the reporter and said, "They must have made someone angry."

The reporter immediately asked, "Do you know anything about this?"

Sonny spit into his foam cup before he answered, "How could I know something? I was standing right here with you and the police officer here."

"What about the gang member who was killed outside the hospital you were in?" the reporter asked.

This was actually the first time anyone in the press had been in a position to ask Sonny questions directly. He wasn't about to all that opportunity to pass. He had a lot of questions to ask.

"How could I know anything about that? I was lying in a bed, in the hospital," Sonny replied.

The desk sergeant said, "It seems to me that there are a lot of problems with that gang, when you're around."

"I noticed that too. That's why I wanted the restraining orders," Sonny answered gesturing to the stack of papers on the counter. "A car full of them fellows drove by when I returned to the campus."

"You wouldn't happen to have a relative who is stirring up the pot, would you?" the desk sergeant asked suspiciously.

Talking to a policeman in the middle of a police station was the perfect alibi. A suspicious man might wonder if it was entirely coincidental, and the desk sergeant was a suspicious man by nature. Years spent in a patrol car had only increased that natural tendency.

"My mother and brother are in Montana," Sonny answered. Seeing the expression on the officer's face, he added, "My Dad was killed by a drunk driver when he was coming home from a rodeo down in Oklahoma. I was just knee high to a grasshopper, at the time."

"Any other relatives?"

"I've got family all over the country. I've even got one overseas fighting in the Army. I don't even know where some of them are," Sonny said.

He spit in the foam cup.

Warming up to the topic, Sonny said, "So many kids my age do their best to leave the country behind. I've got a cousin who is married to a guy that doesn't even know what direction to face when riding a horse.

"It is kind of sad really. I've been going to school out here, and I'll probably get married to some city girl who screams the first time she sees a bug or something. My kids will probably grow up listening to that rap 'music', or something just as obnoxious. They probably won't get too many chances to make it out to the country. Odds are that they'll never learn to ride a horse, rope a cow, or drive a tractor."

Sonny stood there with a hand over his heart and then said, "It is a real shame."

The desk sergeant and the reporter just stared at Sonny.

In the silence, the police radio reported, "We need at least six more ambulances and two more fire trucks."

Sonny said, "Six ambulances. Wow! It sure sounds like someone put a lot of hurt to some people."

"We need someone from the morgue, over here," the radio blared.

Arnie asked, "Sonny, what do you have to say about this?"

"It sounds to me that it isn't safe being in a gang," Sonny answered as he spit in his foam cup. "It must be that disregard for the law that gets them into so much trouble."

The radio blared, "We've got burn victims."

The desk sergeant watched Sonny for a minute and then said, "If there's nothing else I can do for you then I suggest you head on out."

"You're not going to give me the names of the gang members?" Sonny asked.

"Not today," the desk sergeant answered.

He was positive that Sonny knew exactly what was going on. As soon as Sonny left, he was going to call the detective in charge of the shooting case at the hospital.

Sonny spit out the smokeless tobacco into his foam cup. He dropped the cup into a trashcan and then picked up the stack of papers he had set on the counter. He made a big production of straightening the stack by tapping the edges on the desk.

Smiling, he said, "I guess I'll be back tomorrow."

"Maybe there won't be an explosion the next time you come here," the desk sergeant said.

"You never know what is going to happen," Sonny said.

He turned and left the police station. Arnie and the police sergeant watched him leave. Arnie looked amused. The police sergeant was frowning.

Arnie looked over at the desk sergeant and asked, "What do you think?"

"I think it is highly 'coincidental' that he was standing here when that explosion took place," the desk sergeant said. He snorted and said, "Imagine trying to get restraining orders against that bunch."

"He's liable to do it just out of stubbornness," Arnie said, thinking that he had rather liked the cowboy.

"All hell is about to break loose. I've seen his type before. If you ever make one of them mad, they will never give up making sure the score is even," the desk sergeant said.

"What do you mean?" Arnie asked.

The desk sergeant said, "I've got some family back in the coal mining area of Pennsylvania. If you mess with one of them, they won't stop until they decide the score is even. I've got a feeling that we haven't had the last 911 call regarding that gang."

Arnie asked, "Don't you think it is ironic that the gang calls you when they get attacked?"

"It is a crazy world," the desk sergeant said while picking up the telephone to call the detective.

"I'm going to follow that guy, and see what he does," Arnie said heading towards the door.

He caught up with Sonny just as the man was about to enter a bar down the street from the station house. He was familiar with this bar since a lot of off duty policemen hung out there.

Aware that he was being followed, Sonny entered the bar and looked around at the men inside. They were all facing a large screen television watching a local news station. The news station was broadcasting events at the strip club.

He sat down at the bar and told the bartender, "I'll have a beer."

"One beer coming up," the bartender said. He glanced up at the television and said, "Look at that mess. It couldn't have happened to a nice bunch of guys."

The broadcast switched over to a live aerial shot of the strip club. Even though it was night, the parking lot was lit up. Three cars were on fire, and they provided the majority of light. There were bodies on the ground. Most were moving, but a few were still.

The news announcer said, "We have reports that there are a dozen fatalities and two dozen injured. We haven't been able to get confirmation of those numbers, but judging by the video feed we're getting, there are a lot of people who have been hurt."

Arnie sat down next to Sonny. He figured this would be a very good chance to learn more about what Sonny knew about the events at the strip club.

He said, "It looks like a scene from a third world country."

"Sure does," Sonny said nodding his head in agreement.

Pointing at the television, Arnie said, "If they are reporting a dozen fatalities this early then the real number is probably closer to six."

"Are you suggesting that the press is prone to exaggeration?" Sonny asked sarcastically.

He accepted the beer from the bartender and slid a ten-dollar bill over to the man. The man looked down at the bill before turning towards the cash register. He marked the bill with his 'counterfeit' marking pen, before ringing up the sale.

Arnie was about to give a retort when he realized with whom he was talking. Sonny had probably heard a lot of speculation about his situation over the past two weeks. There probably were some hard feelings towards the press on Sonny's part. Arguing with Sonny wasn't going to get him an interview.

He said, "It happens sometimes."

"It seems to happen a lot," Sonny said.

Arnie shook his head and said, "It used to be the print media was the main source of news. That's why I got into the print news business. I wanted to be one of the first to know what was going on. In the old days, we had the time to get the facts. The deadline for getting in a story was pretty late in the day so we had a chance to do a pretty thorough job. We could actually stand there and count bodies.

"Now the main source of news is television and the internet. Unfortunately, television stations are broadcasting the news as it happens. They've got helicopters, and remote broadcasting vans, that allow them to go directly to where events are happening. The problem is that you can't just run video of events happening, you have to comment on them as they occur. For the most part, the reporters are just making it up as they go along, based on what they see and what they think they know."

"They are making it up?" Sonny asked looking over at Arnie.

Arnie said, "If I was on camera right now, I'd be talking about how the cars got on fire. I'd speculate about Molotov cocktails, or explosives being used. After all, it isn't all that easy for a car to catch on fire like that. The problem is, that I don't actually know how they caught on fire. Still, I would be standing in front camera having to talk for at least two minutes, to keep from having 'dead airtime'. Two minutes is a long time."

"It sounds to me that they aren't reporting the news, but are improvising," Sonny said.

"That's about right," Arnie said. He accepted his usual drink from the bartender and said, "Put it on my tab."

All of a sudden the fire around one of the cars started spreading. The television reporter was talking about fears of the cars exploding.

Arnie said, "The gas tank finally gave out. Did you know that they don't actually explode when the fire reaches the gas tank? An explosion requires the gasoline to be in vapor form."

"I knew that," Sonny said. "We used to make potato guns when I was a kid."

"What's that?" Arnie asked.

"You take pipe that is sealed on one end and with a small hole drilled in the side near the sealed end. You put a little gasoline in it and then shove a potato into the open end. When you take a match to the little hole, the potato gets shot out. You can shoot a potato an eighth of a mile," Sonny said.

"Sounds dangerous," Arnie said.

Sonny asked, "How do you think a gasoline engine works? It is the same principle."

"I didn't think about it like that," Arnie said.

He took a sip of his drink and pointed at the screen. It showed the firemen retreating away from the fire while trying to pull injured people away from the flames. Another fire truck was showing up at the scene.

Arnie said, "Fire departments don't like gasoline fires like that. They can't use their hoses to put them out."

"It sure looks like a mess out there," Sonny said.

The television was now broadcasting a split screen. It was showing the action with the cars burning on the left side of the screen. On the right side of the screen were a reporter and a member of the gang. The gang member was covered with blood.

Donny pointed at the screen and said, "It looks like they are going to interview one of the gang members."

On the television a gang member was saying, "There was this explosion which was followed by two or three more explosions. I felt like I got stabbed a dozen times all at once and fell to the ground. I looked up and three balls of flame descended from the sky. The cars then went up in flames."

The reporter asked, "Did you see anyone?"

"No," the gang member answered. "I've been shot before, but nothing like this."

Sonny said, "He looks like he's in pain."

"He does," Arnie said nodding his head. "What do you make of the explosions?"

"From his description, it could be anything," Sonny said. He looked over at Arnie and added, "It wasn't a potato gun."

"I didn't think it was," Arnie said dryly.

He watched Sonny take a drink of his beer.

When the cowboy had set his mug down, he said, "I think you know more about what is going on then you are letting on."

"I'm just a college student who has gone through a rough patch," Sonny said. He asked, "How long do you think it will be before they get things under control there?"

"Three or four hours," Arnie answered. "I'm sure that your name will come up soon."

"It wouldn't surprise me," Sonny said with a smile. "Of course, we both know that I was nowhere near there when it happened."

"You've got an iron clad alibi," Arnie said.

"Alibi! I was trying to think of that word," Sonny said snapping his fingers. "You wouldn't happen to have a business card, would you?"

Detective Mike Saperstein sat down next to Sonny. He had been in charge of the investigation concerning the shooting at the hospital. The desk sergeant had told him that Sonny had been in the station when the initial reports of events at the strip club had been called in on the radio.

He leaned over to Sonny and said, "That sure is a mess down there."

"I agree," Sonny said.

"Do you know what I think happened?" Mike asked.

"I have no idea," Sonny answered.

"I think a bunch of your redneck friends came down here to teach that gang a lesson. That mess is their handiwork," Mike said watching Sonny's reaction.

Sonny took a sip of his beer. After setting his glass down, he said, "That's an interesting theory."

"I am going to catch them," Mike said.

Sonny asked, "Like you caught those two fellows who shot me?"

"This is different," Mike said regretting the words as soon as they left his mouth.

He noticed Arnie writing down everything that was said. He knew that he was going to have to be very careful about what came out of his mouth or it would be a headline on a newspaper.

Sonny snorted and said, "Right. In my case, an honest law abiding citizen was shot, so you don't do shit. In their case, criminals are injured, so you send out the National Guard."

"That's not what I meant," Mike said.

It was actually a question of visibility. A guy getting shot in a store robbery wasn't news. A gang getting attacked made the national news.

Sonny said, "If it had been you that had been shot instead of me, then every policeman in this state would have been searching for those two gunmen. Don't lie to me, and tell me otherwise."

Mike pointed to his forehead and said, "Do you know how I got this scar?"

"No, and frankly, I don't care," Sonny said.

Mike glared at Sonny. "I'm going to tell you anyway."

"I'm not going to stop you. It's still a free country. You can talk all you want," Sonny said.

After taking a deep breath to get control of his temper, Mike said, "We were busting a crack house. We had the suspects on the ground, and were putting hand restraints on them, when the neighbors came out and started throwing stuff at us. I got hit by a bottle. They were upset that we were arresting people they knew. It didn't matter to them that we were closing a drug house that was operating in their neighborhood. They ran off before we could even arrest them. That's the reality that we work under."

"You should have just shot them," Sonny said dismissively.

"We can't shoot drug dealers on a whim," Mike said.

Sonny snorted and said, "I wasn't talking about shooting the drug dealers. You had them under control. I was talking about shooting the people that were throwing stuff at you."

"They were bystanders who got a little angry," Mike said shocked at the suggestion.

Sonny said, "That's where you're wrong. They were attacking you, and you would have been entirely justified in killing them."

"They weren't armed with real weapons," Mike said trying to get this guy to understand how things worked in the real world.

Shaking his head, Sonny said, "Maybe you need to read your Bible, again. Don't you know that David killed Goliath with a stone?"



-------

Chapter 14


Pepper stared at the television screen unable to believe what he was seeing. A news helicopter was broadcasting the disaster scene that used to be the parking lot. Three cars were on fire and people were lying around on the ground. There were fire trucks, police cars and ambulances everywhere. It looked like someone had kicked over an anthill.

"It is kind of ironic, don't you think?" John said pointing at the screen.

"What?" Sam asked.

"That the big tough gang that has no respect for the law, calls the police when they get attacked," John said.

"Now that you mention it ... it is a little ironic," Sam said.

Craig looked over at Pepper and asked, "What do you think?"

Recognizing landmarks from his old neighborhood, Pepper said, "I live near there."

"You ... used ... to live near there," Craig said correcting Pepper on the status of his address.

It dawned on Pepper that everything he owned was back in Los Angeles. His store, his apartment, and his car were back there. And there was no one looking after his stuff. Even if he was released in a few weeks, everything he owned could easily be gone.

Getting angry, he said, "Goddamn it."

Getting out of his seat, John shouted, "Don't swear in front of my wife."

"I'm sitting here in the middle of bumfuck nowhere and all my shit is... ," Pepper began.

He was going to continue his rant, but John backhanded him across the face knocking him to the floor. He shook his head trying to clear it.

"I told you not to swear in front of my wife," John said shaking a finger in Pepper's face.

Pepper glared at John wishing he knew how to fight. He hadn't ever been in a fight, not even as a schoolboy. He knew that he would probably just flail away without accomplishing anything.

He said, "I don't care. Everything I own is back there and I'm stuck here. Why don't you just get it over with, and kill me?"

"That would be too easy," John said.

"I've lost everything," Pepper said, staring down at the floor.

This was the first time, since his kidnapping, that he had actually thought about what was back in Los Angeles. The first two days of his kidnapping he had been afraid for his life. The next three days had been spent working from sunrise to sunset, mucking out stables. Mostly he had been more concerned with surviving the present, rather than worrying much about the future.

His ordeal had lasted for five days, so far. It was hard to believe that so little time had passed since he had left Los Angeles. It felt like he had been there for a year.

"You'd better hope that Sonny gets home soon," Sam said.

Pepper knew that the gang wouldn't let Sonny live. They would go after him with everything they had. This had become a matter of pride to them, and they weren't going to lose face over one stupid cowboy. Sonny was going to die and he was going to be stuck there for the rest of his life.

At the idea of living like a slave until he died, Pepper felt his brain shutting down. He stared at the floor not seeing anything. Everything that he had worked for, was lost.

He lay there on the floor where he had fallen when struck, until he fell asleep. After the news was over, John turned the television off, but neglected to wake him. Pepper was left there to spend the night on the floor.

It was still dark outside when Craig nudged Pepper with a foot. When the man on the floor finally stirred, Craig said, "Wake up."

"I guess I better get to bed," Pepper said groggily.

"It is time to wake up. We've got to head over to the house for breakfast," Craig said.

Pepper stood up from the floor, and took two steps before falling flat on his face. He had forgotten about the bar and chain.

Sitting on the floor, he said, "I just want to go home."

"Better hope Sonny comes home soon," Craig said.

He could see that Pepper was near his breaking point.

Pepper changed clothes and made his way over to the main house for breakfast. For a change, he wasn't the last one to arrive. He sat around with everyone else, waiting for Sam. Everyone was drinking coffee trying to shake off the last vestiges of sleep.

The man walked in after five minutes and said, "Sorry I'm late. I was on my way over here and something disturbed the horses. I went over and checked it out. I didn't see anything. I was concerned that the grizzly bear might be back."

"The bear is going eat me. I know it," Pepper said while visions of being breakfast for a bear passed through his mind.

"I don't think so," John said. "The grizzly bear was seen yesterday about twelve miles from here. It was probably a black bear. I doubt we'd have two grizzly bears stroll through here in a year."

"Black bear? Are they small and harmless?" Pepper asked.

Craig said, "Don't worry about it. When we get busy around here it will go away."

Pepper said, "You people are crazy. Don't you get it? Bears eat people."

Donny said, "Anyone who leaves the immediate area around the house ought to carry a pistol with them just in case."

"There's nothing unusual about that," Craig said.

Pepper asked, "How about me?"

Donny ignored Pepper and said, "We've already had four or five bears come through here including that grizzly. Why do you think we've had so many bears this year? Usually they avoid the house."

Craig said, "I don't know. Maybe someone around here hasn't been taking care of their trash like they should. The bears are learning that where there are people there is food."

"That could the case," Donny said. "There have been a few city folks setting up summer places out here. They probably put their garbage out on the back porch overnight and the bears get into it."

Mrs. Daniels asked, "Speaking of city folks, are you going to lease that land in back of our place?"

"Yes," Donny said. "The fellow that owns the place told me that he was only coming out here two or three weeks a year. He wants me to watch the house for him. I told him that I'd try to find someone who might be interested in swinging by once a week to check the place."

"That's a long haul from here particularly in winter," John said.

The ranches might have shared a common border, but they were accessed by different roads. The actual route from door to door was close to fifteen miles in length with nearly ten miles of that on dirt roads. Add a little snow into the mix and it was a very long drive.

Pepper tuned out the discussion and concentrated on eating. It seemed to him that he was eating more than ever and was starving by the next meal. He didn't know if his appetite was the result of all of that physical labor, the fresh air, or if the food just tasted better. He had three pancakes, two huge spoons of scrambled eggs that probably contained four eggs, bacon, sausage, and a large biscuit smothered in cherry jam. Back at home he normally ate a Pop Tart for breakfast.

Once his appetite was sated, Pepper sat back and drank a cup of coffee. It wasn't like the Seattle chain brand of coffee, but it tasted good. In fact, it tasted better than the coffee that he bought for four dollars a cup at the coffee shop. He commented, "This sure is good coffee."

Donny said, "I really missed your coffee when I was gone, Mom. That stuff out in Los Angeles tasted like it had been burnt. It was just horrible."

"I don't know why. There shouldn't be any difference in the taste of coffee. It is probably the same brand out there like it is here. I perk it just like I have ever since I can remember," Mrs. Daniels said.

"You perk your coffee?" Pepper asked surprised by that little revelation.

Mrs. Daniels answered, "Sure."

Having grown up in Los Angeles, Pepper had been surrounded by plenty of coffee mavens who would go on at great length about the perfect way to make coffee. They also were quite harsh in their opinions about the worst way to brew coffee.

Pepper said, "I was always told that was the worst way to make coffee."

"You don't make twenty five cups of coffee at a time any other way," Mrs. Daniels said.

"I have to admit that it tastes good," Pepper said.

He remembered an old girlfriend who used to grind her own beans and used a French coffee press to brew coffee. She could have learned something from Mrs. Daniels about making coffee.

Donny rose from the table and said, "It is time to get to work folks. Everyone knows what has to be done today?"

There was a chorus of yesses around the table. Even Pepper joined in despite the fact that he hadn't been listening. His job was mucking the stables here, at Dan's place, and at Joe's place. He picked up the iron bar and cradled it in the crook of his arm. He gathered up some of the chain and held it in his hand. Using the appropriate shuffle, he headed out towards the barn. The sun wasn't even up yet, but the horizon was lit up with yellow and orange light.

Pepper paused to look at the sight and muttered, "That would make a nice postcard."

He went into the first stall and put the halter on the horse inside it. Having gotten a little experience, he knew this horse liked to step on people's feet. He automatically moved his foot out from under the horse's hoof, when it went to step on him. He led the horse out of the barn and tied it up. He returned to the barn giving the rear of the horse wide berth.

There was a storage area inside the barn where the wheelbarrow, shovel, and pitchfork were kept along with other tools. He gathered up the necessary equipment and went into the stall. He used the shovel to remove the droppings and put them into the wheelbarrow.

He muttered, "All these horses do is piss and shit."

He worked through the morning cleaning one stall at a time. This was a job that didn't require much thought, but it did require time.

He was in the middle of doing the sixth stall, when Craig came up behind him.

Craig said, "We're bringing in two more mares. Donny wants to breed them."

"They don't do that out in the field?" Pepper asked.

Craig said, "They could, but with sixty or seventy thousand dollars at stake, you don't want to leave it to nature alone."

"Sixty or seventy thousand dollars?" Pepper asked. It seemed to him that was a lot for a single horse.

"These are thoroughbreds. With the bloodline these animals have, they are worth a lot of money," Craig said.

"So they are going to do it here in the barn?" Pepper asked looking around the stall in which he was standing. It seemed to him that it was kind of small for two horses.

"No. The mating will take place in the corral. I'll handle the mare and Donny will take care of stallion. He's one of the best stallion handlers in the area," Craig said.

"Stallion handler? What is that?" Pepper asked. Most of the time he felt these people spoke a completely different language than him.

"He's the person who takes care of the stallion during mating. Stallions can get overly aggressive and that can be bad. You don't want to take any chances with this kind of money riding on it," Craig said.

"Oh," Pepper said.

He figured animals just knew how to do it and you left them alone to take care of things.

Craig said, "You're going to have to set up two more stalls. That means you'll have to wash them down, fill them with hay, and turn on the water to the troughs."

"Okay," Pepper said.

"Use the two of them that are on this side of the barn. Tomorrow you'll be setting up a stall for the stallion. He'll go on the other side of the barn," Craig said.

Pepper shrugged his shoulders and said, "I guess that will just mean more work mucking out stalls."

"That's right," Craig said.

"I guess I'll see my first stallion," Pepper said.

He was curious if the phrase 'hung like a horse' meant something or was just some kind of saying that had become popular.

Craig said, "You won't be going near the stallion."

"Why not?" Pepper asked.

Craig said, "A good way to get injured around a stallion that is in close proximity to a mare in heat, is to be stupid. Let's just say that you are stupid, and leave it at that."

Knowing that it was pointless to argue, Pepper ignored the insult. He noticed Donny enter the barn and go into the storage area.

He asked, "Just how good is Donny at this breeding thing?"

"His horses always fetch above average prices. He is going to get eleven foals this year, out of his thoroughbreds. Considering that he started with one mare and one stallion, about twelve years ago, that's not bad," Craig said.

"One mare?" Pepper asked.

He had no idea how many foals a mare could have in a year, but it sounded to him like it was at least a couple.

Craig said, "Donny worked with his uncles to breed and sell a couple of rodeo bulls. He earned enough money to buy that mare. The stallion, Doug's Pride, was his father's pride and joy. The only one who knows why Donny's father bought him, is Mrs. Daniels, and she's never shared the story with us."

Pepper thought about what Craig had told him. He said, "Donny must have been twelve or so when he bought that first mare."

"That's right. Do you know many twelve year olds who can earn enough money to pay cash for a fifty thousand dollar horse?" Craig asked.

"No," Pepper answered.

He didn't know of many adults who could do that. He had always thought of country folks as slow and lazy. Donny didn't sound like he was lazy. Of course, the time he was spending mucking out the stalls was teaching him that ranching was a lot of hard work.

Craig said, "While he was building up a stock of horses, he was still taking care of this place. He didn't participate in any after school activities like baseball or basketball. He worked the ranch before and after school. Some of us worked here at the time. He never once backed down from a job that had to be done. His brother Sonny worked nearly as hard, but everyone knew this was Donny's place."

Pepper noticed Donny leave the barn. He said, "It sounds like you like Donny a lot."

"I respect Donny," Craig said. He looked around the barn and said, "You better get back to work."

Pepper watched Craig leave and then returned to work mucking out the stalls. He finished the work for that morning by preparing the two new stalls for the horses that were to be brought in later. He was finally getting used to physical work. He was also getting pretty proficient at moving around with the bar and chain. When the job was finished, Pepper returned the tools to the storage area.

Pepper was about to leave when he noticed that a drawer was open a little. Curious, he went over to the drawer and opened it. There, in plain sight, was a revolver. After looking around furtively to make sure that no one was around, he picked it up and checked it out. His heart was pounding while he examined it. The pistol was definitely loaded and was in perfect working condition.

He bit his lower lip thinking about escaping from this life of slavery. In less than a fraction of a second, a fantasy about getting away flashed through his mind. It all seemed so easy. He would hold the gun on someone until they gave him the keys to a truck. He would get in the truck and drive until he was far enough away that someone would help him. He would return with the law and everyone would get arrested for kidnapping.

In his fantasy, Pepper was calm, cool, and collected. In reality, he was nervous, sweating, and scared. His hands were trembling while holding the revolver. He closed the cylinder and cocked it so that it was ready to fire. His mouth was dry, and he felt like his bladder was about to explode.

The sound of boots striding across the cement floor came from behind him. He turned around to see who it was. Donny was standing there looking at him. Pepper raised the gun and, in a voice that squeaked, said, "Give me the keys to a truck."

"No," Donny said in a voice that was hard enough to cut diamonds.

"I'm serious. Give me the keys or I'll have to shoot you," Pepper said.

He could barely hear himself talk because of the blood pounding in his ears. His heart was racing so fast that it almost hurt.

"No," Donny said. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were burning.

Pepper's hand started trembling to the point where it was hard to hold the gun. Scared to death, he said, "I'm serious. Give me the keys to a truck, and I'll get out of here. I won't tell anyone that you kidnapped me."

Donny started walking towards Pepper staring the man directly in the eyes. Pepper realized that the man was going to kill him or die trying. Panic welled up within him. His vision focused entirely on the angry man moving towards him. Without thinking about what he was doing, or the consequences of his actions, he pulled the trigger.

The gun went: 'click'.

His eyes widened as he stared at the gun. Fear overwhelmed him leaving his frozen in place.

All that he managed to do was to say, "Oh, shit."

The next thing Pepper knew was that he was on the ground holding his testicles with both hands. He couldn't remember getting hit, but the pain told him he must have been kicked there. It hurt so much that he was having trouble breathing.

Reaching down, Donny picked up the revolver that had fallen to the floor. He looked down at Pepper with a hard angry look on his face.

"Now you know how Sonny felt, when that gun you had at the store went 'click'."

"Oh, shit," Pepper said, thinking about what Dan had told him back at the store.

He was convinced that Donny was going to beat him to death with the revolver.

"It didn't feel very good, did it?" Donny asked.

Groaning from the pain between his legs, Pepper asked, "Why didn't it work?"

"A round won't fire when you reload the casing with sand, and without replacing the spent primer," Donny said.

He opened the cylinder and let the bullets fall into his hand. He put the bullets in his pocket.

Craig stepped into the storage area behind Donny and looked at Pepper lying on the ground. The man was curled into the shape of a comma and was still holding his testicles.

Disgusted, he said, "I take it that he tried to kill you."

"Yep," Donny said.

"You were right," Craig said. He handed a ten-dollar bill over to Donny.

Pocketing the bill, Donny said, "It was a sucker bet."

"I really didn't think he would do it," Craig said shaking his head. "I figured he was too much of a coward to use the gun, much less pull the trigger."

"He's enough of a coward to do anything," Donny said.

He went over to an equipment rack and picked up a round point shovel.

He handed it to Craig and said, "Have him dig a hole. You know where I want it."

"Oh, shit," Pepper said, staring at the shovel.

Even he recognized that this was the kind of shovel for digging a hole.

"Yes, Sir," Craig said.

Donny said, "I want it six feet deep."

Craig said, "Yes, Sir."

"Oh, shit," Pepper said.



-------

Chapter 15


There is a technique for using a shovel to dig a hole that minimizes the stress on the muscles of the back. There are bad techniques that will hurt the back, but will still result in the excavation of a hole. Unfortunately for Pepper, he was clueless when it came to using a shovel. His first attempt was to use it like a pogo stick. He held the handle straight up with both hands and then he jumped on the two flanges of the blade with both feet.

Craig watched incredulous as Pepper rode the shovel to the ground where he landed flat on his back. Pepper scrambled up from the ground and repeated the process with the same result. Unable to believe what he was seeing, Craig leaned against the side of the pickup truck with his arms crossed and watched Pepper attempt to dig a hole. He wished that he had a video camera with him because nobody would believe it when he would try to tell the story about how Pepper was using the shovel.

Exhausted, Pepper stopped his efforts and said, "This shovel doesn't work."

"Have you ever used a shovel?" Craig asked.

"No," Pepper said. Seeing the look Craig was giving him, he said, "If you need a hole dug, you hire a Mexican."

"There aren't any Mexicans around here. Even if there were, I wouldn't hire one," Craig said.

"I'm not surprised," Pepper said. "You're a racist."

Craig shook his head unable to believe the garbage coming out of Pepper's mouth. He said, "No. I wouldn't make any money if I hired a Mexican to do the job I was getting paid to do. If I tried to do that, Donny would just hire the Mexican and throw me off the ranch."

"Oh," Pepper said. He looked at the shovel in his hand. He said, "You mean we are the Mexicans."

"That's one way to put it," Craig said.

"I don't like the idea of that at all," Pepper said with a frown.

Deciding it was time to teach Pepper how to use a shovel, Craig said, "Drop the shovel and step over to the side."

Pepper dropped the shovel and walked away to the full extension of the chain. He said, "Okay."

Craig went over and picked up the shovel. He then proceeded to explain and demonstrate the proper use of a shovel. After a couple of shovelfuls of dirt, he asked, "Do you see how to use it?"

"You make that look pretty easy," Pepper said.

Craig said, "It is easy. Now dig a hole that is four foot by four foot and six feet deep."

Pepper picked up the shovel and reproduced what Craig had shown him. As he worked, he said, "I don't mean to complain, but I'm taller than four feet and I'm not four feet across."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well I don't want to spend all of eternity scrunched up like that," Pepper said. "If I'm digging my own grave then I ought to be the one to decide the dimensions of it. Maybe I want it ten feet long, ten feet wide, and twenty feet deep. Did you ever think of that?"

"Don't worry, this is just a practice hole," Craig said with a smile. He realized that Pepper had not been paying attention to the work assignments over breakfast. Chuckling, he said, "You can dig your grave whatever size you want if you get this hole four foot by four foot and six feet deep."

"A practice hole?" Pepper asked.

Craig knew that this afternoon was going to get him a lifetime of drinks down at the bar outside of town. No one would believe it.

He said, "Before you dig an important hole you have to practice your technique on a practice hole."

"Oh," Pepper said.

Craig leaned against the truck and watched Pepper work. After the first few shovelfuls of dirt, Pepper came to the brilliant conclusion that it was pointless to work frantically to dig the hole. He realized that the more time he took, the more time he had to live. As a result, he worked at a sedate pace and took small bites with the shovel. The poor man would have been devastated to learn that he was probably working at the optimal pace to get the job done in the shortest time.

After fifteen minutes, Craig said, "Take a break for fifteen minutes."

"Okay," Pepper said. He figured that he was supposed to work continuously until the hole was completed.

Craig said, "You might want to drink a little water."

"Why?"

"So you don't get dehydrated," Craig said. "I'd hate for you to die while digging the practice hole."

"Okay," Pepper said.

He put down the shovel and picked up the iron bar. He shuffled over to the back of the truck where the water jug was perched on the tailgate. He took a cup and started to fill it.

Keeping a close eye on Pepper, Craig said, "Don't drink too much."

"You sure are bossy," Pepper said. "I'd never get away with telling one of my employees back at the store when and how much they can drink."

"You can suit yourself and drink as much as you want and when you want. Don't complain to me when you pass out because you're dehydrated or when you're puking up your guts five minutes after getting back to work. Personally, I don't care. I'll just sit here and make fun of you," Craig said.

"You would make fun of me," Pepper said.

Deciding that Craig probably knew what he was talking about, he drank a little of the water.

Craig said, "Just to remind you, it would take us about an hour to get you to old Doc Taylor. It would take us about three and a half hours to get you to the hospital."

"I forgot about that," Pepper said.

He still couldn't imagine how people managed to live like this. Back in Los Angeles he would have sued the city if an ambulance didn't show up within five minutes. As far as he knew, having public services available on a moment's notice was a basic constitutional right. He wasn't sure which right it was, but he kind of remembered it had something to do with the amendment concerning the right to life, liberty, and happiness.

When it was time for the break to end, Craig said, "Get back to work."

Pepper shuffled back to the hole carrying his iron bar. He dropped the iron bar and picked up the shovel. After just a few shovelfuls of dirt, he was working at the same sedate pace as earlier. While he worked he mumbled and grumbled about the unfairness of this and that. It kept his mind off the work and the hole slowly deepened.

After fifteen minutes, Craig said, "Break time. Let's have a little lunch. We've got some sandwiches that Mrs. Daniels made. I think she made roast beef."

Pepper went over and grabbed one of the sandwiches. It was wrapped in butcher paper. He ate a bite and then said, "This great."

Craig shook his head. He went over to the water jug and filled a cup with a little water. He poured the water over his hands and then dried them off on a towel that was hung over the jug. He picked up a sandwich. He said, "We're not barbarians. You can wash your hands out here."

"I thought that was drinking water," Pepper said.

"It is water. We've got two gallons of it in that jug. I think we can spare a cup each to wash our hands," Craig said.

Pepper put down his sandwich and washed his hands in the same manner Craig had done. He picked up his sandwich and said, "This bread is delicious. Where did she get these buns?"

"Mrs. Daniels baked it," Craig said. Seeing the surprised expression on Pepper's face, he said, "It is a thirty minute drive into town. We aren't going to do that to buy bread every other day. She's got a bread machine that mixes the dough for her and she bakes it in her own bread pans."

"Oh," Pepper said. "I guess I always think of bread as coming in plastic bags."

"Just about everything you eat here is made or grown here with the exception of cheese, sugar, salt, coffee, and a few condiments. What we don't grow, we trade for with others," Craig said. "That cherry jam that we had for breakfast was made from cherries picked off the cherry trees that grow here. The butter and milk came from Dan's place. Joe provides the eggs and poultry.

"Believe it or not, we provide the flour. A couple years ago, Sonny got an electric flourmill at some kind of swap meet. Now, Donny keeps a couple dozen bushels of wheat from the crop every year. He mills a bunch of it into a fine powder every three months and then lets it age to get rid of that yellow tinge."

"This is like the food that you get at the organic grocery store," Pepper said. "You know ... all natural."

"I'm not sure what you mean by all natural," Craig said.

"Without chemicals," Pepper said.

Shrugging his shoulders, Craig said, "We don't have a chemical laboratory."

Waving around his sandwich, Pepper said, "I've wondered why everything tastes so good."

"It just tastes like food," Craig said. He pointed to the sandwich and said, "Eat up. You've got to get back to work soon."

"Okay," Pepper said.

It was near the middle of the afternoon, and Pepper was standing in a deep hole shoveling dirt, when he noticed a sound that was a lot like thunder. He looked up at the sky and saw that there wasn't a cloud anywhere. He asked, "What's that sound?"

Craig smiled and said, "John and Sally are moving the herd."

"What herd?" Pepper asked.

"The quarter horses," Craig smiled. He pointed to the far end of the pasture and said, "They should be coming through there any minute now."

Pepper looked in the direction that Craig indicated. All of a sudden, fifty horses burst into view running free. They churned up a cloud of dust that hung in the air behind them. The sound, even from that distance, was an impressive rumble that could be felt in the body. Behind the herd, John and Sally rode on horses looking every bit like the cowboys presented in western films.

Going to the horse races was an activity, which Pepper occasionally engaged in back in Los Angeles. Pepper thought he knew what a running horse looked like, but he discovered that he had been wrong. The horses at the races were loaded with saddles, jockeys, and other gear. The jockeys controlled the pace and tempo of the horses' movements. These horses were not encumbered in any way and ran with a freedom that just wasn't present at the races. They moved with a smoothness and grace that was impossible under any other circumstance.

Pepper's mouth was open in amazement. He had never seen anything like it. Chills ran down his spine. It was a demonstration of natural speed and power that was stamped indelibly in his memory. Awestruck, he whispered, "My God."

"I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing that," Craig said softly.

John and Sally slowed their horses down and watched the herd move to the center of the pasture. The horses slowed down and came to a milling stop. One of the horses reared and pawed the air with its front legs.

Pepper whispered, "That is incredible."

Craig waved to the pair on horseback. They turned and headed towards the truck at an easy pace letting the horses cool down. Pepper was still staring at the herd of horses.

His attention was brought back to his situation when John asked, "What are you doing?"

"I'm digging a practice hole," Pepper answered.

John and Sally looked at Pepper for a second, then at each other, and finally over at Craig. They knew what Pepper was supposed to be doing. Leaning against the pickup truck, Craig winked and smiled. They were looking forward to hearing a good story later that evening.

Craig said, "Based on your vast hole digging experience, how do you think he's doing?"

Having a hard time keeping a straight face, Sally said, "It is kind of big for a practice hole."

"He needed lots of practice. It was either dig one big hole or two smaller holes," Craig said.

Watching Pepper struggle to get the shovelful of dirt out of the hole, John said, "I would say it was about time to use a smaller shovel. There's not enough room in that hole for him to use that long handled thing."

"I agree," Sally said.

Picking up a shovel from the back of the truck, Craig said, "I was beginning to think that same thing. Do you think this one would do?"

"I would say so," John said nodding his head. He really wanted to know the story behind this.

"Definitely," Sally said.

Craig exchanged shovels with Pepper. Much to his surprise, Pepper found that it was a lot easier using the smaller shovel in the deeper hole. Craig threw the larger shovel into the back of the pickup truck.

Pepper said, "This is a whole lot better."

Turning to John, Craig asked, "Do you think he should fill in that practice hole when he's done?"

"It would be a shame to fill in such a fine practice hole," John answered.

Craig said, "When you get back to the house, you might tell Donny to bring out an appropriate cover for a hole that is four foot by four foot. We'll need it in about two hours."

John and Sally nodded their heads. Sally said, "We'll head back there now."

"Great," Craig said.

John leaned over in his saddle and looked down into the hole. He said, "Great practice hole."

"Thanks," Pepper said proudly.

He watched John and Sally ride away. They were laughing about something. It must have been pretty funny because Sally was having a hard time staying in the saddle.

He said, "I wonder what is so funny."

"One of these days you're going to have to tell me about your childhood. I have no idea what kinds of things that you did when you were a kid," Craig said shaking his head.

"I did the things that every kid does," Pepper said.

"I find that hard to believe," Craig said. "You never worked in a garden. It is obvious that you never did anything that required you to dig a hole."

"I grew up in an apartment. We couldn't have a garden and there was never a reason to dig a hole," Pepper said.

Craig asked, "Did you ever take care of any animals?"

"They didn't allow pets in the apartment," Pepper said. "I did have an aquarium for a while, but the fish all died. They sprayed for roaches and the poison killed them."

"Did you ever build anything?"

"No," Pepper answered. "I could have taken shop in high school, but that was for the losers."

"Did you ever use tools to fix things?" Craig asked.

Pepper looked blank for a moment and then answered, "No. The manager of the apartment would send someone over to fix anything that broke."

"So what did you do as a kid?" Craig asked.

He just couldn't imagine anyone growing up without have worked in a garden, taken care of stock, repairing things, or helping to build something. He doubted that Pepper had ever gone hunting or fishing. It seemed to him that Pepper had never experienced anything that went towards creating a man out of a boy.

"I did the normal kinds of things that kids do," Pepper answered unsure of what Craig was asking.

As far as he could tell, Pepper hadn't done anything that a normal boy did while growing up. Craig said, "Humor me. Just tell me what a typical day was like when you were a kid."

"I would wake up in the morning, eat breakfast, go to school, practice for the band, go home, eat dinner, and watch television," Pepper answered. "On weekends I would hang out with my friends in the video arcade."

"That's it. That's all you did?"

"Yes," Pepper answered.

"What about chores?" Craig asked.

"I had to take out the garbage to the dumpster," Pepper answered. It had seemed like such an imposition on his time when he was a kid.

"Did you have a job?" Craig asked unable to believe that Pepper hadn't done more as a kid.

Pepper answered, "My senior year of high school I had a part time job as a stock boy at the grocery store."

"Start digging," Craig said disturbed by what he had learned.

To him it seemed as if Pepper had the most deprived childhood that he could imagine. There was nothing in it to help him grow into being a responsible and self-sufficient man.

Pepper worked on the hole taking periodic breaks. During the breaks, Pepper would talk about his life back in Los Angeles. Craig couldn't imagine living such an empty life as Pepper described. It amazed him to hear the longing in Pepper's voice when he described stopping for a cup of coffee in a chain coffee shop or walking around in a mall without even buying anything.

Between breaks, the hole slowly got deeper and deeper. It was late afternoon when a progression of pickup trucks entered the pasture. Despite the fact that the hole wasn't six feet deep, Craig called over the Pepper, "Get out of the hole."

Pepper climbed out of the hole having a bit of a problem with the bar and chain. The trucks pulled up and everyone got out. With the exception of Donny, everyone stood around watching Pepper. He started wondering if they were all there to watch him get killed. The only thing odd was that they all looked rather amused about something.

Donny looked down in the hole and said, "It is not quite six feet deep, but I guess it will do."

Pepper looked around at the trucks. He pointed to the truck Donny had been driving and asked, "What's that?"

"That's what we are going to cover your practice hole with," Donny answered.

Everyone else chuckled with the exception of Craig who was frowning. Donny noticed Craig's lack of reaction, but didn't comment on it.

Puzzled by the laughter, Pepper said, "It looks like a little house."

"It sure does," Donny said as if he had just noticed the resemblance of the little building to a house. Everyone else nodded their heads in agreement. Sam had to turn his back to Pepper.

"Hey, wait a minute! That's an outhouse!" Pepper said realizing that the whole idea of digging a practice hole was stupid.

It was hard to hear him, since everyone was laughing.

"That's right. You just dug 'the basement'," Donny said.



-------

Chapter 16


Detective Mike Saperstein rubbed his forehead feeling a headache developing. He looked around the parking lot of the motel. He glanced back up at the second floor at Sonny Daniels who was leaning against the railing watching the activity below. The young man looked more than a little irritated.

He turned back to the burnt out car in the parking lot and asked the patrolman, "What was the story again?"

"Witnesses say that the car was parked across the street with four people inside it. The driver started the car and drove into the parking lot. Three of the passengers hung out the windows of the car and started firing at the upstairs room in the corner. Then he car blew up," the patrolman answered.

"It just blew up," Detective Mike Saperstein repeated ... cars didn't just blow up.

"That's right. It blew up. As a result of the explosion it flipped over onto its side and started burning," the patrolman answered.

"No one saw anyone throw something at it," Mike said.

"No."

Mike looked at the car. From the damage it was pretty obvious that the explosive was under the car.

He asked, "Did anyone notice anything lying on the parking lot?"

"No."

Mike pointed up at Sonny and asked, "Did anyone see what he was doing?"

"The maid said that he must have just stepped out of his room right before the car headed over to the parking lot. He pushed her back into the room where she had been changing the linens right when the shots were fired. They were on the floor when the car exploded. His story agrees with hers," the patrolman answered.

"Is there anything to indicate that he had anything to do with the explosion?" Mike asked.

"He was pretty busy with the maid. By her own admission, she was hitting him until she realized that someone was firing a gun. She practically crawled under him when the explosion went off," the patrolman said.

"Damn," Mike said. He looked up at Sonny convinced the man knew exactly what had happened here.

"Do you think he had something to do with the explosion?"

Mike answered, "I'd bet my first born on it."

The patrolman smiled and said, "I know your son. I wouldn't take that bet out of fear that I might win."

"Very funny," Mike said.

"Yes, Sir."

Mike said, "I've got four more dead gang members. That brings us to sixteen gang members killed in the last ten days when you include the eight at the strip club, the one in front of the hospital, and the three inside the hospital. There are eleven still in the hospital as a result of the nails that tore them up."

"It isn't a very good time to be a gang member," the patrolman said.

"Have them take the car down to the lab once the folks from the fire department finish up their examination of the car. I'm not going to discover anything new by looking at it," Mike said.

"I'll tell them," the patrolman said. He walked off to complete the errand.

Mike went over to the stairs and climbed up to the second floor. He walked over to Sonny and looked down at the parking lot below without greeting the young man.

Sonny asked, "Are you here because someone fired some shots at me or because a car malfunctioned and blew up?"

Despite knowing that Sonny was pushing his buttons, Mike still couldn't help getting irritated. Sonny's continual comments about him not doing his job were getting under his skin. There were reasons why things were progressing so slowly but he wasn't at liberty to discuss them.

Angry, he said, "You know that cars don't blow up because they malfunction. Someone blew it up."

"I would like to shake the hand of the man who did that," Sonny said.

"There were four people in that car," Mike said.

"It couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch," Sonny said sarcastically. Seeing the expression of anger flash over Mike's face, Sonny added, "I'd like to remind you that at the time they blew up, they were shooting at me. There are bullet holes up here."

Knowing just how bad this neighborhood was, Mike asked, "What are you doing staying here?"

"I had to drop the courses that I was registered in for the summer because I missed too many classes. As soon as I dropped the courses I had to leave the dorm. Since one of you cops told me that I couldn't leave town until your investigation was finished I had to find a place to live so here I am," Sonny answered holding up his arms to embrace his surroundings.

"You can leave town now. In fact, please leave town," Mike said.

He had no idea who told him that he couldn't leave town.

"Not so fast," Sonny said. "There's still a matter of you catching the two gang members who shot me."

"Leave," Mike said. "Go home and never come back."

Sonny said, "Arrest the two men who shot me."

"We're trying," Mike said.

Sonny said, "I don't think so. It seems to me that you are spending more time trying to figure out why criminals are dying than in catching the folks you know are criminals."

"Every crime has to be investigated," Mike said.

"You never did answer my question," Sonny said. "Are you here because they fired some shots at me or because their car blew up?"

"Both," Mike answered.

Sonny said, "I don't believe you. Every question that I've been asked has been about the car blowing up. No one has said much of anything about the fact that they were shooting at me!"

"You want me to say something about the fact that they were shooting at you at the time they blew up? I'll say something. You're my number one suspect in their deaths," Mike shouted jabbing a finger at Sonny.

Sonny pointed down at the parking lot and said, "Look at that circus. There are ten police cars, four fire trucks, four ambulances, three news vans, and a bomb squad truck down there. The only reason the SWAT team isn't there is because they already left."

Sonny pointed up at the sky and said, "There are still two news helicopters hovering overhead."

"I can see that," Mike said. He didn't want to admit it, but Sonny was right about it being a circus down there.

"If that car hadn't blown up, I bet only one patrol car and the meat wagon would have come here to haul off my body," Sonny said.

"At least two cars would have come here," Mike replied. It sounded stupid even to him.

"Oh wow!" Sonny said, "A law abiding citizen gets killed and two police cars are sent. Four criminals die and that circus shows up."

"It is different," Mike said.

Sonny leaned over and demanded, "Tell me what the difference is."

"This is news; you getting killed is not," Mike said.

"You deserve everything these gangs are going to do to you," Sonny said shaking his head.

"What do you mean by that?" Mike asked.

Sonny answered, "One of these days, killing policemen will have stopped being news. That's the day they'll start driving by your house and shooting at you because you arrested one of them. You'll live in fear because it will be open season on policemen and their families. Los Angeles will burn."

"It is not going to turn into that," Mike said despite knowing better.

The sad fact of the matter was that news about an officer getting killed in the line of duty was now relegated to a small corner story on the front page of the newspaper. It was only a matter of time before it slipped off the front page for good.

Sonny shook his head and said, "Do you want to know the sad thing? You know that day is coming and you won't do anything about it."

"We can't do anything about it," Mike said.

Lawyers, citizen review boards, judges, juries, and politicians had bound their hands. It was getting more and more difficult to protect the public from violent criminals. Recent events had made it virtually impossible to arrest gang members.

"Do you really expect me to trust you to take care of me?" Sonny asked.

Mike said, "It is the law."

"It isn't the law," Donny said. "There is no law that says a woman who is getting raped has to lie there and take it until the police are notified and show up. There is no law that says a person has to stand around while getting shot at until the police come around to take care of the bad guys. There is no law that says a victim of assault can't protect themselves. There is no law that says a person has to allow a criminal make them a defenseless victim. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool."

Mike said, "There are limits to what a person can do in self-defense. You can't continue to beat an assailant who has been rendered unable to harm you. You can't shoot a man because he hit your car. You can't kill a man because he threatens you.

"This isn't the old west where you can march down the center of the street and draw pistols at high noon. You can't hang the horse thief from the nearest tree. Those days are long gone. Law and order has replaced vengeance and dueling."

Mike pointed to the parking lot and said, "You and your redneck friends have crossed over a line. Blowing up a car violates those limits. If I catch them doing something like that, I'll arrest them and they will face murder charges."

Sonny asked, "When are the crime scene guys coming up here to collect evidence?"

"What evidence?" Mike asked without thinking.

Pointing to a bullet hole overhead, Sonny answered, "As far as I know, the bullets that ended up in this building are evidence of a crime that was taking place. Aren't you going to collect them and do your ballistic tests on them to prove that those assholes were shooting at me?"

"They'll get up here," Mike said. He looked down at the parking lot and realized the crime scene investigators were packing up to leave. Angry, he said, "I'll be right back."

Sonny watched Mike head towards the stairs. The maid came up behind Sonny and said, "I'm sorry that I hit you."

Sonny turned to the young woman and smiled at her. He said, "If some galoot were to jump on me, I would hit him too. You did the right thing, little lady."

"Thank you for saving me," the woman said. Upon seeing the bullet hole in her cart she had realized just how close she had come to getting killed.

"The pleasure was all mine, ma'am," Sonny said tipping his hat.

"The detective doesn't like you very much."

Sonny said, "We just have a minor difference of opinion. He thinks it isn't very news worthy if I die. I think it is the most important news of my life."

"I think I agree with you," the woman said with a laugh. The laugh died when she looked at the cart. She said, "I didn't realize until the policeman was interviewing me that the guns were aimed up here."

"I'll tell you a little secret on how to survive a gunfight. It doesn't matter which way they are aiming the guns; when they start shooting it is time for you get down and pretend to be real small. If they are shooting at you and you have a gun, shoot back," Sonny said.

"I'll try to remember that," the woman said. She looked down at her hands and said, "My hands are still shaking."

"I could use a whiskey with a beer chaser about now. How about we go across the street and get you a rum and coke, as soon as the police leave?" Sonny asked.

Knowing the kind of crowd that frequented that bar, the woman said, "You might not want to go to that bar."

"Do you go there?" Sonny asked.

"Yes."

Sonny asked, "Do you like it?"

"Yes."

"Then we'll go to where you are comfortable. I'll buy you a rum and coke to help calm your nerves," Sonny said.

"I'd rather have a malt liquor," the woman said.

Pointing at her with his first two fingers held together, Sonny said, "What the lady wants, the lady gets."

"My name is Shaneka."

"Pleased to meet you Shaneka, I'm Sonny." He tipped his hat to her.

Considering that was the second time that he had tipped his hat to her, Shaneka said, "You aren't from around here."

"That's right. I'm from Montana," Sonny said.

"Are there many blacks in Montana?" Shaneka asked.

Sonny rubbed his chin for a second and then said, "I can't recall ever seeing one. Why?"

"I was just curious," Shaneka said.

A man came up the stairs carrying a toolbox. He looked at Shaneka and Sonny as if surprised to find them there. Gruffly, he said, "You have to leave. This is a crime scene."

Sonny extended an arm and said, "How about we head across the street for that drink now?"

"Sure," Shaneka said looking at him. It took her a moment to realize what his gesture meant. She took his arm. "No one has ever offered me his arm before. You sure have strange manners."

"No ma'am. I just have manners. There's nothing strange about acting like a gentleman," Sonny said.

Feeling like a lady instead of a maid, Shaneka said, "I kind of like it."

"That's the way it should be, ma'am," Sonny said. The pair descended the stairs together.

Mike came running over when they reached the parking lot and asked, "Where are you going?"

"We're going across the street to have a drink," Sonny said. He patted Shaneka's hand that was resting on his arm.

"I told you to stay there," Mike said.

Sonny replied, "That other fellow told us we were in the middle of crime scene and that we had to leave. I wish you guys would make up your mind."

"Ugh, get out of here," Mike said. "I know how to find you. I'll just wait for the next gang member to die."

As Sonny and Shaneka walked off, Sonny asked, "Are you afraid of bugs?"

"No," Shaneka answered. "Why?"

"I was just curious," Sonny said.

The pair walked in the bar and went over to the counter. While they were pulling out the bar stools to take a seat, the bartender came over and said, "Hello, Shaneka."

"Hello, Jamal," Shaneka said.

Looking over at Sonny, Jamal said, "Your boyfriend is a little pale, isn't he?"

Sonny extended a hand across the bar and said, "Howdy. My name is Sonny Daniels."

The bartender looked at the hand for a second, and then shook it. He couldn't remember a time when anyone introduced himself across the bar like that.

He said, "I'm Jamal Whickers."

"Pleased to meet you, Jamal," Sonny said. He set his hat back further on his head.

"What can I get for you?" Jamal asked.

"The lady would like a malt liquor. I assume that you know her favorite brand. I'll take a whiskey and a beer chaser."

"What kind of beer? We don't have any imports."

"It doesn't matter to me," Sonny said. "A beer is a beer particularly when it follows a whiskey."

Jamal set the drinks out on the bar. He said, "I think you are the first white customer we've ever had in this bar. You are definitely the first man to ask for a whiskey with a beer chaser."

Sonny looked around the bar recognizing members of a local gang by their clothes. He said, "First experiences should be cherished."

"I don't know about that. Today was the first time I've ever been shot at," Shaneka said.

Sonny raised his whiskey glass and said, "Here is to never getting shot at again."

"I'll drink to that," Shaneka said raising her can of malt liquor.

Jamal looked at Sonny a little closer and said, "I know you. You're that guy who is at war with the gang on the other side of town."

Sonny drank down the shot of whiskey, and shook his head in reaction to the whiskey burning its way down his throat. He took a drink of his beer.

He exhaled loudly and then said, "I'm not at war with the gang, although quite a few people seem to think otherwise. I just want the two guys who shot me to go to jail."

Jamal laughed and said, "That will never happen."

"Yes, it will," Sonny said in a dead serious voice. He looked Jamal in the eye and said, "They will go to jail."

"You're serious, aren't you?" Jamal asked.

He looked at the back of the bar where a number of people were listening to the conversation.

"I'm as serious as a heart attack." Sonny glanced over at the television playing in the corner of the bar.

Looking at Sonny as if he were a rattlesnake, Jamal said, "Things don't work like that around here."

"They do now," Sonny said with a smile.

He raised his beer and then took a drink of it.

He pointed at the television and said, "Look at that crack house burn. I'll bet that gang just lost a bunch of money, and maybe even few more members."



-------

Chapter 17


Craig leaned up against the top rail of the corral with one boot-clad foot resting on the bottom rail. He was watching the mare they were trying to breed move around the corral.

He said, "Have you ever talked to the guy about his life back in Los Angeles?"

"No," Donny answered. "Frankly, I'm not interested."

Craig frowned while thinking about some of the things that Pepper had told him. "Do you know what the high point of his day was?"

"No," Donny answered. He looked over at Craig realizing that something was really bothering the man. Deciding that it would be best to let him talk it out, he asked, "What was it?"

"Every morning on his way to work, he would stop at a coffee shop and pay four dollars for a cup of coffee. That was the high point of his day," Craig said.

"Getting overcharged for a cup of coffee was the high point of his day?" Donny asked incredulously.

Craig said, "I swear listening to him talk about getting his morning coffee was like listening to Hank tell his story about getting that twelve point buck. He described the parking lot, the layout of the store, the people who were usually there in the morning, and how he ordered the coffee. He talked about taking the first sip of coffee and how good it tasted. Then that was it. He would get into his car, and go to work."

"I enjoy my first cup of coffee in the morning," Donny said.

He thought about how he liked drinking his coffee while looking out at the mountains in the distance.

"Is that the high point of your day?" Craig asked.

"No. It is just the start of the day," Donny answered.

Craig said, "He was telling me that he was afraid of half of the customers that came into his store. It seems that most of his clientele were drug addicts, drunks, or gang members. His store has been robbed over a dozen times."

"Of course it has. He never did anything to stop it," Donny said scornfully.

He didn't think much of anyone who let others rob them.

"He doesn't know how to stop it. The guy has never been in a fight in his entire life. They didn't approve of such things in his school," Craig said.

Donny laughed and said, "They didn't approve of them in our school. That didn't stop us from going out back, on occasion. My cousin Jack and I fought almost every week."

"You don't understand. He was never left alone to be a boy. There was always an adult around that would break up something like that. He's totally defenseless," Craig said shaking his head. He gave a bitter laugh, he continued, "I asked him to show me how he would throw a punch. The way he flailed about was like a first grader. I made like I was going to take swing at him and he dropped to the ground and curled into a ball. It was pathetic."

"So he's a coward," Donny said.

"I don't think he's coward. I mean, he goes into that store every day, despite being afraid of his customers. That isn't exactly being cowardly," Craig said.

Donny said, "I don't know what to think about that."

"He knows the first time he stands up to someone that he's going to get killed. Do you know that he's been hit only a couple of times in his life? Once by Rose, once by Vincent, once by John, and twice by you! Rose and Vincent just gave him little taps up side the head without really meaning to hurt him. That switching you gave him was the first time anyone punished him with a whipping," Craig said.

"So?"

Craig said, "It is his imagination. He doesn't know that if he gets hit it will hurt, but he'll get over it. He imagines that pain is going to last for the rest of his life."

Donny looked over at Craig and asked, "Are you saying that we need to kick his ass every night to toughen him up?"

"I'm not saying that," Craig said. "I just think he can't help being what he is. He just doesn't know any better."

"Maybe he'll learn something out here," Donny said. He looked over at Craig and could see that the guy was really bothered by this, so he asked, "Are you getting soft on the guy?"

Craig understood what motivated the question, but he didn't like it.

He said, "I laughed as hard as anyone about him thinking he was digging a practice hole. Hell, I started the joke. Then I realized that I was laughing at him because he was ignorant and that was kind of mean. He really thought that digging a practice hole made sense. To him, it was no different than your daddy teaching you how to use a saw, by having you cut up a piece of scrap wood."

"That's pitiful," Donny said. He looked over in the direction of the barn wondering how anyone could grow up that ignorant. He snorted and added, "Even a kid five years old wouldn't fall for that."

"It is pitiful. That's what I've been saying," Craig said. "He doesn't know how to use a hammer, a screwdriver, or wrench. He's never repaired anything, or built anything. He doesn't own a single thing that wasn't made in a factory. He can't replace a light switch, or even change the oil in his car.

"Fixing something, to him, was making a telephone call to get someone to come fix it for him. He's totally helpless. He really doesn't know how to do anything. He was telling me that he even has a service that will come out and change a flat tire, if he has one.

"He can't cook. Half of the meals he eats are frozen foods that he cooks in a microwave. It either comes out of a box, the freezer, or a can. He has never barbecued anything on a grill. A real meal, to him, is something he gets at restaurant or a diner.

"He wasn't playing dumb that afternoon in the garden. He really doesn't know one plant from another. He's never had a garden. He's never cut the grass. He had never seen a snake. God knows what he's going to do if he ever sees a bear.

"The guy has never been out of the city. The first time he's ever slept on the ground, was when you were bringing him here. He has never gone fishing. Hunting? The only animals he's ever seen were penned up in a zoo."

Donny shook his head in disbelief, and said, "No one can be that ignorant."

"Do you want to know what is really scary?" Craig said.

"What?" Donny asked.

"He's not alone. The guy thinks he has led a normal life, because everyone he knows grew up the same way he did."

"No wonder Los Angeles is screwed up, if he's representative of the people there," Donny said.

He had wondered about some of the things coming out of Washington, that he had watched on the news. It seemed to him that people had lost all common sense. This explained a lot.

"Digging that hole, was his first real physical job," Craig said. "I'm glad you had him do it."

"If he hadn't tried to kill me, we'd a dug that hole with the backhoe. It would have taken an hour rather than the whole damned day," Donny said. "I can't afford to have you standing around like that until Sonny gets back."

Craig said, "We had to pour him into his bed last night, and feed him Ibuprofen this morning, so he could even move. He's so stiff that it's going to take him all day to muck out the barn. Pushing him to do more than that, today, would kill him."

"I was going to send him out to the pasture to work on the bridge with Sam and Carl. I figured that he would help them build it," Donny said. He was putting in a bridge over the creek to make a shortcut to the place he was going to lease. It would be a lot of work, but it would save a lot of time and money over the long run.

"Trying to manhandle a posthole digger would kill him," Craig said. "I wouldn't trust him with a chainsaw. He's liable to cut his foot off."

"We'll send him out there tomorrow anyway. He can help carry the lumber," Donny said. He shook his head and said, "What a miserable waste of a human being.

"I'm surprised we don't have to wipe his ass for him."

"It was your idea to bring him out here," Craig said.

Donny said, "What could we do? He was going to get somebody killed, sooner or later. It was just a matter of time."

"You're probably right," Craig said.

Donny said, "We thought it was stupidity. It is just like that mentally retarded Sanders boy. Do you remember how he used to wander off? Everyone in the area would have to drop what they were doing and track him down. We gave him the job of taking care of the chickens over at Joe's place. We pay him twice what the work is worth, and we treat him with respect. He can't hurt anyone doing that job, and he earns a living. He's happy."

"I'll never forget when he realized that all of those chickens were his responsibility. He grew a foot taller, that day," Craig said.

"Yeah. They are the best cared for chickens in the whole county," Donny said. "You can't cure stupid, but you can keep it out of trouble."

"That's true," Craig said.

"We didn't realize Pepper was that ignorant," Donny said.

Craig asked, "I've got to ask this ... why did you decide to bring him here?"

"When we were discussing what to do about Pepper, we were really at a loss at what would be the best thing for everyone involved. We all agreed that he was a danger to everyone around him. I can only imagine what Sonny must have felt like when he pulled that trigger, and the pistol went 'click'."

"I can guarantee that Pepper knows what that feels like now," Craig said with a smile.

"Dan was so mad at Pepper about him not letting Sonny know the gun wouldn't work that he wanted to kill him outright. I think he would have killed him if Sonny had died. I do know that if Uncle Dan had run into Pepper the night when Sonny was attacked in the hospital, that Pepper would not have lived to see morning," Donny said.

"I can see Dan doing that," Craig said.

"I'll admit that I wanted to hurt him. I was tempted to beat the hell out of him, and leave him bleeding in an alleyway. It was Mom who convinced us not to do that. She went on and on about giving a man a chance to make amends for his actions," Donny said.

"That sounds like Mrs. Daniels," Craig said, nodding his head.

"Bringing him here seemed like the only way to give him a chance to make amends," Donny said. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I know it sounds kind of crazy, but that was the best we could come up with."

"I guess I can see that," Craig said.

It didn't change the fact that most folks thought that the Daniels family had gone around the bend on this one.

"At least Sam appreciates not having to muck out the stalls every day," Craig said.

Donny said, "Making Sam happy is costing me a fortune."

"Why?" Craig asked.

"I'm paying the rent on Pepper's apartment. Uncle Joe is arranging to have a management company take care of that damned store of his. It will probably cost us a pretty penny to do that," Donny said with a snort.

He was going to have Pepper sign the papers to hire the management company at the end of the week.

Craig was surprised to hear that. He asked, "Why are you doing that?"

Donny said, "It isn't right to strip a man of what he owns. That's the equivalent of stealing."

"I didn't think about it like that," Craig said looking over at Donny.

His opinion of the Daniels family rose once again.

"He'll go home when Sonny gets back, and it will be like nothing has changed. All that will be different is he might be a little less ignorant," Donny said. He was silent for a moment and then said, "None of that is going to keep us out of jail."

"Do you really believe that all of you are going to end up in jail?" Craig asked.

"More than likely," Donny answered. "Sonny might remain free to finish school. Uncle Dan and Uncle Joe have kept him out of it. They are the ones who are taking all of the real risks."

"What's going on there?" Craig asked.

Most of the incidents with the gang had not made the national news.

Donny said, "There have been four attempts on Sonny's life. He had to move to another hotel, for the time being. Calvin appears to be having fun playing guardian angel. He got to blow up a car."

"I bet he enjoyed that," Craig said.

"The gang is really starting to get hurt. They've lost two drug houses and four cars. Seventeen gang members have died, and nearly that many have been seriously injured. Uncle Dan sent another message to the leader of the gang, saying that he wants the two guys who shot Sonny taken to the police station," Donny said.

"Do you think they'll turn themselves in?" Craig asked.

"Not this week. Maybe next week, though," Donny answered. He looked over at the mare and said, "Let's bring that stallion out here. It is time for him to mount that mare again. After that, I'm going over to see Rose. When I get back from there, we'll have him mount the mare again."

"What are you going to do over at Rose's house?" Craig asked.

"I am going to ask her to marry me," Donny said.

"It's about time."

Pepper had been listening to the conversation from outside the barn. He tied the horse off to the hitching post and shuffled back into the barn. He was thinking about what he had heard. There was a lot there for him to reflect upon.

Some of the things they said about him really hurt. Especially after the humiliation that resulted from digging the hole. He had really bought into the idea of it being a practice hole. In hindsight, he couldn't imagine how he managed to fall for that line. He wanted to think that it had something to do with him believing that he was digging his grave, but that was just wishful thinking.

It was hard to admit that their comments about him being ignorant, held a grain of truth. He liked to think that he knew how to do things. Sure, he could fill his car at the self-service gas station, but that was nothing for the folks out here. They could probably repair the pump at the self-service gas station if it broke.

Pepper tried to think of one thing that he knew how to do that they didn't know how to do. His first thought was that they probably didn't understand computers, but then he remembered that Sonny was majoring in computer science. If they used the internet, he was pretty sure that they would use it for more than just looking at porn. He realized they probably remembered as much about history from high school as he did. He drew a blank on coming up with something that he knew how to do, and they didn't.

These folks were just as informed about current events as he was. They watched satellite television with the same programs as he had in his apartment. They didn't watch the situation comedies or prime time shows. More often than not they were still working or doing something when those programs were on the air. They did sit down and watch the news every night.

He wondered how he got the idea that people out in the country were dumb. Maybe it was because they weren't fashionable or trendy. They were wearing the same kinds of clothes that their parents wore: blue jeans, work shirts, boots, and cowboy hats. They weren't loaded down with the current line of electronics, but what they did have served the same function. He hadn't seen a single iPod since getting out there, but Sam did have a CD player.

Probably the biggest surprise to him was learning that Donny was taking care of his apartment and store. He was pretty sure that if the situation were reversed that he wouldn't have thought of doing that.

Of the Ten Commandments, he could only remember three of them: thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, and thou shalt not steal. He was pretty sure that Donny knew all ten, and lived them. Maybe that wasn't exactly true for the commandment about not killing people. It seemed to him that Donny was more than willing to kill someone who threatened him, his family, or his property. He couldn't remember enough about the Bible to know what it said about that.

Thoughts of people shooting people, reminded him of what had happened to the gang. Ever since the gang had moved into the neighborhood, it had seemed to him that it was too powerful to resist. These country boys were proving that wrong. Even if they didn't succeed in wiping out the gang, the mantle of invincibility had been shattered. People would look at the gang members and know that they could be eliminated. The gang would know that, as well. Seventeen dead! Unbelievable!

Having finished with mucking out that stall, he went out to lead the horse back to it. He carried the iron bar without thinking about it. His mind was still on events in Los Angeles. In a way, he was hoping that the Daniels were successful in getting rid of the gang. It would make life there a lot nicer.

That evening there was a great celebration, because of Donny's engagement to Rose. Steaks and hamburgers were served along with huge quantities of potato salad, cole slaw, beans, and canned fruits. The food provided by Mrs. Daniels had been augmented with Jell-O salads, casseroles, cakes, and pies, which were brought by the guests.

A lot of people attended the party. They included the ranch hands from the three Daniels ranches, Rose's family, a number of neighbors, and even a couple of people from town. It was quite a crowd.

The men wore blue jeans, work shirts, boots, and hats. They may have been dressed casually, but their clothes were clean and without holes. The women were dressed in jeans or skirts. All of the women were attractive, but none of them wore outfits that were explicit or revealing. It was a conservative crowd.

Although conversations tended to focus on topics dealing with hunting, weather, and agriculture; they often touched upon politics, also. Politically, the people were conservative but not radically Republican. There were quite a few Democrats present, although they were a totally different kind of Democrat than those that lived in California. Patriotism, law and order, and God seemed to be central to their political core, as opposed to animal rights, world peace, and entitlements.

One of the surprises, to Pepper, was that these people knew more of the world than just their backyards. A lot of the men had served time in the military, and had seen quite a bit of the world. Perhaps the places they had gone to in the service of their country were not the best, but they knew more than just the backwoods.

The descriptions of vacations included trips to places like New York, Washington D.C., London, Paris, and Saint Petersburg. There was even a guy who was talking about a national tour as part of a Barber Shop Quartet.

Pepper watched the celebration with a small degree of envy. Donny was younger than he was, and seemed to have it all: a big house, a successful business, an attractive fiancé, and a large circle of friends. On the other hand, he had a small apartment, a small business, no girlfriend, and a small circle of acquaintances.

He was beginning to wonder if the people out in the country knew something that he didn't.



-------

Chapter 18


Pepper stepped out of the trailer and stretched, once he was free of its confines. It was false dawn and the light was just bright enough to see his surroundings clearly, while still giving everything a soft appearance. The dew on the ground gave the grass a delicate appearance, like something out of a fairy tale. There was just enough of a chill in the air to make him wish he was still in bed.

The whinny of a horse drew his eye to the south end of the pasture. Looking at them brought back the memory of their charge into the pasture. A yearling broke away from the main herd, and started bucking. Pepper smiled while watching the young animal feel its oats.

A movement at the far end of the pasture drew his eyes. For a second he wondered if there were two herds of horses, until he realized that the animals weren't horses. He strained to see them better, but without luck. He didn't know enough to determine if they were deer or elk. The low light and distance didn't help. It didn't matter to him that he didn't know they were elk, it was the first time he had ever seen a herd of wild animals. There were over twenty of them.

He watched the animals for a minute, until nature called too strongly for him to ignore any longer. He shuffled over to the outhouse to relieve his morning bladder. This was the same outhouse that stood over his 'practice' hole. Sam said that it was the Cadillac of outhouses since it included a sink as well as a seat and a urinal. The sink used water that was stored in the two-gallon tank that was attached to the all above the sink. It had to be refilled from the stream.

Pepper stood at the urinal wondering what people back in Los Angeles would say about him using an outhouse. Outside of the smell and the occasional breeze on his butt, he found the experience to be similar to using a regular toilet.

Thinking of the song, he muttered, "If they could see me now."

Feeling much more relaxed after finishing his business in the outhouse, Pepper went outside. He walked over to the bridge that they had been building for the past four days. When Donny had said that they were going to be building a bridge, he had assumed that it was going to be something like a little pedestrian bridge. He was wrong. This was a little wider than a two-lane road. It had stringers made of poles the diameter of telephone poles. Sam said that it had to be that wide to allow a 'combine' to cross the stream.

Donny looked over the bridge feeling something that he had never felt before — pride in building something. Even now that it was nearly done, he had trouble at times believing that he had actually helped build it. He had helped cut the poles to size, built the cribbing on both ends of the bridge, helped place and secure the stringers, and then nailed the flooring in place. Throughout the work, Sam and Carl explained why they were doing things the way they were being done. Much to Pepper's amazement, he actually understood what they had done and why.

Pepper had learned a lot over the past four days. He had used tools that he knew existed, but had been mysteries to him. He could now start and operate a chainsaw. He knew how to check the oil, sharpen the cutting teeth on the chain, and adjust the cutting bar. He had learned how to use a drill with an auger bit. Sam had even patiently showed him how to use a hammer to drive nails into wood. He had learned how to attach a choker cable to a pole.

One of the most important lessons that he learned was about safety. Sam and Carl emphasized safety in everything they did. They never did anything without checking and double-checking the situation for possible hazards. They would tell him where to stand and what to watch for. Nothing was done until everyone knew what they were supposed to do and what everyone else was to do.

Each time Pepper would start to rush, one of them would say, "The hospital is three hours away."

He even had to dress to be safe. He wore leather gloves to protect his hands, safety glasses to protect his eyes, and safety boots to protect his feet. The boots had been a surprise. Donny had dropped them off at the bunkhouse the morning he was to leave for the trailer. There had also been five work shirts, three pairs of blue jeans, a package of socks and a package of underwear. Rather than a cowboy hat, he wore a cap with the name of a tractor company on it. Donny had left before Pepper had a chance to thank him.

Pepper heard the trailer door open and close behind him. Sam asked, "Are you still looking at the bridge?"

"Yes," Pepper said. "I can't believe I helped build it."

"We'll put up the handrail this morning and pack up the trailer this afternoon. We'll be back at the bunkhouse in plenty of time for dinner," Sam said.

Pepper asked, "Why are we staying in the trailer rather than the bunkhouse?"

"Basically, we would kill about an hour each way if we drive over here in the truck every day. We were here for five days, and that would mean we would lose about a day's worth of work. Next week we'll be putting in a gate in that fence on the other side of the stream. We'll have to cut down some trees, to create a road to the field. When all is said and done, living in this trailer puts us at the job site," Sam answered.

"I thought we were taking the trailer back this afternoon," Pepper said.

Sam said, "No. We're just cleaning it up for the next folks who use it."

"Won't you be using it?" Pepper asked.

"Probably, but you never know," Sam answered. "We'll pick up the dirty linens and towels and replace them with clean ones. We'll make sure all the dishes are washed and put away dry. Of course, we'll check the inventory of the staples and mark down anything that is getting low. We'll have to take all of the perishables with us. You'll need to pack up your stuff to take back to the bunkhouse."

"I didn't realize it was so much work," Pepper said.

It seemed to Pepper that everything was a lot more work than he imagined. It also seemed that no matter how much work they did, there was always more work to be done.

"It won't take long with the three of us working together," Sam said.

Pepper said, "I'll help however I can."

Sam looked down at the far end of the meadow and said, "The elk are leaving."

"Those were elk?" Pepper asked.

He could see the herd disappearing into the trees. It was amazing how quickly one of the animals could disappear on entering the woods.

Sam nodded his head and said, "Elk are bigger and heavier looking than deer. It is a magnificent animal when you get a chance to see one up close. They've got huge antlers that sometimes reach four feet from base to point. When you look up at the top of the antler, you're looking up at something that is nine feet above the ground. They weigh four or five times what you do so don't try to pet one. You'll be in a world of hurt."

The animal life out here was another source of lessons for Pepper. He had come upon a skunk one afternoon. Fortunately, he froze in place far enough away that the skunk didn't feel threatened. He was still near enough to smell the animal. He now understood what it meant to smell like a skunk. He had also observed a beaver swimming through the stream. The animal actually had a flat tail although he had thought that was a myth of cartoons. Sam had explained that it had a dam further down the stream. He had also seen a bobcat catching a mouse.

Sam said, "If we've got enough time, we just might get to do a little fishing."

"Great," Pepper said.

In the evenings, Sam and Carl spent their time fishing until it got too dark to see. Carl had loaned Pepper his gear and taught him how to fly fish. It wasn't until the third night that he finally caught a little trout. It had thrilled him more than he thought possible and he was quite disappointed when he had to throw it back.

Sam headed for the outhouse. Carl stepped out of the trailer and looked around. He spotted Pepper over by the bridge.

He said, "You're still looking at the bridge."

"Yes," Pepper said.

Carl looked at the mountains in the distance. He sighed and said, "I can look at those mountains all of the time. This is truly God's country."

Pepper said, "I guess it is."

"When I was a young buck, right out of high school, I figured that the last place I wanted to be was in the country. I wanted to see the world so I joined the Navy. I saw the world alright, and I mean that quite literally. I spent eight years in the Navy going from port to port with lots of water between ports.

"I worked on a cruiser in the Pacific Ocean. We went to Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, India, and parts of the Middle East. I saw all of those places. When I was ashore I would check out all of the sights. I went to Buddhist temples in four different countries. I saw historical sights of all kinds. I walked through buildings that were two thousand years old. I saw landscapes that were ugly and some that were kind of nice.

"I met people of all different cultures. I learned about Hindus, Buddhists, Muslims, and people belonging to a few religions that you probably never heard of. I saw people of all different classes. I had sex with a fuck bunny in a Thai whorehouse. I had tea with a Buddhist monk. I saw palaces where men lived like kings. Mostly, I saw real poverty in a lot of those places.

"I was about to reenlist when we stopped in Hong Kong. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, that is a thoroughly modern city. It has skyscrapers with traffic jams that could compete with San Diego at rush hour and win. I was walking along and found that I was in a less than luxurious neighborhood. To be quite blunt, it was an ugly dirty place. I was standing there surrounded by people jabbering in a language that I didn't understand. All of a sudden it hit me; I didn't like the life I was living.

"I had been searching for something. It dawned on me that I would get somewhere, and ask myself if this was the place for me. None of the places I visited even came close. I'd look for mountains and there wouldn't be any. I'd look for lush green meadows, and all I would see was swamp, concrete, or dust. I'd look for forest and all I'd see were buildings, jungle, or desert. Nothing grabbed me by the heart and said that I belonged there.

"I didn't realize it, but I was comparing every place I visited to here. I was looking for wide-open spaces, lush woods, clean running streams, mountains in the distance, and blue skies overhead. I missed the sounds of birds singing in the trees, elks bugling in the early morning, the babbling of a brook, and the wind in the trees. None of the places I had been, had it all. Nowhere could compare to here.

"I came back here with eyes that could compare what was here to the rest of the world. The rest of the world came up short. I haven't left, since," Carl said.

Carl's monologue had made Pepper feel uneasy. He had never had another man tell him what was in his soul before and he didn't quite know how to respond to it. People didn't talk like that in the city. There was a superficial friendliness where people would exchange civil greetings and talk about the weather, but they didn't share their hearts. There was a façade of sophistication that had to be maintained at all times.

He said, "I'm glad you found your home."

Carl looked over at Pepper with a sad expression.

He said, "I feel sorry for you. You've been out here and it has changed you. I've seen you look around and appreciate the glory of your surroundings. You've seen and done things that you never imagined. Having experienced it, you're going to miss it, when you return to Los Angeles."

Pepper looked at Carl as if he didn't know what he was talking about. Carl said, "Don't look at me that way. You know it is true. This land has reached into your chest and touched your heart. God has blessed you, and cursed you, with this visit out here.

"It is the subtle things that are going to tug at you. You'll open up a bottle of pine scented cleanser and then realize that you know what a real pine scent is. You'll look at the sunlight reflecting off a building and remember the light on the mountains. One day you'll hear a rumble and it will remind you of horses running freely across the field. You'll never be able to order trout in a restaurant without remembering the one you caught here.

"You'll get back to Los Angeles, and it will be a lesser place than it was when you left it. Your life will be a little emptier. The people will seem a lot shallower. The glamour of city lights will pale in comparison to the stars of a country night. The chrome displays in the malls will look monochromatic compared to the diversity and subtlety of the colors of nature. When you sit in your empty apartment, you'll miss the peaceful and quiet solitude that is possible here.

"You won't fit in Los Angeles anymore. The good Lord knows you don't fit in out here. In a way, I think Donny bringing you here was the worst possible punishment one man could inflict upon another. He took you from your old life and let this countryside strip away the artificial glamour that made your home attractive to you. You don't belong there, you don't belong here, you don't belong anywhere anymore.

"I feel real sorry for you. I spent eight years looking for a home before I found it. You'll spend the rest of your life searching for a home, and you'll never find one."

"I can't believe that," Pepper said.

He looked down at the stream and noticed how the light danced across the ever-changing surface. He looked at the trees seeing the diversity of colors. They weren't green. They were a thousand shades of green, and gray, and brown, and silver, and too many other colors to even mention. A shiver went down his spine.

Hearing a noise behind them, Carl said, "Sam is finally out of the outhouse. It is my turn now."

Pepper watched Carl head off to the outhouse. The conversation with the man had unsettled him a lot more than he wanted to admit. He wondered if it was true that his short time out here had changed him so much.

He turned to look at Sam, and asked, "Who is making breakfast today?"

"It sure as hell isn't you," Sam answered.

Usually the first man to use the outhouse in the morning had the job of making breakfast. It was the price of not having to wait for the others. Carl and he had come to an agreement that rule was waived when it came to Pepper.

He said, "I never had eggs that tasted so rubbery as what you made the other day. I can't even imagine what you did to them."

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to cooking over a stove unless it is to heat a can of soup. I usually use the microwave," Pepper said defensively.

Sam said, "I don't see how a man can possibly eat nothing except frozen food. I ate one of those frozen burritos once. It gave me the shits for a week."

"Some things are better than others," Pepper said with a grin.

He'd the same experience with frozen burritos. However, it was also true that they were used to much better quality food here on the ranch. He figured that most of them would consider diner food to be cheap, filling, and basically tasteless.

"I'll be glad to get back to Mrs. Daniels cooking. That woman is a wonder in the kitchen," Sam said.

"I'm looking forward to eating her cooking, too," Pepper said.

Sam said, "I guess I'd better get to making breakfast. We'll be having bacon and eggs again."

"I'm not going to complain," Pepper said.

He watched Sam go into the trailer. He turned back to the bridge to examine it.

Over breakfast the three men discussed the work to be done that day. The tasks that had to be completed were identified and responsibilities allocated. Pepper enjoyed that time of day. He used to tune out the breakfast discussions back at the ranch house. It wasn't until coming out here that he realized how many things were decided over breakfast that affected him directly. He paid attention and contributed when he could. A frequent topic of conversation was the limitations placed upon what he could do as a result of the bar and chain. He wasn't too good at fetching and carrying. The bar limited how much he could carry and the chain limited how fast he could move.

When breakfast was over, Pepper stayed behind in the trailer to wash the dishes. Joe and Carl went about getting everything set up for the day's work.

Pepper didn't mind that particular task although it was a bit more work than back at home. Out here he had to heat the water before doing the dishes. He had come to accept that life was a little more primitive in the country, but that primitive wasn't necessarily worse.

One of the biggest surprises to Pepper had been bathing. He had expected some kind of shower in the form of a bucket with holes in it. He had been shocked when Sam and Carl stripped and waded into the stream. The two men had laughed, joked, and splashed each other before settling down in the water to soak. Seeing two men naked like that had struck him as a gay kind of thing.

It had taken him five minutes to work up the nerve to strip off his clothes and follow them in the water. The stream was only about two feet deep in places, but the water was frigidly cold. Pepper's experience with water in the outdoors had been four trips to the beach, and infrequent visits to apartment swimming pools. The ocean with its powerful waves had been a little frightening. He had only waded along the shore where the waves washed across his feet. Soaking in a fast moving stream was a new experience for him. In fact, it was one of the most pleasant baths of his life.

Pepper dried the dishes and stacked them in the cabinet where they belonged. Once he was finished, he picked up his bar, grabbed the chain, and made his way out of the trailer. Sam called him over to where he was setting up to cut the wood for the hand railing.

Sam pointed to the set up and explained, "I've set up a jig so that we don't have to measure each board. You'll take a two by four from that stack of boards over there and put the end of it flush against that piece right there. You'll hold the board solidly in the jig. Once you've got it held firm, I want you to say okay. Don't say 'okay' until you have the board held firmly in place. Otherwise, one of us could get hurt.

"I'll cut the board once you say okay. You'll need to keep holding the board firmly in place. When I finish cutting the board, I'll say okay. That lets you know that I've finished the cut, and you can stack the board over there. Got that?"

Pepper nodded his head and said, "Yes. I've got it."

"Great. We're going to be cutting wood, so you're going to need to wear your leather gloves and the safety glasses," Sam said.

There were times over the past week that he felt like he was explaining things to a six year old child. In terms of experience around tools, Pepper was a child. It was hard to remember that sometimes.

Pepper put on his leather gloves and safety glasses. He picked up the first board and put it into place. Sam looked over and said, "That's right. Now hold it down."

Pepper held the board in place. Once he was sure that he had a good grip on it, he said, "Okay."

Sam cut the board and said, "Okay."

"That was easy enough," Pepper said picking up the board.

He put it where Sam had told him to start the pile. It didn't take them long to work through the pile of boards.

The men worked through the morning putting together the railing for the bridge. When they finished, Carl stepped back to appreciate a job well done.

Satisfied, he asked, "How does it feel to have built your first bridge, Pepper?"

"Pretty good," Pepper said, immensely proud of his contributions.

It was the nicest looking bridge that he had ever seen. The wooden bridge spanned a picturesque stream against a backdrop of a pine forest. He wished that he had a camera to take a picture of it.

Curious, he asked, "How many bridges have you built?"

"This was my first," Carl answered.

"Mine, too," Sam said.

"You're kidding," Pepper said incredulously.

It seemed to him that they had done this a thousand times before. They definitely knew what they were doing.

"No," Carl said.

Sam asked, "Who should have the honor of being the first to drive a truck over the bridge?"

"I think that honor should belong to Pepper," Carl said winking at Sam.

"Really?" Pepper asked pleased that they would let him do that.

"Sure. Someone has to see if the bridge will support a truck," Carl said.

"That someone might as well be you," Sam said with a laugh.

"Thanks," Pepper said with a lot less enthusiasm.



-------

Chapter 19


Sonny slid onto the barstool while saying, "I'll have a beer."

The bartender looked at Sonny and then poured a beer out of the tap. He put it down in front of Sonny and said, "That'll be four bucks."

Sonny pulled out a five and said, "Keep the change."

"Thanks," the bartender said.

Sonny turned to the man seated beside him and said, "Well! Hello, Detective Mike Saperstein. What are you doing frequenting my favorite drinking establishment in all of Los Angeles?"

"What in the hell are you doing here?" Mike asked. This was the bar down the street from the police station. The only customers who frequented the place were cops.

Sonny held up his mug of beer and said, "I'm having a beer. What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're here to make me miserable," Mike said.

He really disliked Sonny Daniels.

Sonny took a sip of his beer and then said, "I just wanted to find out how the search for those two desperados who shot me was going. Any luck finding them?"

"No," Mike said.

Sonny said, "I bet you are losing sleep every night wondering where they are."

"No, I'm not," Mike said.

He was losing sleep because the legal system was broken.

"Good. I would hate for you to lose sleep on my account," Sonny said pleasantly.

"That's nice of you," Mike said.

"I was watching a live broadcast on the news the other night. Some reporter was talking about how the police still did not have any suspects in that bombing and fire at the strip club where that gang hangs out. You wouldn't believe who I saw on it," Sonny said.

Knowing that he wouldn't like the answer, Mike asked, "Who?"

"I saw the two men who shot me. They were walking around there like they didn't have a care in the world," Sonny said.

"I didn't know about that," Mike said.

He looked down at his beer thinking he could probably chug it down and be gone in thirty seconds. The idea that Sonny would chase him out of 'his' bar, grated on him.

Sonny said, "I called 911 and told them all about it. I kind of expected to see them arrested, live, on television. There was even a police car in the background of the video. I'm sure that you can imagine my disappointment when nothing happened."

"I'll look into it," Mike said.

The fact was he knew exactly why the two men hadn't been picked up yet, but he wasn't going to admit it, publicly.

"You do that," Sonny said with a smile.

"Is there anything else that you wanted to tell me?" Mike asked.

Sonny said, "I was curious about something."

"What?"

"I was wondering if you ever thought about retiring from the police department, here, and taking a position out in the country," Sonny said.

He took a sip of his beer and watched Mike over the mug.

Mike stared at Sonny for a second wondering why he was really here in the bar. It dawned on him that anytime something happened around the gang that Sonny had an airtight alibi. There wasn't a better alibi than sitting in a bar surrounded by cops.

He swore, "Oh shit."

Mike reached into his coat and pulled out a cell phone. He dialed a number and waited for an answer.

He said, "Dispatch, I am Detective Mike Saperstein. I need two cars dispatched to a location."

"I don't have the address. It is the strip club where we had the explosion and fire a couple weeks ago."

"I want them parked across the street from the strip club."

"Let them know that I'll be there in thirty minutes."

Mike closed his cell phone. He said, "I've got to be going."

"You never answered my question about moving to the country," Sonny said.

Looking at Sonny, he said, "I'd rather live in hell than be surrounded by a bunch of yahoos like you."

"That's a rather unfriendly attitude. I'm a pretty nice guy," Sonny said.

"You're a pain in the ass," Mike said getting up from his stool.

Sonny asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to that strip club," Mike answered.

"Are you going to arrest those two guys?" Sonny asked.

"I'll try to if I can," Mike answered.

He had a feeling that all of this would disappear as soon as the two men were in custody. He wished that he could actually arrest them.

Sonny asked, "Are you afraid that something bad is going to happen there because I'm here with you?"

"Yes," Mike said. "You're here to establish an alibi."

Mike was getting ready to walk off when Sonny said, "I wonder if you'll blame me if nothing happens tonight."

"Why don't you come with me?" Mike said thinking it would be good to watch Sonny so that he couldn't make a call to prevent something from happening.

Taking a sip of his beer, Sonny said, "I'd love to. Do I have to ride in the back like a suspect?"

"No, you ride up front with me. I want to keep an eye on you," Mike said. "Let's go."

Sonny followed Mike out of the bar. He took off his hat and wiped his brow with a red bandana. He said, "It sure is hot out here."

"It is the middle of summer. What do you expect?" Mike asked. He gestured to the passenger door and said, "Get in."

"Okay," Sonny said. He got into the car and looked around at the dashboard. Not seeing any special police equipment, he asked, "Are you going to drive around with your siren on?"

"No, this is my personal car," Mike said. "Officially, we're not on official business. We're just two citizens driving around."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sonny said. He looked around the car and then said, "This is one of my first times in a sedan. I have to say that I don't like it. It seems to me like you're too low to the ground to have good visibility. I've always driven pickup trucks. They sit a little higher off the ground."

"You've been driving ... what ... three years," Mike said.

He started the car and pulled away from the curb. The traffic was pretty bad at that time of the day. He hoped that he made it to the strip club before something bad happened.

"I've been driving since I was ten," Sonny said.

He turned his head to look at a woman wearing a short skirt entering the police station. She looked like what he imagined a 'working girl' to look like.

"I didn't know that you can get a driver's license at ten in Montana," Mike said glancing over at Sonny to see his reaction.

"You can't. The earliest you get a learners permit is fourteen. After six months, you can get a limited driver's license," Sonny said.

He leaned back in his seat to check out a car that was cruising beside them. It was bright orange and had yellow flames painted along the side. He expected a young kid to be driving it, but the driver was a middle-aged man. He shook his head.

"It seems to me that you don't have much regard for the law if you started driving at ten," Mike said. For some reason it didn't seem all that unexpected that Sonny was driving that early.

"You don't need a license to drive on your own property. We've got five square miles of land back home. It was either ride a horse or drive if I needed to get to one of the far pastures," Sonny said.

"Five square miles?" Mike asked turning to look at Sonny. He realized that he was about to drive into the car in front of them and hit the brakes.

"That's right," Sonny said looking at the incredulous expression on Mike's face. "It is not the biggest place around, but it is also not the smallest."

Mike said, "What are you doing going to school here if you own that much land?"

"I like computers. I'll be going home after I graduate. Right now our only connection to the internet is via dialup. Of course, there's always satellite, but that is expensive. I want to bring low-cost high-speed connectivity to the area," Sonny said.

"What do you need high-speed connectivity for?" Mike asked.

"You may not be aware of it, but modern ranching is a big business. Farm equipment can cost over a million dollars apiece and you can't afford to have it sitting around because some twenty-dollar part broke on it. If you need a part for it, you can't rely upon a printed catalog that is a year or two out of date. You want to know if they have it in stock, how long it will take them to get it to you, and how much it will cost you. You try going to some of those websites with a dialup modem and see how much you like it," Sonny said.

"I never thought about it," Mike said.

"I'm sure you didn't. Did you know that as of 1997 that there were still six percent of the households in this country that didn't have a telephone?" Sonny asked.

"I didn't know that," Mike said, thinking he was going to have to go look that up when he got home.

"The availability of high-speed internet in rural areas is abysmal," Sonny said, "There are government programs out there to help rural areas get connected. I want to help my family and my neighbors. There is only one person around who will do it and that is me. No one from Los Angeles is going to move out to Montana to start a small internet company."

"It sounds like you have it all planned out," Mike said.

He didn't think that Sonny would ever live to see those plans bear fruit. He was going to arrest the man and convict him for his role in all those gang member deaths. The more times they interacted, the more likely it was that Sonny would slip and say something.

"I was serious when I asked you if you ever considered retiring and moving out to the country. I'd think you would actually like it," Sonny said.

"I'm not interested in patrolling some little hick town of two hundred people," Mike said.

Sonny laughed and said, "If you were to join our sheriff's department, you'd be responsible for keeping law and order across more than two thousand square miles. We've got a sheriff and two deputies to cover that much territory."

"You're kidding," Mike said.

Sonny shook his head and said, "No."

"How many local police officers are there?" Mike asked.

"None," Sonny said. "We've only got about two thousand people in the county. We've got about one person per square mile. We have to be self-reliant because it can take three hours for the sheriff to show up."

"No wonder you don't have much respect for law enforcement," Mike said.

Sonny shook his head and said, "I've got a lot of respect for law enforcement. I'd just like to see a little more enforcement of the law around here."

Mike was tired of all of the cheap shots being taken at the police. He said, "There are a lot of good cops in this city who take their job seriously. They really do want to serve and protect the public. They put their lives on the line every time they put on their uniform. However, they have to work within some pretty harsh guidelines at the moment. There are some things going on that you just don't understand."

"Explain them to me," Sonny said. "I'm a reasonable guy."

"About two months ago two officers arrested four gang members for possession of drugs. The gang members were loitering along the street. The police stopped and searched them. It was a clean bust and they followed proper procedures. The gang hired an attorney to sue the LAPD on the grounds that the arrests arose out of harassment and not probable cause. It turned out that the gang members were standing on private property owned by the gang," Mike said.

"Who cares? They were guilty of a crime," Sonny said.

"A lot of people care. Criminals have rights and we have to protect those rights," Mike said.

He would be lying if he were to say that he always agreed with that statement. There were times he would just like to take some of them out and shoot them.

He said, "The lawyer for the gang argued that if they had been boy scouts wearing their scout uniforms hanging around a scout camp that the police would not have stopped and searched them unless there had been an explicit complaint against them."

"Why would the police search a bunch of boy scouts?" Sonny said. "They aren't violent criminals."

"That's the whole point. We have to give the gangs the same consideration as boy scouts," Mike said. The disgust he felt practically dripped off his tongue.

"That's stupid."

Mike said, "A lawyer for the LAPD told us that we can't go on gang property unless we specifically observe a crime occurring or we have a warrant until after the lawsuit is settled."

"What does that mean in practical terms?" Sonny asked.

"It meant that a police officer couldn't go on gang property to arrest someone unless they had explicitly witnessed them commit a crime and pursued them onto the property," Mike answered.

Sonny asked, "What if you have video tape of them committing the crime?"

"We still can't go after them."

"I've watched enough cop shows to know that you can arrest them," Sonny said.

"That was then, this is now. About a month ago a police officer arrested a member of a different gang because he was a suspect in a drive by shooting. The gang hired a lawyer and filed a lawsuit against the LAPD. They used the same argument. The next morning the police officer was suspended because the gang member was standing on gang property," Mike said.

"So even if you know that the two men who shot me are standing in that parking lot, not one policeman will go over there and arrest them," Sonny said.

"That's right," Mike said. "It gets worse."

"How can it get worse?" Sonny asked.

Mike said, "Shortly after that another gang member from the first gang was arrested. He was walking down the sidewalk when he was spotted. The guy stepped into the yard of a house owned by a little old lady. The officer stopped him, searched him, found some drugs, and arrested him. Guess what happened?"

"What?"

"The gang paid for a lawyer on behalf of the little old lady to sue the LAPD. In the suit, it was alleged that the little old lady invited him onto her property and he was not doing anything that warranted him being stopped and searched. They said it was a clear case of harassment based solely on his affiliation with the gang," Mike said.

"You know that they used intimidation to get the old lady to file the lawsuit," Sonny said.

"Everyone knows that. It doesn't matter. The lawsuit has been filed," Mike said.

Sonny asked, "Why didn't you tell me that before?"

"We don't want it spread around that we can't arrest criminals," Mike said.

"What about the gang members that shot me? Are you even trying to catch them?" Sonny asked.

"We've been trying to catch them on public property or a place of business that is open to the public. We've been hoping to catch them driving a car somewhere," Mike said.

"Let me get this straight. If I'm standing on private property and I'm suspect in a criminal case, you can't arrest me," Sonny said incredulous at the insanity that he was hearing.

Mike laughed at Sonny. He said, "We can arrest you. We would have no problem hauling your ass to jail. You aren't a member of a gang that has been specifically targeted for harassment by the police as alleged in the lawsuits filed against the LAPD."

"You guys need to get a new lawyer," Sonny said shaking his head.

Mike said, "In case you haven't heard the news, let me remind you that the city, the county, and the state are out of money. We are broke. The powers that be aren't going to risk a dime by exposing the city to lawsuits no matter how stupid or insane the lawsuit might be."

"A judge would throw the case out of court," Sonny said.

"We're in Los Angeles, California. There's no guarantee that a judge will throw it out or that a jury won't find against the LAPD. Don't forget, we can't convict a guy of murder after finding a trail of blood from the crime scene to his car and then to his house," Mike said shaking his head.

Sonny said, "I swear that this city is going to burn. It is a regular Sodom and Gomorrah where sin reigns supreme and a good man is mocked."

Mike pulled into a spot that was across the street from the strip club. He said, "Here we are."

Sonny pointed to the two men and said, "There are the two guys who shot me."

"I can't go over there and arrest them without a warrant," Mike said. "As far as the LAPD is concerned, those guys are a protected species."

Sonny said, "Get a warrant."

Mike said, "If I try to get a warrant, they'll disappear before the warrant ever gets here. We've played that game a couple of times with the same result each time. They head out across private property and we can't give chase."

"What are we doing here?" Sonny asked.

Mike answered, "I waiting for some of your friends to create a problem."

"This is insane," Sonny said shaking his head.

"You were establishing an alibi. Your friends are coming here. I know it," Mike said.

Having waived off any action for that night, Sonny said, "I can swear on the Bible that I do not know of any attack that is going to happen tonight."

"Do you know how many of the cases we actually get convictions on?" Mike asked.

"I don't know," Sonny answered.

Mike said, "Ninety-six percent of the cases brought to court result in convictions. That's a pretty good record."

"In that case, there shouldn't be any gang members out on the street," Sonny said.

"The problem is that we've got tens of thousands of open cases where we haven't charged anyone with a crime. Witnesses won't talk to us and if they don't talk to us then we can't arrest anyone. Have you ever tried to a find a guy of uncertain ethnicity and of average build with no distinguishing characteristics? That's the description we get."

"I don't even know what to say," Sonny said.

"You'll like this since you're into computers," Mike said with a smile.

"What?"

Mike said, "Some of the gangs actually have web pages."

"You're kidding," Sonny said.

"I remember a line from the website of one of the gangs that killed a policeman. The police don't chase us. We chase them," Mike said. "Eleven hundred police officers participated in a raid against that gang. We arrested forty-four of them with eight getting away. Thirty-three members of the gang were already in custody."

"Eleven hundred policemen to try to catch fifty two people," Sonny said shaking his head.

"We've got a hundred thousand gang members in Los Angeles County ... Think about it," Mike said.



-------

Chapter 20


Pepper swung the horseshoe back and forth until satisfied with the smoothness of his swing. He let loose, and watched the horseshoe fall four feet short of the post. Pitching more than two and a half pounds forty feet made it a little difficult to judge just how much energy to put into a throw. Sometimes a horseshoe would just land flat and lie there. Other times it would bounce a couple of times before coming to a stop. Sometimes it would cartwheel past the post.

He shook his head and said, "I'm never going to get the hang of this game."

Sam laughed at Pepper's frustration and said, "It helps to have a few beers first."

"Sam has this theory that when you're seeing double, you can aim at either post, and the shoe will hit one of them," Carl said with a broad grin.

John broke out in laughter while Sam said, "It's true."

John launched a horseshoe at the post. There was a clang and Sam's leaner was knocked down. John's horseshoe rebounded a couple of feet.

Sam said, "Hey, you aren't supposed to do that."

"Yes, I am," John replied good-naturedly.

Carl threw his shoe and watched it stop dead a foot from the post. It had landed with a dull thud. The group walked to the far post and looked down at the shoes. Sam's shoe was the only one within six inches of the post. Sam said, "I got a point."

"No you don't," Carl said. "That point is John's."

"That's my horseshoe," Sam said pointing at the shoe.

"That doesn't matter. It is John's turn to get a point. We're playing rotation horseshoes — a point for you and then two points for us. You're out of luck," Carl said.

"Ha, ha! Very funny," Sam said picking up his horseshoe. "Don't listen to him, Pepper. We got the point. He's just jealous because they're throwing like girls."

"So the score is three to four, right?" Pepper asked.

"Right," Sam said, "At this rate, we're going to be here until tomorrow morning."

John said, "You guys are still up first."

Sam let loose with a horseshoe and watched it cartwheel past the post. He shook his head and said, "I really need a beer. I really play a lot better when I hold a beer in one hand and a horseshoe in the other. It helps me balance."

"Last time you did that, you threw your beer bottle," Carl said chuckling.

"And parts of it were within six inches of the post," Sam countered. He leaned over to Pepper and added, "They should have counted it as a point."

Pepper stepped up to the line and tossed the horseshoe. It actually hit the post this time. He shouted, "All right! I hit the post."

"It was bound to happen, sooner or later," John said.

John stepped up to the line and tossed his shoe after an exaggerated approach. The shoe hit the post and careened away.

"Bad luck," Carl said. "Let the master show you how it is done."

"The only thing you've mastered is bating," Sam said. Even Pepper groaned at that 'masturbating' pun. Sam ducked when John tried to give him a tap on the back of the head. Carl tossed his horseshoe, and it landed well short.

Shaking his head, he said, "I don't know what the matter is, today. I guess gravity is affecting my horseshoe more than yours."

"That's it! Blame it on gravity," Sam said. "Heaven forbid that you admit you're a lousy horseshoe player."

"He's just getting warmed up," John said.

The four men walked to the other post. There was the short discussion about scoring despite the fact that Pepper's shoe was the only one within six inches of the post.

Sam said, "Another point for our team."

"What does that make? One?" Carl asked picking up his horseshoe.

"It makes it four to four," Pepper said picking up his horseshoe.

He was having a good time. The game was an easy one to learn, but that didn't mean it was easy to play well. He hadn't realized that it was more of a social game than a competitive game. At least that was the way they played it here.

"Sally would have won this game by now," John said shaking his head.

"Your wife is a terror with horseshoes," Carl said. "How many windows did she break last game?"

"Two and that's because you kept ducking out of the way," John said laughing.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that," Carl said.

Sam was about to toss his horseshoe when Sally came running out of the bunkhouse.

Waving an arm to get them to head over her way, she shouted, "Hey you guys. You've got to see what is on the television."

"What is it?" John asked looking over at his wife. He hadn't seen her that excited in years.

"It's the gang," Sally shouted.

Pepper followed everyone into the bunkhouse. He froze upon entering the main room, and stared at the television. The news station was broadcasting an overhead image of the strip club. Half of the roof had caved in. Two cars were on fire in the parking lot.

Shocked by the destruction being broadcast, he asked, "What happened?"

Donny stepped into the bunkhouse and said, "Sonny was shot this morning."

"Oh, God," Pepper said turning around to look at Donny. He backed away to make room for him.

Sally asked, "Is he okay?"

"He's in the hospital, and is in stable condition," Donny said gravely.

Pepper asked, "What happened?"

"Sonny was talking to some detective when a car drove by. Calvin must have been distracted because he never saw the car until it crashed. All he saw was Sonny sitting on the ground with blood coming out of his gut," Donny said. "I'll find out more when I get there."

"Our prayers are with him," Carl said.

"Amen to that," Sam said.

John said, "I can only imagine how your uncles felt."

"Uncle Dan and Uncle Joe decided it was time to quit fooling around," Donny said.

He looked at the screen, and the devastation that was presented there. The plan had been to blow the roof off of the strip club in the middle of the night when it was empty. They weren't supposed to do it in the early afternoon when it was filled with gang members. He wouldn't have wanted to be around his uncles, considering how angry they must have been to go that far.

He gestured to the screen and said, "As you can see, they quit fooling around."

Looking at the screen, Carl asked, "What did they do there?"

"Hank blew up the roof, and part of the backside of the building. Dan and Joe took care of everyone inside the building. Hank and Calvin took care of everyone outside the building," Donny said, shaking his head.

He hadn't believed that they had gone that far. Even Dan had been in a state of shock. His uncle had repeated several times that he was unable to believe what he had done.

"Did anyone see them?" John asked.

"I don't know. No one stopped them when they were leaving," Donny said.

He left out the fact that they were disguised as homeless people pushing shopping carts. That had basically allowed them to walk right up to the gang.

He said, "They figured that so long as no one knows who they are that they stand a good chance of getting away. They paid cash for everything while they were down there, so there's no paper record of them being there. As long as no one comes forward and places them in Los Angeles then it will be pretty tough to pin it on them."

Pepper noticed that everyone was doing their best not to look at him. He knew what they were thinking.

He croaked, "I ... we know who they are and where they were."

"I guess that it true," Donny said looking at Pepper.

"I don't think any of us would talk," Pepper said looking around at everyone.

He knew what they were thinking. He was sure that they were all of the opinion that he would talk to the police and everyone would get arrested. He was uncomfortable at being the sudden center of intense scrutiny.

"I won't talk," Pepper said.

Donny said, "I guess time will tell."

"What are they going to do now?" Carl asked.

"They are on their way home. They should be back in two days," Donny answered.

Concerned, Pepper asked, "Is Sonny going to be all right?"

"I hope so," Donny said.

"I know you probably won't believe me, but I like Sonny. I used to think he was from a different planet, but I liked him. He was always polite and friendly," Pepper said.

The tension in the room was almost a physical presence. It seemed to him that all of the camaraderie that had been present during the game of horseshoes had disappeared. He glanced over at the television thinking it would have been much better if the attack on the gang hadn't happened.

Donny nodded his head and said, "Craig is bringing a truck around for me. I'll be heading to the airport now to fly into Los Angeles, tomorrow. Craig will be in charge until I get back or my uncles get here. I want all of you to listen to him, and do what he says. Is that clear?"

"Clear as a bell," Carl said.

"Yes, Sir," Sam said.

"Yes, Sir," John said nodding his head.

"Of course," Sally said.

Everyone turned to look at Pepper when he didn't answer. Surprised by the attention, he asked, "What? It is not like I have a choice."

"You could decide to start acting like a horse's ass," Donny said.

Well familiar with the product that came from a horse's ass, Pepper said, "I've been doing everything he tells me to do, ever since I got here. I don't see any reason to change, now."

Donny chuckled and said, "I didn't think about it like that."

Pepper didn't reply. He figured that the less said, the better. After a few minutes of conversation, Donny left the bunkhouse.

Wondering what was going to happen to him, Pepper said, "I'm going to my room."

"Okay," John said watching Pepper leave.

Pepper went into his room and sat on his bed. The room wasn't much, but it did afford a little privacy. He thought about his situation, and the impact of recent events upon it. For the past few weeks he had been thinking that Sonny would come home and then he would go home. He had been satisfied that his ordeal would come to an end.

The idea had never fully solidified that he would be returning to Los Angeles with enough information to get every member of the Daniels family and all of the ranch hands sent to prison. He had known it, and sometimes thought about it, but it was almost an unreal thing. Now it seemed very real ... not only to him, but to everyone there.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and he said, "Come in."

Carl opened the door and stepped into the room. He closed the door so that they would have a little privacy. He looked around at the barren room that had nothing of a personal nature in it. It looked almost like a prison cell.

He said, "I didn't realize your room was so bare."

"I've got the bed, the table, and a chair. I don't need much more than that. I don't spend much time in here," Pepper said.

The only time he spent in his room, was when he slept.

Carl said, "I probably should have expected it. You didn't have anything with you when you came here."

"That's true," Pepper said. He gestured to the lone chair and said, "Have a seat."

Carl went over to the chair and sat down. Facing Pepper, he stared down at the floor for fully five seconds.

Finally, he spoke.

"There are times in every man's life when he has to decide who he is. You might say that he comes to a spiritual crossroads in his life. He has to decide if he's going to deal with the devil or walk away with a clean soul.

"At times like that, a man is all alone. No one truly knows what they are going to do. Not even the man faced with the decision. Until he acts, no one knows his decision. We may think we know what he will do, but we really don't. We don't know who a man really is, until he shows us.

"We're all Christians here. We believe in redemption. We believe that a man can lead a life of sin, and then erase all of that sin from his soul, with a single act of redemption. That's part of the reason you are here. You are here to give yourself a chance at redemption.

"We are also realists. No one will expect a past sinner to avoid sin in the future. Redemption only earns forgiveness ... not forgetfulness and not trust. We'll forgive, but we will never forget.

"In the Lord's prayer, we beg God to forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. God's forgiveness is infinite. He will forgive us, over and over. Man's forgiveness is finite. A man will forgive only so many times, before he stops forgiving.

"It is getting close to the time when you will have a chance to redeem yourself with respect to the Daniels family. You will be entering a crossroads in your life. It is up to you to choose redemption, or damnation. You're going to have to decide what happens after you leave here."

"What are you saying I should do?" Pepper asked.

Carl said, "I'm not saying you should do anything. When you leave here, you will walk into the crossroads alone. I don't know what decisions you'll be asked to make. You won't know what choices you will be forced to make, until you are faced with them. It will be up to you to decide what you'll do. Will you deal with the devil, or will you reject him? If you reject the devil, you'll leave the crossroads with a clean soul."

Pepper was silent for a moment while he considered what Carl had told him. His conversations with Carl always left him feeling unsettled.

He asked, "How will I know which decision is right or wrong?"

"That's a good question. If you were a Christian, then I would say that you should pray for guidance. You aren't, so I don't know what to tell you," Carl said.

"So you think I'm doomed because I'm not a Christian?" Pepper asked.

Nothing irritated him like a true believer telling him he was going to hell because he didn't believe in God. It angered him when people said that he couldn't be a good man because of a lack of faith.

Carl shook his head and answered, "I've been around the world enough to know that it isn't the God to which a man prays that is important. It isn't even the fact that a man believes in any God or not, that makes the difference. It is what is in that man's heart that is important.

"There are times when I think that all prayer does is open a door in our heart for us to see the good that is inside. It doesn't require a belief in God to open that door. It does require courage, however, to open the door and to look. It can be a fearful sight."

"I guess I can accept that," Pepper said.

Carl gave a weak smile and said, "You aren't the only one facing some tough decisions. There has been a lot of behavior, recently, that is of dubious morality. I fully believe that leaving you in Los Angeles would not have changed the outcome of events there, one whit. I also believe that your time here has changed you for the better. So, as far as the decision to bring you here, I really don't know what to think of it.

"As far as what has happened to the gang, I'm divided on that. A lot of evil men died there. They are described on their arrest records as of some of the gang members on the news. Their souls were black as the darkest night. I have no doubt of that. With the exception of you, all of us bear some responsibility for their deaths."

Pepper interrupted and asked, "With the exception of me?"

Carl nodded his head and said, "Every one of us could have picked up a telephone and called the Los Angeles police department to let them know what was happening. None of us did. You didn't have that choice."

"That's true," Pepper said.

Carl said, "We still have that choice. Any one of us here, could tell the police what happened, there. When you leave here, you will have that choice, as well."

Knowing exactly who would get blamed if the police learned of what happened, Pepper said, "None of you are going to make that call."

"You don't know that," Carl said. "You don't know if any of us lie awake at night wrestling with the morality of killing so many people. All of us believe in the commandment: 'thou shalt not kill'. A lot of people were just killed. Of course, there was a lot of 'smiting' going on in the Bible, as well. So we all know it isn't as clear cut as all that."

Pepper said, "People can justify just about anything, when they base their arguement on the Bible."

"That is, and isn't, true. We are imperfect beings. We do things we know are right, we do things we believe are right, and we do things we know are wrong. They say that Satan is the great deceiver. I think we are each our own greatest deceiver. A man can justify anything to himself, if the desire is great enough," Carl said.

Pepper said, "That's true."

"I know that all of this talk about God makes you uncomfortable. I'm not a preacher, and I'm not trying to save you by converting you to Christianity," Carl said.

"I appreciate that," Pepper said.

"I'm talking about right and wrong. For many of us, 'right' is defined in the Bible. I guess you're going to have to go about determining right and wrong the hard way. Have we done right if the good that results from our actions outweighs the bad? Does the bad negate all of the good? Those are tough questions to answer," Carl said.

"Yes, they are," Pepper said.

"I like to think of myself as an introspective man. I like to reflect on my place in the universe, and the meaning that my life might have in the grand scheme of things. I try to be a good man and I think that being introspective is a part of that. I don't think that you are introspective enough," Carl said.

"I wouldn't say that," Pepper said.

Carl shook his head and said, "You aren't blameless in the events that have happened in your life, just recently. Some of your actions set all of this in motion. You need to think about that, before you step onto the crossroads. If you don't, you will make wrong choices."



-------

Chapter 21


Detective Mike Saperstein woke up feeling as though a nine hundred pound gorilla was sitting on his chest. It was tough to breath, and each breath he took, hurt. He looked over at the man in the bed next to his.

He groaned and said, "I must have died and gone to hell."

Sonny smiled at him and said, "You look like something that dropped out the south end of a north bound cow."

"What in the hell does that mean?" Mike asked ... he wasn't in the mood to put up with Sonny's country sayings.

"It means you look like shit," Sonny answered.

He laughed, and then clutched his stomach in pain.

Mike said, "I'm hurt and stuck in a room with a goddamned comedian."

"Hey! Don't go taking the name of the Lord in vain. It is by His grace that we're even alive," Sonny said sharply.

"Sorry," Mike said.

It was just his luck to end up in a room with a religious zealot. He groaned in pain. He had never been in such pain.

"You seem a little irritable this morning," Sonny said.

"I woke up and found you here," Mike said.

He remembered waking up a couple of times in a different room. He looked around trying to make sense of his surroundings.

Sonny said, "I'd tell you to look out the window at the nice blue sky to cheer up, but it actually looks kind of brown and sickly today."

"Thermal inversion," Mike said. He wondered how he remembered that.

"You look like you are in a bit of pain. You might want to call the nurse in here and get some 'happy medicine'. They've got some really, really good 'happy medicine' here. I'm higher than a kite," Sonny said.

"That's a good idea," Mike said pressing the call button.

"Some of your cop friends have been by to see you," Sonny said. Grinning, he added, "I told all of them that you and I are drinking buddies."

"God, kill me now," Mike said.

"Only one of them figured out that I was underage. He said he was your supervisor ... or was he the guy from internal affairs. I don't remember," Sonny said with a chuckle. "I think you're going to have to do some explaining about that."

"I really hate you," Mike said.

Sonny said, "Would you like some good news?"

"I don't think anything you say can ever be interpreted as good news," Mike said, "except for goodbye ... I'd like to hear that."

"I was thinking that after this experience you might want to change jobs. I asked my Mom to put in a good word for you up in Montana. You'll love it up there," Sonny said.

"Just shoot me and put me out of my misery," Mike said with a groan.

"Hey, that gang tried. They shot you three times," Sonny said.

Looking confused, Mike said, "The last thing I remember was that we were talking. You had just said something about returning to school, or something. I think I saw a car and some gang members leaning out of it."

"Don't worry about them. I got the one that shot us. They crashed, and your cop buddies swarmed all over them. You'll be pleased to know that those gang members didn't have a chance to get out their car and onto private property," Sonny said, unable to resist putting in that last little dig.

"You shot the one that shot me?" Mike asked.

"You really need to get a better gun than that dinky little .38 caliber Smith and Wesson Model 36 revolver. I was shooting at the guy shooting at us and hit the driver, the door twice, and the building on the other side of the car before I ever hit the shooter. I just winged him. I'd go with the 10mm Smith and Wesson Model 610 with the six and a half inch barrel. Now that would put a world of hurt on them, and with the longer barrel you get a better accuracy," Sonny said.

"You used my gun?" Mike asked knowing that he was going to get hauled in front of review board.

"You weren't using it, and I didn't have one," Sonny said with a shrug.

The nurse finally came into the room and asked, "What do you need?"

Sonny said, "He needs some 'happy pills'. Just look at that frown on his face."

"I need something for pain and a room that is as far from him as I can possibly get," Mike said with a groan. His shoulder was killing him.

While checking over his chart, the nurse said, "I understood that he saved your life."

"Don't tell me that," Mike said.

"After I took care of the bad guys, I rendered first aid on you. It wasn't much, since I was doing the same for me. They say that you're supposed to put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding," Sonny said.

The nurse came over and said, "We've got you on a patient-controlled analgesia system. All you have to do for the pain is press that button."

Frowning, Sonny asked, "How come I don't have one of those?"

"We want you in a bit of pain. You have a reputation for getting up, and walking around," the nurse answered.

Sonny grinned and said, "It ain't working. I'm feeling no pain."

"He's going to drive me crazy. I'd really like a different room," Mike said.

Turning to Mike, she said, "I'll see what I can do about getting you a different room."

Sonny picked up a cell phone and pressed some numbers on it. Mike glanced over at Sonny. It took him a second or two to realize what he was doing.

Curious, Mike asked, "Is that my cell phone?"

"Yes. I'm calling your daughter. I promised I would call her when you woke up, but I kind of forgot. My bad," Sonny said. "She's a little worried about you. You were in surgery for thirteen hours. Then they had you in intensive care for a whole day. They just moved you into this room, this morning."

"Give me that phone," Mike said.

He tried to reach over to Sonny to grab the phone. He realized that was a mistake almost immediately. The whole world faded from view for a second. He jabbed the button a couple of times.

Sonny shifted the phone to his other hand and said, "Hello, Susan. This is Sonny."

Mike said, "Susan is not my daughter. She's my wife."

"He's awake.

"He's not in a very good mood."

"Give me that phone," Mike said.

"I can put up with it, if he's going to be my father in law.

"You're too young and pretty to be married to him.

"My offer still stands.

"You can divorce him.

"Give me that phone," Mike said demanded.

"He's making noises like he wants to talk to you.

"Okay.

"Hugs and kisses."

"Give me that phone," Mike said practically shouting.

"Here's your father," Sonny said.

He handed the phone to the nurse, to hand to Mike.

After giving Mike the cell phone, the nurse came around to Sonny and checked his pulse.

She said, "I'll let the doctor know that he should probably cut the pain medication back. You're a little too euphoric."

"You can never be too happy," Sonny said.

The nurse said, "You can be, when it is chemically induced."

There was a commotion in the hallway. Some old man was shouting something about having been a cowboy in the movies.

The nurse said, "Your brother is back."

Sonny looked at the door and said, "Hello, Donny."

"Hello, Sonny. How are you doing today?" Donny asked.

The nurse stepped around him and left the room.

"I'm doing fine," Sonny answered. He looked over at Mike and said, "I got a new roommate today. This is Detective Mike Saperstein of the Los Angeles Police Department."

Donny looked over at Mike and nodded his head. He had not expected them to move the detective into the same room as Sonny.

He said, "He doesn't look too happy."

Sonny winked at Donny and said, "Of course he doesn't look happy. He just found out that his wife is divorcing him so that she can marry me."

"He'll be pleased to know that she's trading down," Donny said.

"That's mean," Sonny said, and noticed that Mike actually smiled at hearing that.

Donny asked, "Did you have a chance to talk to the doctor this morning?"

"Yes, I did. He said that they were going to keep me here for a couple more days at least. I was lucky it was a nine-millimeter. The bullet basically went right through me without deforming much at all. According to the doctor, I had minimal internal injuries. Mostly they're worried about infection," Sonny said.

"That's good," Donny said. "What about transportation home?"

"He said I won't be able to fly for a while, and he didn't recommend a road trip for at least ten days after I'm released," Sonny answered. He looked over at Mike and said, "You might want to take the cell phone out of his hand. He fell asleep."

Donny reached over and took the cell phone from Mike. He listened for a second and then said, "I'm afraid that he fell asleep.

"I'm Sonny's brother, Donny.

"He told me he was marrying you.

"I'll let him know.

"I'll let him know, when he wakes.

"Good-bye."

Closing the cell phone, Donny said, "She wanted you to know that the thought of marrying you, will give her nightmares for the rest of her life."

"Was she laughing?" Sonny asked.

"Yes," Donny said.

"That's good. She was real upset this morning. I didn't think she'd ever laugh again," Sonny said.

"She sounds like a nice lady."

"We were able to talk a little when they brought him in. She said this was her worst nightmare. She told me about jumping every time the telephone rang, being afraid that it would be a call to inform her that he had been injured in the line of duty. She dreaded having someone knock on the door when he was at work. She was terrified that it would be someone there to tell her he had been killed. It must be tough being a cop's wife," Sonny said.

"I can't imagine what it would be like," Donny said.

Sonny glanced over at Mike and saw that the man was still asleep.

He said, "It is not going to be a problem now."

"Why?"

"Mike doesn't know it, but they aren't going to put him back on duty. His shoulder was really messed up. The ball of the humerus was shattered when the bullet hit it. There wasn't much left to put back together. He's not going to have much use of his arm in the future," Sonny said.

"That's a shame," Donny said.

Sonny said, "He's going to have a rough time getting past this injury. His wife is afraid that this will tear him up. He really did like being a cop."

"I wish we could help him, but we can't. We don't even know anyone who could help him."

"I know. He's not a bad guy. Under other circumstance I think we could have been real good friends. He just worked under insane conditions brought about by the stupidity of others."

Donny said, "This city is doomed. That kind of stupidity is terminal."

"I wish we could talk," Sonny said looking over at Mike.

"We'll have plenty of time to talk when you get out of here," Donny said.

"I guess," Sonny said.

Donny said, "We have plenty to talk about."

"Have you got any Skoal?" Sonny asked.

"What happened to what I gave you yesterday?" Donny asked fishing the can out of his shirt pocket. He didn't use it very often, but always carried a can of it with him.

"The nurse took it," Sonny said. "She gave me some gum."

"Do they hate tobacco out here?" Donny asked.

"It sure seems like it to me," Sonny said. "They don't seem to have much problem with folks smoking mari-hu-wana ... but pull out a pack of cigarettes, and they go crazy. They want to make mari-hu-wana legal and tobacco illegal."

"Maybe things would be little less crazy out here, if they stopped smoking mari-hu-wana and started smoking cigarettes," Donny said.

The nurse returned to the room with a little carry tray for taking blood samples.

She looked at the can in Donny's hand and said, "I'll personally drag you out of here by your ear, if you give him that can."

"You really would do that, wouldn't you?" Donny asked.

"You bet!" the nurse answered. "He was shot in the abdomen. He's not putting anything in his mouth that isn't approved of by the doctor."

"Sorry, Sonny."



-------

Chapter 22


Pepper used the shovel to lift the horse manure off the bed of straw. He had it down to an art form after so much practice. The vet was supposed to come later that afternoon to check the mares, and to take the blood samples necessary to see if they were pregnant. After that, they would be returning the horses outdoors. The job of mucking out the stables would be significantly reduced.

A noise from behind drew his attention. He turned to look, and saw Dan standing at the doorway of the stall. The last time he had seen Dan, was when the man was stuffing him in the back of the sedan for the drive out here.

Fully expecting an uncomfortable conversation, he said, "Hello."

"Hello, Pepper," Dan said. He looked down at Pepper's ankle and said, "That wasn't my idea."

"I know," Pepper said. "Mrs. Daniels came up with it."

"I'll ask Craig to remove it," Dan said.

"Thanks," Pepper said.

He noticed that Dan looked a couple years older than the last time he had seen him. His hair was a little grayer. There were a few more wrinkles around his eyes. His eyes looked tired.

Pepper asked, "How's Sonny?"

"He's recovering," Dan said.

"I was worried about him," Pepper said.

Seeing the expression that flashed over Dan's face, he added, "I'm serious about that. I worry about him."

"Okay," Dan said.

He knew that Pepper had good reason to worry about Sonny's health, and it wasn't out of concern for Sonny. His chances of returning to LA depended upon Sonny recovering.

"I don't imagine he'll be able to travel when he gets out of the hospital," Pepper said.

"That's right," Dan said.

Pepper licked his lips nervously, and then said, "He can use my apartment. It isn't much, but it does have all of the comforts of home."

"I'll let him know that," Dan said surprised by the offer.

"I don't know what kind of shape it will be in after sitting there for so long," Pepper said.

He imagined that the entire place would be covered in dust. The food in the refrigerator would have turned bad, and that would make the entire place smell horrible.

Dan said, "Sonny stopped by and took care of it occasionally. He threw away the perishables, took care of the mail, and made sure the bills were paid."

"That was nice of him," Pepper said.

It was good to know that he wouldn't be returning to a disaster at the apartment. With Sonny in the hospital, the odds were good that the place would have gotten a little dusty.

"A management company is running the store," Dan said.

"I know. I signed the papers," Pepper said.

"You've got two new employees. We had to replace you and Sonny in the work schedule," Dan said. "Sonny interviewed them. He said that they were pretty good people."

"Ah," Pepper said.

He had been caught up in his own set of problems and hadn't worried too much about staffing at the store. That was one of the things he was going to have to do when he returned to Los Angeles. Thinking about it now, he realized that there were a lot of things waiting there for him that required his attention.

He said, "I hadn't thought about the need to hire more people."

Dan said, "You can probably take a vacation after Sonny gets home. It seems to me like your business is doing fine and you can afford to take a little time off, after all of this is over."

"I didn't think of taking a vacation," Pepper said.

He noticed the implicit suggestion that he was going to be staying there until Sonny returned. He prayed that nothing else would happen to Sonny.

"You can if you want," Dan said. "On your way home you can stop and see some of the sights that you missed on your way here. There's some of the most beautiful countryside in the world between here and Los Angeles. You have to stop at the Grand Canyon at least."

"I might do that," Pepper said. "I've never given much thought to touring around the country. It just didn't seem necessary since I felt that everything I wanted or needed was in Los Angeles. I always felt that I could look at a picture or watch television and see the sights."

"Do you still feel that way?" Dan asked.

"No. Some things need to be experienced to be fully appreciated," Pepper said.

"Would you mind listening to a little advice?" Dan asked.

"I wouldn't mind," Pepper answered.

"Sell your store and move out of Los Angeles. Find a nice medium-sized town in which to open a new store and then move there. Los Angeles is going to burn one of these days and you don't want to be there when it does," Dan said.

"Why do you say that?" Pepper asked.

He knew that these country folks didn't think too highly of big cities, but Dan was suggesting a bit more than the fact that he disliked it. He was making a prediction of a dark future for the city and the people who lived there.

"The criminals are in charge, there, and they know it. They are getting worse in the sense that the crimes are becoming more violent and more brazen. Sonny was standing within a hundred yards of a police station when he was shot, in a drive-by shooting. The police can't stop them. Actually, it would be more correct to say that the police aren't allowed to stop them," Dan said.

Pepper shrugged his shoulders and said, "For a long time the LAPD had the reputation as the meanest cops in the country. We've had riots because of the actions the police took. Maybe they have over-corrected the problem and become too soft, but they'll toughen up after a while."

"I think it runs deeper than that," Dan said.

There was an intrinsic weakness within the good people of the city. They didn't have the will to do what was required to protect themselves and the people around them. The situation would get worse before people would demand harsher actions to be taken. He feared that there wouldn't be people left that knew how to defend themselves by that time.

Dan sighed and said, "It runs a whole lot deeper than that."

Thinking it wasn't worth arguing about, Pepper said, "You might be right."

"I hear that you like fishing," Dan said changing the subject a little.

"Yes," Pepper said.

One of his fondest memories of staying there had been standing in the stream with the fly rod and pulling in that little trout. The idea that a fish would actually try to eat a fluff of feathers tied to a hook was incredible to him.

He added, "I'm not very good at it."

"All it takes is practice," Dan said with a smile. "Maybe we can go fishing before Sonny gets back. I think there is some spare gear around here."

"That would be nice," Pepper said surprised by the invitation.

"I better let you get back to work," Dan said.

Pepper studied Dan for a moment.

The man looked tired.

There was a haunted look to his face that spoke of having done something horrific.

He knew a little about what the man had done in Los Angeles.

It dawned on him that his actions were weighing heavily upon him. One of those actions had been kidnapping him and sending him to Montana. He thought about his conversations with Carl.

Pepper said, "I forgive you."

"Thanks," Dan said softly.

Dan gave Pepper a curt nod of his head and left.

Pepper stood there for a second thinking about the discussion. In his first conversation with Dan, the man had spoken with an air of certainty about right and wrong. Everything was black or white. It seemed to him that that certainty had been robbed from Dan, and all he could see were shades of gray.

He said, "You've been changed by Los Angeles, Dan Daniels. I do not know if that is a good thing or not."

Pepper had almost finished mucking out the stall when Craig stopped by. Craig held up the key to the lock on the manacle and said, "Let's get that bar and chain off of you."

"That would be nice," Pepper said.

He lifted his pant leg to give access to the lock. The quicker it was removed, the better, he thought.

Craig looked over at Pepper's ankle on which the manacle was attached. Pepper had a sock wrapped around the metal piece.

Curious, he asked, "Why do you have a sock wrapped around it?"

"It was rubbing my skin raw," Pepper answered.

"You should have said something," Craig said while removing the sock. He looked at the red raw skin around the ankle. Frowning, he said, "This doesn't look good."

"That's okay," Pepper said.

Craig removed the lock. He examined Pepper's ankle a little more carefully. Pepper was lucky that it hadn't gotten infected.

He said, "Come on over to the medical area. We've got some 'bag' balm that will fix that right up."

"Bag balm?" Pepper asked wondering if he heard correctly.

"We use it on any cuts and scrapes that the horses or cattle get," Craig said.

He was pretty sure that Pepper wouldn't like to know what was being referred to by the word 'bag' in the name of the balm he would be using. Some folks didn't like the idea of medicine that was used on a cow's udders being used to treat them.

"I'm not horse or a cow," Pepper said.

That whole thing about having to go to veterinarians for treatment seemed to be more than a threat, but a real possibility. He couldn't imagine the kind of medical care that the people in the area received. It appeared that everyone out there knew more than a little about first aid and treating minor injuries.

Craig laughed and said, "Out here the distinctions can get a little blurred when it comes to medicating someone. To tell the truth, we use some stuff on animals that is a thousand times better than what you can buy for people at a pharmacy."

Pepper followed Craig into the medical area. He had never been in that room of the barn before. He noticed that they had a refrigerator, shelves with medicines, and medical instruments. It looked a lot like a doctor's office.

He asked, "What is the refrigerator for?"

"That's for some of the medicines that need to be stored in a refrigerator. We also keep a beer or two in there for when the vet comes by," Craig answered.

He pulled a small metal bowl down from one of the shelves. He filled it with a little water from the tap after letting the water run for a little bit.

"I thought you would take the animal to the vet," Pepper said.

He may not have had a pet, but he did know that you took it to the vet to get shots and treatment when it was ill. Vets, like doctors, didn't make house calls in Los Angeles. He wondered if the doctor out here actually made house calls.

Craig replied, "No. You don't take a thousand pound bull to a veterinarian's office and sit around a waiting room with it on a leash. The vet comes out here, examines the animal, prescribes a treatment, and then we take care of it after he leaves."

"I didn't realize that," Pepper said.

He watched Craig pull down a squeeze bottle from a shelf with medicines. It was a green bottle with black writing on it. He wondered what was in it.

"There are times when I think vets make better doctors than people doctors. I mean, think about it. A vet has to learn how to take care of cattle, horses, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, and turkeys. That's not to mention the occasional cat and dog. An animal can't tell a vet what is wrong with it. A people doctor only has one kind of patient and that patient can tell them where it hurts," Craig said.

"I'd rather have a real doctor," Pepper said.

Craig pointed to a chair and said, "Have a seat on that stool."

Pepper sat down on the small stool and rolled up his pant leg. He asked, "Will it sting?"

"No. I'm going to wash it with an antiseptic soap first," Craig said.

"Okay," Pepper said.

Craig knelt down and used a sponge to wipe down Pepper's ankle. He squirted some liquid on the ankle and started washing it.

He said, "They used to sell this stuff in the pharmacy over the counter. Someone decided that using it every day was leading to resistant bacteria and they had to pull it from the market. They still use it in hospitals. Now the only place where you can buy it over the counter is in a store that sells supplies for livestock. It is the same exact stuff."

"I didn't know that," Pepper said.

"Some of the products we use have been on the market for a hundred years. Farmers have been using it on themselves and their animals forever. It costs too much to get it approved for human use, so they only sell it for animal use. That doesn't mean it doesn't work on people. Besides, most folks in the city wouldn't use a product called 'Bag Balm'," Craig said.

Wondering about the fact that some of these medications were approved for use on people, Pepper asked, "You aren't worried that the product might be unsafe?"

"If it was unsafe there wouldn't be a person alive out in the country," Craig said with a laugh. "I figure that if something has worked for a hundred years then it will work for another hundred."

"All these cattle are loaded up with antibiotics. That's got to make the bacteria more resistant," Pepper said.

Craig said, "Have you seen us shooting up all of these animals with antibiotics?"

"No," Pepper said.

He really hadn't noticed them doing much with the cattle other than checking them every day. So far, he hadn't done anything around the cattle.

"The only time one of our animals gets an antibiotic is when it is sick. As soon as it is cured, we stop the antibiotics," Craig said.

He opened the container with the bag balm and scooped some of it out. He slathered it on Pepper's ankle. The balm felt cool and soothing on Pepper's ankle.

He said, "I know for a fact that the beef we get in the store is loaded with antibiotics and hormones."

Craig nodded his head and said, "The feed lots give the cows plenty of antibiotics. They've got to do that with the way they have the animals crowded together. If they get one sick cow, then they end up with a hundred sick cows."

"I didn't know that. I thought they were raised with antibiotics and hormones," Pepper said. "Why give them the hormones?"

Craig put the lid back on the bag balm while he answered, "They give them that to fatten them up quicker. Of course, the only reason they fatten up the cow is because people want beef with a nice marbled texture. If you take one of our cows straight out of the field and butcher it, you'd find that beef is a pretty lean meat.

"Lean beef is pretty tough and you wouldn't really like it. We fatten up an animal or two every year for butchering. We don't use any hormones to do that. We just feed them corn. It takes a little longer to fatten them up that way, but we aren't trying to fatten up enough cattle to feed three hundred million people. We might be a part of the production line, but we don't operate on the scale that feed lots have to run, to meet consumer demand for well marbled beef."

"I didn't realize that," Pepper said.

Craig said, "Our animals are well cared for. They are an investment and you don't ruin an investment by abusing them."

"How many cows does Donny have?" Pepper asked.

"About six hundred head," Craig answered.

He wrapped Pepper's ankle with a gauze bandage to keep it from getting dirty. The bandage was in a roll and he basically unwound the roll by winding it around the ankle.

"That's a lot of cows," Pepper said.

He rolled down his pant leg thinking that Craig was pretty good at first aid. It was a whole lot better than a trip to the emergency room back in Los Angeles.

"We could have more, but we limit how much of the land is allocated to pasture," Craig said.

Finished with treating Pepper, Craig started returning things to the shelves where they belonged.

"Why not turn it all to pasture?" Pepper asked.

Craig answered, "A lot of the land here is forest. That's an important part of the overall revenue for the ranch. We sell a lot of trees. Depending on the kind of tree, they are made into plywood veneer, telephone poles, and musical instruments."

"Telephone poles?" Pepper asked. "You grow telephone poles?"

Craig said, "Don't knock it. Trees are a crop just like wheat or corn. Think of how many telephone poles there are in Los Angeles alone."

"I never thought about it," Pepper said.

Back in the city, people talked about deforestation because of the need for paper. No one ever talked about all of the trees that were turned into telephone poles. He wondered how many sheets of paper could be made from a single telephone pole.

"There's a lot of science behind managing a forest for production of trees. You have to decide which trees to cut based on the value of the tree, health of the tree stand, and risk of fires. You might decide to cut down a poor tree that won't sell for much to make room for a tree that will make more money in ten years. You have to have a plan on how to replace trees," Craig said.

Pepper said, "A lot people are against cutting down trees."

"Next time you go outside look at the forest that surrounds you. They've been cutting down trees on this place for fifty years. If you had been here fifty years ago you would have seen the same forest. If you come back fifty years from now, you'll see the same forest. It will be different individual trees, but you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between now and then," Craig said. He finished putting things away.

"I guess you can't pack more trees in here," Pepper said.

It seemed to him that a lot of the things he had accepted as fact weren't quite so factual. His understanding of the timber industry was that they cut down every tree in an area leaving behind desolation. It made him wonder about the protesters who drove large nails into trees in an attempt to prevent them from getting cut down.

"That's right. If you try to put more trees here then a bunch of them will die. When they die, they'll increase the fire hazard. When we have a fire, we'll lose more trees," Craig said.

Pepper was feeling like he was still pretty ignorant of what went on with a working ranch like this despite his time spent there. He had dealt with the horses and building the bridge.

He said, "I guess there's a lot more to this farming stuff, than meets the eye."

Craig said, "Every place around here has a computer and a backup. It is a lot of work keeping track of livestock, crops, and contracts. Donny's breeding program for his horses requires that he keep track of their lineage going back several generations. You can't produce a bunch of inbred animals, and expect to make any money at it.

"Taxes require that he keeps a full set of books that are as complicated as any enterprise that does millions of dollars worth of business a year. Believe me, he is as much of a business man, as anyone who owns their own company in Los Angeles. He might only have five employees, but he has to do payroll. Every rancher out here could run just about any small business in a city.

"I know that a lot of people in the city think folks out in the country are ignorant and uncultured. They are wrong. We've got farmers with high school degrees and farmers with college degrees. The guy who comes out here from the Department of Agriculture has a Ph.D. When they get together at the breakfast place in town, you can't tell the college educated from those whose education ended after high school. Why? None of them are stupid, that's why."

"I guess I have been guilty of thinking that way about people who live out here," Pepper said.

Craig said, "When winter comes, we won't be outdoors as much. The sun rises late and sets early. If you were here in the winter, you would see us sitting around the bunkhouse reading books and watching documentaries on television."

"I guess it is easier working here in the wintertime," Pepper said.

"No, it is just different. We have to drag hay out to the cattle rather than let them graze. The horses spend a lot more time inside the barn. We've got to keep the buildings clear of snow so that they don't collapse," Craig said.

Life on a ranch was never boring.

"I guess winter out here is a lot different than winter in Los Angeles," Pepper said.

It was easy to overlook demands that different climates imposed on people living in different areas of the country. The people out here were a whole lot more aware of the changing of the seasons. To Pepper, the different times of year just meant different holidays. Fall meant Halloween and scary looking decorations. Winter meant Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years with the appropriate decorations being hung.

"Yes," Craig said, "You better get back to work. You've still got a few stalls to muck out and I've got some cattle to check."

"The fun never ends," Pepper said getting up from the chair.



-------

Chapter 23


Sonny walked into the hospital room, and took a seat in a chair by the bed.

Looking at the man lying in the bed, he asked, "How are you doing, this morning?"

"Get out of here," Mike said.

Sonny said, "I know that you've gotten some bad news, but you can't let that hold you down. You've got to get on with your life."

"Just what I need ... advice from an asshole," Mike said bitterly.

"If you weren't a cop, I'd take your ass outside, and kick the shit out of it," Sonny said without anger.

"That would be a real challenge," Mike said sarcastically. "I bet you'd like beating up a one armed man."

"It wouldn't be a challenge at all, and I doubt it would be much fun. I do think it is damned near necessary, though," Sonny said.

"Why?"

Sonny said, "Sitting there feeling all sorry for yourself isn't going to take care of business. You've still got a wife who loves you. Your kids still need you. There are bills to pay, and things that have to be done around the house. How many arms you have, doesn't change that."

"How am I going to do any of that stuff, with just one arm?" Mike asked.

"There's a lot of stuff that you can't do, but there is even more stuff that you can do. That's what you should be concentrating on. You should be looking at what you can do," Sonny said.

He looked at the man in the bed, knowing that his words were falling on deaf ears. Mike had lost more than an arm. He had lost his identity as a police officer.

He sighed and said, "You're not going to listen to me."

"Why should I?" Mike asked.

He blamed a lot of his condition on Sonny. He had been on the trail of the men who had come to visit Sonny in the hospital the first time he had been shot when he had asked Sonny to come down to the station. He was pretty sure that they were responsible for the escalation of violence that led to him getting shot.

"Maybe it is because I'm one of the few honest men left in this god forsaken town," Sonny said.

"You? Honest? Don't blow smoke up my ass," Mike said.

Shaking his head, Sonny said, "As far as I can tell, I'm one of the few people left here who will tell it like it is. I'll call a spade a spade. I'll tell you flat out what needs to be done without regard to what you think is allowed. I really don't care what the people here think of me and my ideas."

"You're an asshole," Mike said.

"Me? I'm not the one who chased his wife out of his room. I saw your wife sitting down the hallway crying her eyes out. That woman loves you, and you don't seem to care," Sonny said. He leaned over towards Mike and added, "If anyone in this room is an asshole, it is you."

"Why do you even care?" Mike asked bitterly.

Sonny leaned back in his chair. It was obvious that Mike's emotions were all over the place. One minute he was bitter and then the next minute he was angry. There was an undercurrent of depression and despair.

He answered, "I didn't respect you at all when I first met you. I thought that you weren't doing your job. Then I realized that you were doing all that you could, under the circumstances. You really did care about protecting the public. The problem was that the public didn't want your protection. That didn't stop you from doing all you could. You were kind of a heroic figure, battling evil without any support. I probably shouldn't say this, but I actually like you."

"Look at where it got me," Mike said.

"I know exactly where it got you. In case you have forgotten, I was lying in the bed next to yours until you changed rooms," Sonny said. "All I'm saying is that you have to decide where you are going to go to from here."

"I'll be going home and sitting around like a useless piece of trash. I'm damaged goods and nobody wants me," Mike said getting angry again.

Sonny gave a snort of disgust. He said, "That's where you're wrong. Your wife wants you. You've got to decide what is important to you and start working to protect it."

"She deserves more than half a man," Mike said.

Sadly, Sonny shook his head. He said, "From what I've seen of Los Angeles, there aren't many men here who even qualify to be half a man. You're head and shoulders above a bunch of sniveling cowards who hide behind others, and then blame them when things don't work out right."

"Well," Mike said.

"If you chase off your wife, she's liable to marry some jerk who won't even try to protect her. I figure that even with just one arm, you would still pick up a baseball bat and try to take out anyone who breaks into your house or threatens her. You wouldn't sit cowering in a closet, trying to get through on 911 calling for help while your wife is getting raped. You might not succeed in saving her, but you would try. From what I've seen around here that makes you one of the few men left in this city," Sonny said.

"You're right," Mike said.

Sonny looked at the door and said, "I've got to be leaving now. It is time for me to check out of this place."

"You're wrong about one thing though," Mike said.

"What?"

Mike said, "There are a lot of good people left in this city."

Sonny said, "Maybe, but I suggest that you take a trip around this country. Visit some of the small towns when you get out of here. Meet some people and talk to them. You might not like what you hear, at first, but I think you'll grow to appreciate them. You'll meet a lot of folks who react to adversity by hitching up their pants and getting to work. You'll meet a lot of people who will step in to help others in trouble without being asked. After a couple of months of talking to real men and women who know how to take care of themselves, you won't have such a good impression of the folks around here."

Mike said, "I might do that."

"Take your wife with you. The two of you just might find a home where people appreciate what you've got to offer the community," Sonny said.

The fact that a police officer had been wounded during a drive by shooting hadn't made it to the front page of the newspaper. The front page had been filled with the story of the gang getting destroyed. Sonny was sure the day when assaults on police were no longer news, was on the horizon. He hoped that Mike would be around when that happened.

He turned to leave and then added, "It has been nice knowing you. Have a good life."

"Thanks," Mike said.

Sonny stepped out the room, where he was met by Donny.

After they were a couple of steps away from the door, Sonny said, "I couldn't leave without talking to him."

"Did you get everything taken care of in there?" Donny asked while gesturing at the door of Mike's hospital room.

"No. I did what I could, though," Sonny said shaking his head.

He knew that Mike was wallowing in misery. It would be a while before the man took charge of his life and moved on to something else. He hoped that the man didn't alienate all of the people around him before getting his act together.

"That's all you can do," Donny said.

He watched how his brother was walking. Sonny was moving slow and it was obvious that he was still in quite a bit of pain. Real life wasn't quite like the police shows where a man was shot in one episode and then was all right for the next one. Sonny wouldn't be back in true form for months.

Sonny said, "He grew up wanting to be a cop and became a cop. After more than twenty-five years of being a cop, he can't be a cop. The poor guy has lost his identity as a result of a couple ounces of lead. What do you do when you can't be what you've always have been?"

"That's a good question," Donny said.

He wondered how he would deal with that situation although it wasn't the first time the thought had crossed his mind. A man didn't ride a bull without knowing that he could get seriously hurt. There were a lot of former rodeo folks living their lives out in wheelchairs.

Pausing and turning his whole body to look back at the door, Sonny said, "He's going to be bitter about this for a long time."

"I can't blame him. He's been shot," Donny said.

"He's going to be bitter about the wrong thing," Sonny said.

Sonny started heading back towards his room. Donny walked beside him while pausing occasionally to look inside the rooms along the hallway. There were a lot of sick people in that hospital.

"What do you mean?"

"He's blaming me because the gang violence increased," Sonny said. "He's blaming the wrong group."

"It was the gang that was doing the shooting," Donny said shaking his head.

"I don't blame the gang," Sonny said.

Surprised by that, Donny asked, "Who do you blame?"

"I blame the system that operates out here. There is something seriously wrong when you can't arrest the criminals ... when you can't lock murders, rapists, and thieves away for life ... when law enforcement becomes a means of raising money for the city by handing out traffic tickets," Sonny said.

"The priorities out here are all wrong. It seems to me that trivial stuff is taken seriously and serious stuff is taken lightly."

Donny said, "He should have gotten out of there a long time ago."

"It is easy to delude yourself into believing that things aren't as bad as they really are. I believe he kept thinking that someone somewhere would wake up and realize that things had devolved into something absurd. I'm sure that he thought things would improve that would make his job easier," Sonny said. "I didn't realize things were so bad out here ... and I live here."

"I guess I can see that," Donny said.

Sonny twisted a little and the movement pulled something inside him. He paused to catch his breath. He held his stomach and waited for the pain to pass. He was still dealing with scar tissue from his first injury.

With a grimace, he said, "It got me shot twice in one month."

Donny asked, "How's the stomach?"

"It feels like I got shot there," Sonny said with a dry laugh.

"It'll be a few days before you're up to riding a bull," Donny said with a wink.

"At least a few days," Sonny said while walking beside his brother. He pointed to a room and said, "I'd like to stop in there for a minute."

"Who is in there?" Donny asked.

Sonny answered, "Just a woman I met here in the hospital."

"You dog. You get shot and use it as an excuse to pickup women," Donny said.

He started to nudge his brother in the side, but stopped the action. Sonny was still hurting from his injuries.

"It is not like that. I believe that you've already met her. Why don't you come on in, and talk to her," Sonny said.

"Really?" Donny asked.

The pair went into the room. A woman was lying on the bed furthest from the door. Donny recognized the woman despite the fact that she appeared to have lost thirty pounds since the first time he had met her. She almost looked like a skeleton lying in the bed.

In a weak voice, she said, "Hello, Sonny."

"Hello, Maggie," Sonny said. "This is my brother Donny."

Donny removed his hat while he said, "Hello, ma'am. I remember you. You were on the elevator when we came to visit to Sonny the first time he was shot."

"I've still got that card your uncle gave me," Maggie said glancing over at the table beside the bed.

She occasionally got out the card and looked at it dreaming of being out there in the country. She wasn't a country girl, but she did enjoy outdoor activities. She felt that people who never went out into nature were missing something important.

"You know, you're welcome to come visit us anytime," Donny said.

Turning her head to look out the window, Maggie said, "I don't think I'll make it there. They couldn't stop the cancer."

"I'm really sorry to hear that ma'am," Donny said. "I'll keep you in my prayers."

"Thank you," Maggie said.

It was strange to think that these people, who for all intents and purposes were complete strangers, would take the time to stop by and talk to her. She looked forward to Sonny's visits. She spent a lot of time fantasizing about visiting a place that she had never seen.

Sonny asked, "How are you feeling, today?"

"I'm a little tired," Maggie answered.

Despite taking large doses of painkillers, she still felt a lot of pain. She was left in a purgatory in which she couldn't sleep, wasn't alert, and was never free of pain.

"Would you like me to leave so that you have a chance to sleep?" Sonny asked with a worried expression on his face.

Maggie said, "No, I can't sleep. Stay here for a little while and talk to me. I get a little lonely."

"I'll stay as long as you want," Sonny said.

"Don't you have better things to do?" Maggie asked looking at Donny.

"No, Ma'am. There's nothing more important than comforting a friend," Donny answered with a friendly smile.

Looking over at Sonny, she said, "Tell me a little more about your place. What's it like in the winter?"

Sonny gestured to a chair for Donny to take a seat. He sat down in the other chair located at the foot of the bed. He leaned back and stared up at the ceiling, to picture the ranch in the middle of winter.

He said, "I don't know which season I like the best. Fall is beautiful with all of the colors, but winter can be pretty magical, too. The land changes in the winter. No two days are exactly the same. Everything gets covered with snow. The whole landscape turns softer and gentler looking. It isn't flat, but undulates ... like dunes in a desert, or swells on the ocean. It looks peaceful in a way that is hard to explain.

"The snow isn't like the dirty gray stuff that you see around cities. It is so white that it sometimes hurts the eyes to look upon it. You would think with everything being white that there wouldn't be a texture to the landscape, but you'd be wrong. The shadows have a blue tinge to them, rather than looking a flat gray. Sometimes, when the sun is just right, the snowflakes will reflect the light so that the surface of the snow looks like it glows.

"Providing a contrast to the vast plain of whiteness, are the pine trees. The dark green needles and the brown trunks stand out in sharp contrast to the white snow. The trees look different in the winter. The branches that stand out proudly from the tree in summer, sag under the weight of the snow. If there's a gentle breeze, you'll see islands of white floating amongst the branches. It is almost hypnotic to watch."

Donny watched Maggie close her eyes listening to Sonny describe the landscape. A soft smile graced her face. Her features softened.

Sonny continued, "You'd think it would be quiet, but it isn't. There's a special kind of sharpness to the air that makes the smallest sound carry a long distance. You can hear clumps of snow, fall from the trees. You can hear the snow move across the landscape.

"When you walk outdoors, the snow makes a crunching sound. The sound differs, depending upon the kind of snow that has fallen. Sometimes it is a soft sound while other times it is harsh like you're breaking crackers over a bowl of chili.

"There are times when the surface is hard, and you can walk on top of the snow. Then you'll hit a weak spot, and sink down to your hips with a whomp. Other times, the snow won't support a feather. Trying to walk through it, is like wading through thick water. It will tire a healthy man out, in just a hundred yards."

Sonny watched her, observing that she was nearly asleep.

In a softer voice, he said, "Above all of that whiteness, is the clear blue sky. On really cold days, the sky is a pale blue, lighter than a robin's egg. It seems like you can see forever. The bright sun hangs there, looking small and cold in the vastness of the sky."

Seeing that Maggie was asleep, Sonny got up and went over to the bed. He kissed her forehead.

Stepping back, he said, "Sleep well, Maggie."

Donny rose from his chair and eased towards the door.

In a very soft voice, he said, "Do not fear the future, Maggie. Sometimes God needs a friendly ear that appreciates the miracles he was wrought."

The two young men left the room. In a harsh tight voice, Donny said, "That cancer is a mean disease."

"You can say that again," Sonny said shaking his head. He wiped his eyes and said, "She is a nice lady."

"Yes, she is," Donny said agreeing with his brother.

"Let's get out of here," Sonny said.

They hadn't taken three steps towards the elevators when a nurse came over to them. In a demanding tone of voice, she asked, "What do you think you're doing?"

"We're leaving," Sonny said.

"You've got to ride to the door in a wheelchair," the nurse said.

Sonny said, "I'm walking around, now. I don't need a wheelchair."

"There are procedures that we have to follow," the nurse said.

She put her hands on her hips, and looked up at Sonny as if daring him to suggest that they not follow procedure.

"You might as well surrender, Sonny. This is a battle you're not going to win," Donny said with a smile.



-------

Chapter 24


Taking a break from shoveling the compost into a small trailer, Pepper watched John and Sally ride out of the compound on their way to move the horses from one pasture to the next.

He looked over at Carl and said, "I'd like to learn how to do that."

"Do what?" Carl asked looking up from what he had been working on.

He wondered what Pepper wanted to learn.

"Ride a horse," Pepper answered.

"I guess we could do that after you finish spreading this compost around the orchard," Carl said.

Although Pepper had heard the term compost, he wasn't really sure what it was, or why it was used. His lack of experience with gardens of any kind was making itself known.

He asked, "Why do I need to spread this stuff around the orchard?"

"It gives us something to do with the horse manure you've been hauling out of the barn," Carl answered with a smile. Seeing the puzzled expression on Peppers face, he added, "It is fertilizer for the fruit trees. Nothing goes to waste around here. Even shit is valuable."

Thinking back to the catalogs that he could order seasonal items from, Pepper said, "I thought fertilizer was a kind of powder that came in boxes or bags."

"This is the all natural stuff," Carl said.

It never ceased to amaze him how Pepper thought everything came in a box, bag, or can.

Pepper asked, "Is it better?"

"Yes, it is," Carl said. "The stuff you're talking about is a chemical based fertilizer."

"I didn't know that," Pepper said. "I guess this is organic."

"Yes," Carl answered nodding his head.

There were times when he was amazed at how little Pepper knew. The way he used the term organic made it sound like it was something special.

He looked at Pepper and asked, "What does 'organic' mean to you?"

"It means that it is made without the use of chemicals and stuff," Pepper answered. "You have to pay extra for organic stuff, because it costs more to make it without using chemicals. An organic apple costs a dollar more a pound than an apple that has been sprayed with chemicals."

"Well, the fertilizer that you're shoveling is compost made from the horse manure from the barn. We use it on the fruit trees in the orchard, the vegetable garden, and out in the fields. We don't have to use insecticides out here for the fruits so I guess that makes them organic," Carl said.

"That's good. Organic food is supposed to be a lot better for you," Pepper said. "You should grow more of it."

"This is for feeding folks here," Carl said.

"Why don't you sell it?" Pepper asked.

It was obvious that Pepper didn't understand the difference between having a couple of trees and an orchard for food production.

Carl said, "You won't get rich selling a couple of bushels of cherries."

"You could grow more," Pepper said.

To him it was really simple.

Carl said, "Growing fruits out here is challenging. The orchard started with two kinds of native plums, Norther and Wanata. We've been growing Montmorency cherries out here for years. We just recently got Lodi apples that were grafted onto crabapple rootstock. Hopefully they'll survive a couple more seasons."

"How about oranges?" Pepper asked.

Carl laughed and said, "Oranges won't grow here."

Looking over at the forest, Pepper said, "I thought that you just planted the tree, and then picked the fruit later. I mean, there are all kinds of trees around here. Why can't you grow oranges?"

"The climate is way too cold up here for citrus trees. Just think of it this way. It takes the fruit a certain amount of time to ripen. If it gets cold before the fruit ripens, then it just falls off the tree," Carl said. He patted the Bobcat compact track loader and said, "We better get back to work. I want to fix this."

Picking up the shovel, Pepper said, "Okay."

Carl worked on the Bobcat for another thirty minutes while Pepper shoveled the compost into the trailer. Experience with a shovel had taught him how to work without killing his back. He worked at it in a steady constant pace until the trailer was filled

Pepper set the shovel aside, and then said, "I'm done."

Frustrated by his lack of progress in fixing the hydraulic system, Carl said, "This is going to take us all day if I don't get this fixed. Why don't you drive the ATV over to the orchard and spread the manure?"

"Sure," Pepper said.

He looked at the ATV utility vehicle. It kind of looked like a car, but it wasn't.

He asked, "How do I drive it?"

"It drives just like a car," Carl said.

He went over to the ATV and pointed out the various features to Pepper. After having the features pointed out to him, Pepper felt like he could drive it.

He started to get in when Carl said, "Take the shovel in the bed in the back. When you get to the orchard, shovel about ten shovel loads of compost at the base of a tree, and then move on to the next one. Come back here, when you're done."

"Great," Pepper said.

He drove off barely paying attention to where he was going. He kept looking at various features of the ATV. It didn't seem to go very fast. He looked back at the trailer load of compost, wondering if that was slowing the ATV down.

He managed to find his way to the orchard, and pulled up to the first tree. He got out and grabbed the shovel. He tossed ten scoops of compost at the base of the tree, and then got back into the ATV. He drove it twenty feet forward and repeated his actions.

He muttered, "It sure would be easier with two guys doing this. One guy to drive, and one guy to shovel."

It took as long to unload the trailer as it took to load it. Most of the delay came about because he also had to stop shoveling and drive the ATV. He felt that he had to do all of the work while Carl played with the Bobcat. When he got back to the compost piles, Carl was seated in the Bobcat.

Carl called out, "Park it over there. I'll load it."

While it had taken Pepper more than thirty minutes to load the trailer the first time, it only took Carl ten minutes to load it, using the Bobcat. After the trailer was loaded, Carl went over to the ATV.

He said, "Move over. I'll drive and you'll shovel. It won't take long to get this load spread over the orchard."

"That will be a lot better than what I had to do before," Pepper said.

"That's the idea. There's enough work around here that we can't afford to waste time doing things the hard way," Carl said.

"Why did you have me do it the hard way if you were fixing the Bobcat?" Pepper asked finding it easy to remember the name of the small earthmover.

"What would have happened if I hadn't been able to fix it? We would have lost an hour of work," Carl answered.

Pepper thought about how he ran his business. When something like that would happen, back at the store, everyone would stand around until the repairman fixed the problem. The idea of doing the job the old fashioned way, would never have occurred to him. The attitude out here was very different. They believed that when something needed to get done, it got done.

He would never have come up with the idea of fixing a broken piece of equipment himself. The men and women out here had no qualms about rolling up their sleeves and diving into a repair, regardless of previous experience with that particular piece of equipment. He had watched with amazement when one of them would figure out how things should work and then figure out why it wasn't working correctly.

There were other things that he had noticed while at the ranch. When something broke, they took care of it right away. One day a light bulb had burned out in the barn. Carl had sent him to fix it before mucking the stable. The next thing Pepper knew, he was standing on a ladder changing a light bulb. It was his first real experience with a ladder.

The point was that back at his store, he would have let several light bulbs burn out before calling in someone to replace them. The store would have looked dark and dingy before the problem was fixed. Out here, that would never happen.

The ranch hands never put things away dirty. Even shovels were cleaned before being returned to where they were stored. They took the minute or two necessary to wipe it down or wash it off. Despite the fact that each horse dropped forty pounds of manure a day, the barn was relatively clean all of the time. He couldn't imagine what a stall would look like after a week without being cleaned. All he knew was that he wouldn't have wanted to be the one to clean it. There were smells, but they were the healthy smells of life.

The net result was that the ranch always looked clean despite the age of the buildings. All of the buildings were painted. The interiors of buildings, even little storage sheds, were well lit and cheery. The gravel drive was level and without ruts. Fence posts were straight and strong. Gates swung easily without dragging against the ground.

Life on the ranch was one of constant activity, but that didn't mean people were rushing around all of the time. Very few things were rushed. Most activities were performed in a slow, measured, consistent pace; with significant planning taking place, before any task was started.

It took the rest of the day to finish spreading the compost over the orchard. By the time they were finished, there was a smelly mounded ring around the base of each tree, and a third of the compost pits were empty. The odor of the horse manure had transformed into a deeper earthier smell as a result of decomposition.

Standing in the orchard, Pepper looked at the job they had done. Again he felt a little pride in his work.

He said, "It looks kind of nice out here."

"Mrs. Daniels is very proud of the orchard," Carl said.

The orchard might have been small, but it produced a lot of fruit that was used to feed the people on the ranch. They had apple butter and applesauce made from the apples. Cherry preserves, cherry jam, and cherry pies were made from the cherries. Plum preserves were made from the plums.

A small flash of red attracted Pepper's attention. He pointed at it and asked, "What is that?"

"That is a fox," Carl answered.

It amazed him how little Pepper knew about wildlife. By this time, the fox had already disappeared.

"I thought that foxes were only in England," Pepper said.

"Why would you think that?" Carl asked.

"You know ... fox hunts and all," Pepper answered realizing that he was again demonstrating his ignorance.

"We have foxes here," Carl said. Shaking his head, he added, "I don't know much about fox hunts, except what I've seen in the movies. It looks like a foolish way to hunt, if you ask me."

Pepper asked, "Do you hunt?"

"Of course I do," Carl answered.

"You would kill Bambi?" Pepper asked.

"No. I wouldn't kill a young deer. I go after fully grown bucks," Carl answered, "I also hunt pheasant, grouse, and elk."

"Hunting is cruel," Pepper declared.

"No, it is not," Carl said.

Pepper said, "Animals have rights. They have the right to live without fear of being hunted."

"That's the biggest crock of shit I've ever heard. Every animal is hunted. That fox we just saw was hunting for food. It wasn't on its way to the supermarket to pick up a package of meat. It was looking for an animal that it could eat. The reason it was so skittish is because there are animals looking to eat it, too," Carl said.

Pepper didn't quite know how to respond to that. When people talked about hunting it was always in the context of people doing the hunting. Everyone knew that hunters were sadists. It was always portrayed as a viscous cruel activity, in which animals were made to suffer.

"You make them suffer," Pepper said.

"You've never seen a pack of wolves take down an elk. It is a long drawn out fight for survival. There's nothing quick or painless about that. When I shoot an elk, it is dead right then and there," Carl replied.

"You're kidding," Pepper said.

"No, I'm not."

"People have hunted a lot of species to extinction," Pepper said.

Nodding his head in agreement, Carl said, "That's true. Of course, in those days hunting was always viewed in a local context. If there were a lot of something around locally, then you just figured there were a lot of them around everywhere. It was easy to believe that if you killed off a bunch of them that it didn't matter because there were always more where they came from. We know better, now.

"We manage game on international, national, state, and regional basis. You might be able to legally hunt something here, but not fifty miles down the road. We limit what can be hunted, how much can be hunted and when we can hunt them. With a regular license, I am allowed to hunt one elk a year and it has to be a male. I can only hunt it during a specific period of time. I can hunt elk, but not grizzly bears.

"I could shoot an elk any time I wanted. I know where they are. Of course, I don't do that. I wait until hunting season and take only animals that are legal. A modern hunter isn't an indiscriminate killer. Believe it or not, I belong to a number of conservation organizations, because I want my kids to have the chance to hunt, too."

"I've always had this image of a bunch of drunken guys out shooting anything that moved," Pepper said.

Carl snorted. He said, "I've seen people like that, but I wouldn't call them hunters. Donny leases out a little land for hunting. Every once in a while, we get a bunch of yahoos who come out here from the city thinking they can do whatever they like out here. Let me tell you, they never come back."

"That sure isn't how hunting is portrayed in Los Angeles," Pepper said.

Carl said, "Let's head back to the barn. You wanted a riding lesson."

"Oh, yeah," Pepper said.

He had forgotten all about that.

The two men got in the ATV and headed back to the complex. Pepper was looking forward to learning how to ride a horse. It never crossed his mind that there had been a time when he would have been terrified of climbing atop one of the large animals. That was before he had become used to being around them. He had forgotten that less than a month earlier he had been scared of standing near one.

On the way back to the barn, Carl commented, "I'm kind of surprised that folks in Los Angeles don't object to people riding horses."

"I never thought about that," Pepper said.

Carl said, "I guess if city folks like to do it then it must be okay."

"Well, they know the animal is being treated all right. They love their animals," Pepper said.

He knew it sounded stupid even as the words left his mouth.

"Unlike us," Carl said.

Pepper was silent for a minute thinking about it. He thought about how he used to view the agricultural industry. Farms were factories where plants and animals were treated like parts on an assembly line.

Finally, he said, "I guess that for most people, what happens on a farm is kind of mysterious. They don't understand what they see when they drive past a farm. They'll see a field of plants without even knowing what kind of plants they are. They see a large barn, but they don't really know what goes on inside of one. It is easy to imagine all kinds of horrible things.

"I mean ... we know that farmers are raising animals to be slaughtered. To a lot of people, that must mean that you can't care about them. If you don't care about an animal, then what is preventing you from being cruel to it? Nothing. So when you drive past a barn, it is easy to imagine that farmers are performing unspeakable acts on animals inside it."

Carl said, "As you know, I've traveled around a bit. I've seen how people treat each other in cities. Believe me, it isn't very nice. They can step over a junkie lying in a street covered with vomit without a second thought. They can say the nastiest things to each other, without feeling a bit of shame. They can stand by and watch someone starve to death."

"Not everyone is that way," Pepper said.

Carl replied, "That's true, but you and I both know that the vast majority of people in the city are that way. If they weren't, those problems wouldn't exist because they would have solved them by now."

"I guess you're right," Pepper said.

"I think city folks project their lack of concern about people on us," Carl said. "They figure that if they can treat people so poorly, then we must treat animals even worse."

"I guess so," Pepper said.

They reached the storage shed and parked the ATV beside it. Pepper and Carl took a few minutes to wash out the compost from the trailer. Pepper sprayed off the shovel and carried it over to the storage area of the barn while Carl unhooked the trailer.

It was only after the errands were finished that Pepper's riding lesson began. It attracted a lot of attention. Much to his embarrassment, everyone stood around the corral while he mounted the horse. Most of them couldn't remember a time in their lives when they didn't know how to ride, so it was kind of interesting to watch a full grown adult get on a horse for the first time. Unfortunately, nothing exciting or humorous happened during the lesson.

When the lesson was over, people patted Pepper on the back and told him he had done a fine job of sitting astride the horse. It might not have meant much in the grand scheme of things, but Pepper felt good about the praise.

It never dawned on him that this was the first new experience out here that he had initiated.



-------

Chapter 25


Donny tossed the coffee from his cup to the ground beside the picnic table with a snap of his wrist. He put the cup down and looked around at the scenery. Despite the fact that he was surrounded by some of the most gorgeous landscape in America, he was bored.

Part of the reason for his boredom was because he was used to a lot more activity than he had seen over the past two days. Taking their time, because of Sonny's injuries, they had been on the road for two days, traveling only four hours a day in one-hour increments. The rest of the time Sonny was sitting around or sleeping.

The slow pace would require them to take sixteen days to reach home. This was still better than waiting two or three weeks for Sonny to be healed enough to handle a direct trip home.

They had reached the south campground of Zion national park. This was a rugged land with a landscape unique to it. Tall rocky uplifts rose from the flat ground to reach the sky. Erosion had etched jagged features by removing the softer stone. Rubble created by landslides littered the base of the escarpments. The surrounding plain was filled with wild grasses turned brown by the heat of summer. Cottonwood trees stood as if watching the slow geological processes as work. No one could visit it, without feeling overwhelmed by it.

Sonny watched his brother with an amused grin on his face. He knew that his brother was sitting there wishing he had a horse and could take a long ride instead of being stuck in a campground.

Sonny said, "Calm down and enjoy the scenery."

"I'm bored," Donny said.

"Just think how bored you would be sitting around Pepper's apartment waiting for me to heal," Sonny said.

Donny asked, "Are you ready to tell me what happened while I was gone, and you were back in Los Angeles?"

"I guess so," Sonny answered.

There were still a lot of things that he was trying to come to grips with about the past month. The hardest was coming to accept the fact that he had killed four people. He still had nightmares about the shooting in the hospital.

"I suppose I ought to start with the robbery," Sonny said.

Donny said, "Now you're starting to sound like Hank."

"Did I ever tell you about the time that Hank found himself in a tree with a Bobcat?" Sonny asked with a grin.

"No, and if you do, I'll hit you in the stomach where you got shot. I'm marrying into that family and I'll be hearing that story on every family occasion from now until doomsday," Donny said.

Sonny laughed.

"Don't laugh too hard. I'll be inviting you over," Donny said.

Sonny nodded his head and then said, "That day started like any other. I went to work and sat behind the register ringing up the purchases of hookers, drug addicts, and homeless folks. That store didn't have the best clientele. Anyway, I had been there for about an hour and a half when the two gang members showed up. I could see that they were nervous and acting odd. They kept standing so that their faces wouldn't be visible to the surveillance cameras.

"I knew they were up to no good. I took out my cell phone and snapped off those two pictures that you saw. I'm not sure exactly what I was thinking at the time other than a general belief that having photographs of them would come in handy."

"I can understand that," Donny said.

Sonny said, "I nearly wet my pants when they pulled out their guns. I picked up that piece from under the counter and just aimed it at the center of mass of the nearest guy. When it went 'click' after I pulled the trigger I remember thinking, 'Oh God.' I was totally convinced that I was going to die. I was never so scared in my entire life. I guess I wasn't the only one scared there. That guy threw an arm up to cover his face. He couldn't see me at all. To tell the truth, I think his gun was aimed at the ceiling. I wasn't paying attention.

"Thinking that I had a simple misfire, I turned the gun to the second guy. He covered up his face and was pointing his gun three feet over to the right of me. I pulled that trigger and heard a second click. At that moment in time, I would have sworn on a stack of Bibles that I was a dead man.

"Well, I wasn't going to die alone. I tossed the gun at the nearest guy and climbed over the counter to go after him with my knife. I figured that if I could get his gun that I would have a chance. I think that he thought I had actually shot him when the gun bounced off his head. He literally turned and ran off while firing back at me. That's when I got hit the first time."

"Jeeze," Donny said.

Sonny said, "You know how in the movies they always show heroes getting shot a dozen times and they are still running around?"

"Yes," Donny answered.

"Don't believe it. I knew I was shot and I was not running anywhere," Sonny said. "It felt like someone had taken my legs right out from under me. I was falling to the floor when I got hit the second time.

"I was lucky. They were at the door of the store by that time and still not taking time to aim. If one of them had paused, even for just a fraction of second, to take aim, I would have been dead. They were about fifteen feet away from me and I was basically defenseless."

Donny said, "That has to be most horrible feeling in the world."

"You can't imagine it," Sonny said, "I laid there on the floor for a full five minutes before someone came in and found me. I couldn't tell you who it was. I think it was a woman, but I'm not sure. Whoever it was called 911 and then left. I don't remember too much after that until waking up in the hospital. I do remember talking to a policeman and two medics working on me. The policeman kept asking me about who had shot me. I remember thinking that I didn't want my last words to be about a couple of assholes."

Donny smiled and said, "I know what you mean. You really wanted to tell everyone what a great brother I am."

Sonny snorted and said, "No. I wanted to ask them to bring a stripper to show me her titties."

"Great last words," Donny said.

"I can't tell you how happy I was when you and our uncles showed up. That hospital bed was lonely. I really didn't think I needed the gun Uncle Joe gave me, but I can tell you that I felt a whole lot better having it around," Sonny said.

It had been very difficult keeping that gun from being found. He had to keep hiding it in different places when the nurses can into the room to do things. Under his pillow wasn't a safe place when they changed the sheets. In the drawer was safe until they started straightening up his stuff.

Sonny said, "I'll never forget that night when the three gang members came into my room. I was just lying there, wide-awake in the dark room, thinking about the robbery. The only light was from the window and it wasn't much. When the door opened, I knew there was a problem. I can't tell you why I knew that ... just that I did. Maybe it was the noises they were making were wrong, or the smell of them was off. I really don't know. I grabbed the gun and hid it under the sheet.

"When the first one pulled out his piece, I brought that gun up and shot him dead center of the chest. I can tell you that the other two were surprised as hell. They stood there looking at the guy I shot for what felt like forever. While they were staring at him, I was fumbling with that damned gun."

Donny frowned and said, "I didn't think to tell you about it."

"It looks like a semi-automatic, but it isn't. That's the kind of surprise you don't want in the middle of a gunfight," Sonny said. "I got the next round in the chamber about the time the second guy was raising his pistol. I shot him dead center of the chest. The third guy got a shot off that went into the bed right next to my head. I shot him.

"I can still see the surprised expressions on their faces. It was like the idea that I would defend myself was incomprehensible to them."

Donny said, "As far as I can tell, the members of those gangs think there are two kinds of people in the world — gang members and sheep. You weren't either of them."

"You might be right," Sonny said.

"So what happened next?" Donny asked.

"I left the room thinking that I had to get out of there. For all I knew, there could have been a dozen more gang members hanging around the hospital. Truthfully, I wasn't even thinking about the police," Sonny answered, "I don't know where the nurse was, but she wasn't anywhere in sight, and I wasn't about to hang around to find out. I hit the stairwell running.

"I went down to the second floor. By this time, I was starting to recover my wits. I kept thinking that there would be a gang member by the exit of the hospital and that I couldn't go out that way. I really didn't know what to do. I went out and scouted around the second floor. I guess to everyone there, I looked like a patient wandering around rather than a guy on the run.

"I found a little balcony. There was a telephone pole that came up right next to it. I looked around to see if there was anyone below. There wasn't, so I tossed the gun to the ground. Like an idiot, I jumped over to the telephone pole. Let me tell you, that was a mistake. I should have just jumped to the ground."

"You've mentioned that a time or two," Donny said.

Sonny said, "When I hit the ground, I picked up the gun and skedaddled it out of there."

"I've got to know one thing," Donny said. There was one question that had been bothering Donny for the longest time and he had never had a chance to ask it.

"What?"

He asked, "How did you call Uncle Dan?"

"You're not going to believe this," Sonny said, "I found a homeless guy passed out behind the parking garage."

Donny said, "Don't tell me you rolled a drunk."

"No. He had a cell phone sticking out of his pocket."

"You're kidding!"

"No. I swear ... he had a cell phone. I borrowed it, and called Dan," Sonny said.

"I never would have believed it," Donny said shaking his head. "I know what happened while I was here. What happened after I left?"

"Dan decided that he had to make sure that I wasn't a suspect in whatever happened to the gang. He was convinced they would hang me based on circumstantial evidence unless I had an ironclad alibi. He kept telling me to be surrounded by police whenever something was about to happen.

"I turned myself in with a lawyer right there beside me. They put me in the hospital as a result of some song and dance by the lawyer. He is a good lawyer. Even while the police were taking me into custody, he was screaming lawsuit. I had no idea how terrified of lawsuits the LAPD is.

"I stayed in the hospital for two days and the doctors released me. The cops had to decide if they were going to put me in jail or let me go. The lawyer convinced them to let me go," Sonny said.

"Lucky you," Donny said.

Sonny said, "The plan was that Calvin would act like my guardian angel. He was never much more than a hundred yards away from me at any time."

"The gang member who got shot in front of the hospital made the national news," Donny said.

Sonny said, "Calvin shot the gang member who had come to the hospital. While I was in the hospital, he was on top of a building down the street. He had been about to leave when he saw some members of the gang drop him off there. He watched as they gave him a pistol, so he knew he wasn't there to sell cookies door to door."

"He made a good shot," Donny said.

"Yes, he did. He's going to have nightmares about that, too," Sonny said.

Donny said, "Now you're out of the hospital, what happened next?"

"I had a problem when I was released from the hospital. I knew Uncle Dan was going to pay the gang a visit that night. I had nowhere to stay where I could establish an alibi, so I decided to try to get a restraining order against the gang. I figured that if I was in the county clerk's office that would give me a pretty good alibi. They gave me the bum's rush and I left with a stack of forms. I headed over the police station barely getting there before Uncle Dan unleashed his wrath on the gang," Sonny said.

"That was impressive," Donny said. "We're going to have to hear the story of that from Hank. He'll tell it in all of the gory details."

"That's a story that will take a weekend to tell," Sonny said shaking his head.

"At the least," Donny said.

"I figured hanging around a police bar was about as good of an alibi as I could get, without being too suspicious. I didn't know the detective working the case hung out there, too," Sonny said.

Donny said, "You're underage."

"No one ever asked me for an ID," Sonny said shaking his head. He grinned and then added, "I guess they don't figure someone who is too young to drink is going to hang around a police bar to do it."

"I guess not," Donny said.

Donny asked, "How did Calvin manage to blow up the gang members, when they tried to shoot you in the hotel?"

"I don't know," Sonny answered. Seeing the expression on Donny's face, he added, "We didn't really have a chance to talk much. We figured that it wouldn't go well for him if he was seen with me so we were left with texting each other on 'throw away' phones."

"I can see that," Donny said.

Sonny said, "There was another attempt on my life that Calvin stopped. That was another drive by attempt after Uncle Dan burned down a couple of their drug houses. Calvin shot the driver while I ran like hell to get out of there."

"It sounds like you were having a rough time," Danny said.

Sonny said, "I didn't go anyplace except the police bar. It wasn't easy getting around while keeping Calvin informed about what I was doing."

"So what were you doing at the police station when you go shot?"

Sonny said, "Detective Saperstein had learned about the visit by Uncle Dan, Uncle Joe, and you. He didn't know who you three were, but he wanted to find out. The nurse clearly remembered Uncle Dan because he was smoking. He had called me to come down to his office to answer some questions the day that I got shot. It was purely by chance that I ran into him outside the police station."

"You were lucky," Donny said, "Uncle Dan said that Calvin never saw them drive up until you had already shot them."

"I haven't talked to any of them since that afternoon," Sonny said.

"Uncle Dan and Uncle Joe were a little angry that you had gotten shot," Donny said.

"I saw the video on the news while I in the hospital," Sonny said.

According to the news stories, witnesses were saying that the individuals responsible were homeless men. There wasn't a consistent description of the men, but the stories told by witnesses were remarkably similar. Two homeless men had shuffled up to the parking lot pushing shopping carts. They had suddenly started throwing Molotov cocktails and bombs at the gang members. Everything after that point was confused.

"Then you know as much as I know," Donny said.

Both men were quiet while they looked at the magnificent view from their campsite. Both of them had a lot on their minds.

Sonny broke the silence. "This thing has really messed up my head."

"In what way?" Donny asked.

"I killed four men. I know of at least six that Calvin killed. I couldn't even hazard a guess how many men Uncle Dan, Uncle Joe, and Hank killed. It weighs heavy on my mind," Sonny said softly.

"I wish I knew what to say to you," Donny said.

It seemed to him that there wasn't much to say. Sonny had acted out of self-defense. Calvin, Uncle Dan, Uncle Joe, and Hank had done what they had done out of family loyalty. Donny knew that he would have been right there with them if he hadn't been sent back to the ranch.

"There's nothing to say," Sonny said.

Donny smiled at Sonny and said, "Imagine that ... your big brother is at a loss for words."

"Will miracles never cease?" Sonny said feeling a little better.

"It sure is pretty out here," Donny said.

"Yes, it is. I'm feeling a little tired. I think I'll get some sleep," Sonny said.

"You do that," Donny said, "I'll hang around here and see if we get any neighbors."

"Thanks," Sonny said.

"For what?" Donny asked.

"For letting me talk some of this stuff out," Sonny answered.



-------

Chapter 26


There was a large crowd gathered around the front porch of the main house. Pepper sat on the top rail of the corral watching everyone. They were excited about the fact that Sonny was due home, any time now. He watched them talking and laughing. They were a close-knit group, and he felt like an outsider.

Dan, Joe, Hank, and Calvin stood apart talking in hushed voices. The three Mrs. Daniels, Rose, and Lily were seated on chairs making wedding plans. The ranch hands were in a group off to the side discussing a variety of topics none of which had anything to do with what had happened out in Los Angeles, Sonny's return, or running the ranch.

With the arrival of Sonny at the ranch, Pepper's time there was coming to an end. He was looking forward to returning to Los Angeles. It had been ages since he had a fast food burger, a taco, or a latte. He missed his apartment, but more from a comfort perspective than a real desire to spend much time there. It was strange, but he didn't miss the store at all.

He stared over at the mountains thinking about how majestic they looked in the distance. No matter what other feelings he might have about his abduction, he had to admit that the scenery here was great.

The sound of a pickup truck pulling into the drive caused a minor commotion over by the ranch house. Pepper watched as Mrs. Daniels got up from her chair and moved towards the driveway. He noticed that more than one person checked his or her gun just in case it was an unexpected guest. He was about to dismiss it until he thought about what would happen if the gang showed up here. They sure wouldn't wait for everyone to go get their guns.

He could see Donny when the truck pulled up, but he didn't see Sonny. For a second he was worried, but then Sonny sat up. He was shocked at how pale Sonny looked. The young man appeared to have lost some weight since he had last seen him. He figured that getting shot two times in a month had a lot to do with it.

Mrs. Daniels immediately hugged Sonny. Her embrace was tentative as if afraid that she would hurt him. He gave her a good squeeze and would have lifted her off the ground, but didn't have the strength for that. Pepper flinched on seeing that.

Rose went over to Donny and welcomed him back with sufficient passion to spark jokes about the need to move up the wedding date. Hank and Calvin made a number of comments about needing to find a shotgun, but it didn't slow things down one bit.

When they finally broke apart, Donny looked over at Hank and said, "Be quiet, Dad. Can't you see that she's trying to make an honest man out of me?"

Hank was pleased to be addressed as 'Dad' by Donny. Trying to sound like a crotchety old man, Hank said, "These darned whippersnappers don't know how to show an old man respect."

"Stop talking to the old man and kiss me again," Rose said winking at her father.

The uncles and aunts were crowded around behind Mrs. Daniels waiting their turn to hug the young man. It was fitting that the young man was welcomed home by his family. On the surface, it was a cheerful reception, but there was an undercurrent of sadness. Sonny had been changed by his ordeal, the uncles had been changed by their actions, and all of the women welcoming Sonny home knew that. Nothing was going to be the same.

"Family."

The sudden voice by his side startled Pepper. He looked over and saw that Carl was standing beside him. Carl was facing the family rather than Pepper.

"They are a tight family," Pepper said.

Carl said, "You see those two men over there."

"Yes," Pepper answered.

"Do you know who they are?" Carl asked.

"I'm assuming that is Hank and his son, Calvin," Pepper answered.

"You know what they did for Sonny," Carl said.

"I do," Pepper said. He took a deep breath and said, "I guess I should go over there and talk to them."

"That would be a good idea," Carl said with a sharp nod of his head.

Pepper climbed down from his perch atop the corral rail. He headed over to the two men, walking like a man facing the gallows. He didn't have a good feeling about this meeting.

Stepping up to the two men, Pepper said, "Hello, my name is Pepper. You probably know me by my reputation as the dumbest man alive."

A smile almost made it to Hank's face, but Calvin glared at Pepper.

Pepper said, "I apologize for my actions and any consequences they had on you. I ask your forgiveness."

Calvin was not in a forgiving mood. He hauled off and hit Pepper right across the jaw. Stunned by the blow, Pepper fell down on the ground. Calvin was about to kick the man when Hank grabbed him by the collar and pulled him back.

He shouted, "Stop it."

"Dad," Calvin shouted in protest.

Everyone who had been greeting Sonny turned to watch what was happening. John was ready to go over and break it up, but Donny grabbed an arm to hold him back. He said, "Let them work this out."

Hank said, "He's apologized, son."

"He got us in this mess," Calvin said.

Pepper picked himself up from the ground. Looking at Hank, Pepper said, "I deserve his anger."

Calvin struggled to get out of his father's grip without any success. Hank looked down at him and said, "When you say the Lord's Prayer, you are asking God to forgive your trespasses as you forgive those who trespass against you. This man has asked our forgiveness. Are you going to be a good man and forgive him?"

Pepper realized that he was at one of those crossroads that Carl had talked about. He looked over at Calvin who was glaring at him for a bit and then at his father for a bit. It was obvious to him that Calvin was not in a forgiving state of mind.

"Don't force him to forgive me," Pepper said holding up a hand.

Mrs. Daniels watched Pepper. It had torn her heart to see Sonny looking so weak. Her anger at and low opinion of Pepper had returned full force. She was impressed that he was taking the high road. It was the last thing that she had expected of him.

Surprised, Hank asked, "Why not?"

Pepper answered, "Words are cheap. Any fool can make utterances of great significance without understanding what he has said. I don't know what happened back in Los Angeles. I can see that it affected you. I asked your forgiveness, but I'm not really sure what I'm asking you to forgive.

"Calvin is right in being angry. I've got a feeling that Calvin doesn't know what I should be apologizing for, either. Before he can accept my apology he has to know what trespasses I've committed against him. I think that is only fair."

Craig leaned over to Carl and whispered, "Pepper has gotten a little smarter."

"Yes, he has," Carl whispered back.

Hank still held onto Calvin. He was reappraising Pepper, thinking that perhaps bringing him here where he could learn to be a real man had been a good idea.

He asked, "What do you suggest we do?"

"Let Calvin go. Let him make up his mind," Pepper said. He stretched a little and settled in place fully expecting to get hit again.

Hank released Calvin and stepped back. Calvin took a step forward with his hand clenched into a tight fist. Pepper's heart was pounding a hundred times a minute. There were no doubts in his mind that the younger man wanted to leave him on the ground as a bloody mess.

Pepper said, "We don't need to do this in front of an audience unless you want everyone to know what consequences my actions have had upon you."

Grabbing Pepper by the upper arm with a grip powered by enough anger to break bones, Calvin said, "Come with me."

"Okay," Pepper said without resisting.

Calvin pulled Pepper over to a place beside the Quonset hut where they were out of view. Calvin released Pepper and said, "Here is fine."

"I'm not afraid of you," Pepper said.

Calvin punched Pepper in the stomach. He looked at Pepper doubled over and holding his stomach wishing that the man would make some kind of attempt to defend himself.

He said, "You should be."

Gasping for air, Pepper said, "Deep down, you're a good man who has done some pretty bad things because of something I said to a member of the gang. You're angry because my words forced you to perform horrendous acts."

Straightening up a little, Pepper said, "I fear those gang members. They are evil. If one of them was standing there he would be hitting me too. He wouldn't be doing it because he was angry ... he'd be doing it because he enjoys it."

"You don't even know what I've done," Calvin said bitterly.

He had killed men. The hardest had been the first man because he wasn't in danger and the man wasn't even firing a gun. He had nightmares about that moment when he pulled the trigger. No amount of justification seemed enough to take the taint of sin he felt away.

Pepper said, "I am asking for your forgiveness now, but I don't expect you to give it to me today."

Pepper could see that Calvin was in pain. He could also see that Calvin wasn't going to tell him what he had done. It dawned on him that Calvin was at a crossroads of his own. In a way, it was a more critical decision than the one that Pepper was facing. The wrong choice would leave a hard bitter man who was only a hair away from erupting into violence.

Remembering Carl's advice, he said, "I think you need to ask one other for forgiveness before you can deliver forgiveness to me."

"Who?" Calvin asked with a snarl.

"God," Pepper said.

Calvin stared at Pepper for a long time. He hit Pepper in the stomach one more time. Pepper was unable to remain standing. Calvin stood over him tempted to kick him. The tension was evident in his stance. All of a sudden, it seemed like the man crumpled.

From the ground, Pepper watched Calvin start to walk away. In a harsh gasping voice, he asked, "Where are you going?"

"To the church," Calvin answered just before disappearing around the corner of the building.

Pepper stayed on the ground for a minute trying to catch his breath. He got back on his feet slowly thinking that he was starting to get the hang of fighting. He had getting hit down pretty good. Now all he needed to figure out was how to block and hit back. He staggered around the corner of the building to discover Carl waiting for him.

He looked over in the direction of the main house. No one was outside. Confused, he asked, "Where is everyone?"

Carl said, "They went inside for an early meal. They're waiting for us to return."

"Let me wash up," Pepper said.

"That's a good idea," Carl said. "How do you feel?"

Pepper said, "That hurt."

Carl said, "I think, all in all, you handled that pretty well."

Pepper went into the bunkhouse to wash up. The cold water felt good. He looked in the mirror, thinking that he was going to end up with a pretty good bruise on his face. His shirt was dirty from the time he'd spent on the ground. Carl was leaning against the doorframe to the bathroom, watching him.

Pepper said, "I'm glad to see Sonny back."

"Me, too," Carl said.

"He doesn't look very well," Pepper said.

Carl said, "Getting shot tends to be a little rough on the body."

Pepper said, "I hope he heals okay."

"I'm sure he will. He's a tough kid," Carl said.

"Yeah," Pepper said.

Carl said, "You'll be leaving soon."

"Probably," Pepper said.

He didn't feel like he could leave just yet. There were a few things that had to be set right before he could go. Calvin was one of those things. A month ago he would have left the moment Sonny returned. According to Donny, he could take his time returning to Los Angeles. He would stay the little extra time required to settle things, here.

Carl raised an eyebrow at the noncommittal tone in Pepper's voice. He said, "I'll be leaving here after you go."

"Why?" Pepper said.

"I've been saving up for a place of my own. There's a small ranch that has just come up for sale. I have just about enough money to put down on it. I think it is time that I moved on and settled down. There's a young woman I've been thinking about asking to marry me," Carl said.

"I didn't know that you had a girlfriend," Pepper said.

Carl said, "I never told you about her."

Pepper dried his face with a towel. He said, "Let me change my shirt and we'll head over to the main house."

"Okay," Carl said.

It was a short time later when the two men entered the main house. All of the men were gathered in the front room talking while the women were in the kitchen getting the last bit of the meal ready. It seemed to Pepper that everyone turned to look at him when he entered the room.

Surprised to see Pepper return without Calvin, Hank asked, "Where's Calvin?"

"He went to the church," Pepper answered.

Hank, Dan, Joe, and Donny all exchanged looks. Pepper's answer had taken all of them by surprise.

Dan said, "He's probably not the only one who should be doing that."

"True," Joe said.

Hank looked at Pepper. "You and I are going to have a long talk later."

"I understand," Pepper replied.

Donny came over to Pepper and put a hand on his shoulder. He said, "You can take off anytime you want. The keys are in the sedan. I've signed the title over to you. Your wallet and keys are in the glove compartment."

"Thanks," Pepper said.

Pepper went over to Sonny and said, "Hello, Sonny."

Sonny looked at Pepper. He no longer had that androgynous appearance that so many young men in the city have. It was a subtle change. His eyes had a slightly narrower look to them from the time spent outdoors. He had lost some of the fat that had given him soft effeminate features. His hands had toughened up a little. It was hard to believe that spending a month out on the ranch had turned Pepper into a more manly looking man.

Sonny asked, "What happened to you?"

"What?" Pepper asked.

"You've lost some weight, and gained some muscle, and you're tanned," Sonny said.

"I've been doing a little work out here," Pepper replied.

Sonny said, "Donny told me that he had you mucking out the stables."

"Yes. I dug a hole and built a bridge, too," Pepper said.

"You dug a hole?" Sonny asked, amused by what Pepper considered important about his time out there.

Pepper said, "I'm sure someone will be more than happy to tell you the story about that."



-------

Chapter 27


Pepper rolled out of bed and looked over at the alarm clock. It was five o'clock in the morning. The alarm was set for six o'clock. He turned off the alarm before heading out of the bedroom. He entered his kitchen and looked at the drip coffee maker. He went through the process of brewing a pot of coffee.

While the machine gurgled and spat out a weak trickle of coffee, he went back in his room to get dressed for the day. His clothes felt a little loose on him. He wondered if he had really lost that much weight.

Returning to the kitchen, Pepper poured a cup of coffee. He missed how the smell of coffee had filled the entire house back at the ranch. He took a cautious sip from the cup finding that it wasn't nearly as hot as the coffee served back at Donny's ranch. He drank his coffee while searching through his pantry to see what he had on hand for breakfast. Outside of a package of breakfast bars, there wasn't much to eat.

He grumbled, "I'll have to go out for breakfast, today."

Pepper finished his cup of coffee. He took a minute to look around the apartment. It was the first chance he really had of doing that. He had returned home late the previous night and had basically crawled into bed, after taking a long hot shower to ease muscles cramped by hours spent driving. There was a little dust on things, but all in all, it was pretty clean. He'd have to straighten the place up after he returned home from work.

After rinsing out the coffee pot, Pepper left the apartment. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon. Rather than the glorious colors of sunrise out in the country, the sky looked a little brown and dingy. Looking at it reminded him of how bad the air smelled.

He stopped at the local chain diner for a breakfast. He looked over the menu and ordered their 'country' breakfast. The food didn't taste at all like he remembered. The eggs were greasy, the slices of bacon were flat hard slabs without flavor, the toast was dry, and the pancakes seemed tasteless.

The lack of conversation while eating reminded him of how alone he was. It never dawned on him that he would miss the discussion of the day's work to be done. He finished as much of his food as he could while thinking about everything he had to do that day.

After breakfast, he swung by the coffee shop to get his morning coffee. The parking lot was packed with cars. He found a spot and pulled into it. On entering the noisy shop, he looked around at his surroundings. He had never noticed how messy it was in the middle of the morning. There were dirty napkins on some of the tables and spilled sugar on one of the counters.

The people standing in line didn't look happy. There were irritated frowns at having to wait in line to get their morning coffees. The line wasn't straight, but almost serpentine. It was as if people felt that pushing forward would speed things up a little. The service was brusque, almost rude, while the coffees were being prepared in a production line manner.

The coffee tasted like he remembered, but the experience of buying it had left a lot to be desired. He returned to his car and headed towards the store. While driving down the busy streets, he looked at the buildings thinking that a lot of them needed painting.

Pepper arrived at his store and took a minute to look at it before parking in the rear. There were all kinds of posters plastered to the windows advertising cigarettes, the lottery, and cups of soda with movie themes on them. A few of the posters were hung crooked and one had a tear. The windows needed washing. There were dark spots on the concrete where people had tossed gum. A small breeze blew some trash around the parking lot.

"I'm going to have to take care of this parking lot," Pepper said.

After parking, Pepper entered the store. He came in through the backdoor. The woman behind the counter asked, "Who are you?"

"I'm Pepper. I own this place."

"Oh. I'm Julie. Sonny hired me."

"Nice to meet you Julie," Pepper said glancing over at her. She was more than a little overweight, but looked honest enough.

He looked around the store. Three of the overhead lights were out and one was flickering. He looked over at the coffee pots and saw that all, but one of them, were empty. The light inside the donut case was out. He put his hands on his hips and said, "What a pit."

"That's not my fault," the woman behind the counter said.

She was afraid that he was going to blame everyone working in the store for the way it looked. With only a month on the job, it wasn't her place to change the store. She was just the hired help.

"It's my fault," Pepper said.

He went into the storage room and rummaged around there for a minute before finding a box of lights. He wrestled the ladder out of the room and carried it into the main store. He set it up and then went for the light bulbs. Climbing the ladder, he thought about all of the jokes about how many people it took to change a light bulb. Those jokes weren't so funny now. He had no idea how to change the fluorescent light bulbs.

It took him ten minutes to figure out how to change the first light bulb, but after that t didn't take him long at all to change the others. He didn't rush the job, but took his time to position the ladder, remove the cover, and exchange the bad bulb for a new bulb. Julie watched him work without saying a word.

After putting away the ladder, Pepper returned to the counter. He looked it over. It looked unorganized and messy.

He said, "Why don't you straighten up these displays?"

"Sure," Julie said.

She went to work without complaint. For the most part this was a pretty boring job. She appreciated the chance to move around a little bit.

Pepper walked around the store taking an inventory of what needed to be done. After his inspection, he picked up a duster and went to work dusting off the merchandise sitting on the counter. Some of the items had been there for a long time and were covered with dust. He wondered how he had let the store get into that shape.

He and Julie traded off cleaning and watching the counter. They would spend fifteen minutes doing one job, and then switch to doing the other. It broke up the work into reasonable increments.

While he was working to put the store into shape, customers came into the store. Most of them were pleased to see that Pepper was back. A few of them spent a little time talking to Pepper. Most of them were curious about where he had been and commented on his weight loss, tan, and increased musculature.

A frequent topic of conversation was the destruction of the neighborhood gang. Pepper heard all kinds of stories about how it happened. He listened without making a comment or correcting wild speculations. The fact was that he knew more about what had happened than anyone who had been in the area. He wasn't about to open his mouth.

Police patrols of the neighborhood had tightened up. Their presence had put a crimp in the prostitution business. A lot of the prostitutes had moved on to areas where the patrols weren't as heavy. They weren't the only ones to leave the area. Drug addicts had moved away in order to be closer to a drug dealer.

Four times that day, police had stopped in the store for coffee. Pepper took the time to talk to the policemen. He offered them free coffee and learned their names.

By mid-afternoon, the shelves had been straightened, the floor cleaned, the cold drinks restocked, and the display windows washed. The stored looked brighter and cleaner than it had in years. Feeling pleased with his work, Pepper stood back and looked at the interior of the store.

He smiled over at Julie and said, "That looks a little better."

"It does," Julie said.

Her feet were hurting. Normally she sat in the chair behind the counter, but there hadn't been much sitting around that day. She hadn't done so much work since starting there. She hoped that this wasn't going to be an everyday event.

"There's still a lot to do," Pepper said.

He was going to let the management company deal with the paperwork for the rest of the month. They could deal with the paperwork, but they weren't going to come in and clean things up. That wasn't their job.

"Where have you been?" Julie asked.

There had been rumors that Pepper had disappeared because he had angered the gang. She hadn't had much of a chance to talk to her boss and figured that now was a good time to do it. He seemed to be all business and worked non-stop through the day.

"I've been out in the country," Pepper answered.

Julie asked, "Doing what?"

Cryptically, Pepper answered, "Getting educated."

"What does that mean?" Julie asked.

"It's a long story. One of these days, I'll tell it to you," Pepper answered.

It was a story that he doubted he would be telling too many people. Even then, he wouldn't tell the whole story about how he had ended up going out there, and how he had been treated initially. He would tell stories about building a bridge, taking care of horses, and splitting firewood. He would describe sunrises and sunsets, watching horses running through pastures, watching elk graze in the morning, and catching fish in a babbling brook. When he was comfortable, he might even tell the story about digging a practice hole.

"Okay," Julie said. She glanced over at the clock and added, "It is about time for me to get off."

"Who is coming in next?" Pepper asked. He hadn't bothered to look at the schedule.

"Jose," Julie said.

"Sonny must have hired him," Pepper said.

"He's a good kid," Julie said.

Pepper said, "I'm sure he is."

He went over to the drink dispense and started wiping it down. While scrubbing at some of the dried on syrup, he said, "We're going to increase the frequency with which we clean up things around here."

"It is kind of hard to do when you're alone in the store," Julie said.

"I put most of the burden of cleaning up the store on the people working the night shift. That's going to change," Pepper said.

He had spent too many hours sitting behind the cash register doing nothing. That had to change. Today's little cleaning session was nothing compared to the work he had done on the ranch.

Julie went over to the coffee station and straightened up the things there. Customers tended to mess things up a little while fixing their coffees. Spilled sugar and milk, along with little bits of trash gave the coffee station an untidy appearance.

A young Hispanic man entered the store. He looked around and said, "Whoa! What happened here?"

Pointing at Pepper, Julie said, "Our boss returned."

"Oh," Jose said. He looked over at Pepper and said, "I'm Jose."

"I'm Pepper."

"Nice to meet you," Jose said.

Pepper said, "Before you go, Julie, I'd like to have a quick meeting."

"Sure," Julie said resigned that a quick exit wasn't going to be possible.

She hoped that it wouldn't take too long. She wanted to get home to the kids. One of the advantages of this job was that it was possible for her to spend time with the kids after school rather than leaving them alone.

"There's going to be some changes around here," Pepper said. "At ten minutes to the hour, I'd like you to straighten up the coffee station and wipe down the soda fountain. It shouldn't take you more than five minutes."

"No problem," Jose said.

"Whenever business slows down, I'd like you to clean up the store a bit. You might spend a few minutes dusting the stock off with the feather duster, mopping the floor where someone has spilled something, or cleaning the display windows where people have smudged them," Pepper said.

"Okay," Jose said.

"I want to keep the store looking nice. If anything breaks, write it down on a notebook and let me know so that I can fix it," Pepper said.

"Sure thing," Julie said.

Pepper said, "Now, if someone comes in here to rob the place, I want you to hand over the money. Don't confront them. We've got cameras in place to record the robbery so you don't have to worry about me blaming you. I've got insurance to cover any losses. The insurance won't bring you back to life if you get killed, so don't do anything to make a robber nervous."

"There's no way I'd try to stop a robber," Julie said.

"I'd be too scared to try anything," Jose said.

"Good. Do your best to remain calm. In fact, treat a robber better than you would a customer. Ask them if they want the money in a plastic bag. Ask them what brand of cigarettes they smoke and throw in a pack," Pepper said.

"I guess I can do that," Jose said.

"Sonny hired you both. I don't know if you know the story about him, but he was shot trying to prevent a robbery. I don't want that to happen to either of you," Pepper said.

He wasn't going to let what happened to Sonny happen to any of his other employees. He had learned his lesson about assuming that people knew what he wanted them to do.

"I got the message," Julie said.

Jose said, "I've got two kids. I don't want to leave them orphans."

"Good," Pepper said. "That's all that I wanted to say for now."

"I'll be going," Julie said.

"Have a nice evening," Pepper said.

He watched Julie leave through the front door. Jose went to stand behind the cash register.

"I'm going in the back of the store and start straightening things up there," Pepper said.

The storage room in the back was a minor disaster area. He figured that it would take a day or two to get it straightened out.

"I'll watch things out here," Jose said.

Pepper worked for the rest of the afternoon in the storage room. There were boxes stacked haphazardly. The bathroom was disgusting. There was nothing that a little hard work and cleanser couldn't fix.

It was late by the time Pepper left the store. He stopped at a restaurant to eat a meal. After eating hearty meals prepared by Mrs. Daniels, the menus seemed a little sparse. The food wasn't as good as he had remembered. It wasn't much fun eating alone.

After dinner, he stopped at a grocery store to pick up some essential supplies. He stood in front of the frozen foods section staring at the meals that had once been his staples. Nothing really appealed to him. He grabbed a dozen frozen dinners and went through the process of paying for them.

Arriving at the apartment complex, he took a moment to look around. There was a line of bushes planted next to the building. The lawn, partially brown from the summer, was flat and featureless. There were no trees to break up the landscape.

At home, Pepper spent some time straightening up the apartment. Sonny had done a pretty nice job of leaving it in good condition. There had been a small layer of dust over everything, but that was to be expected in a room that had sat there empty for a month. He dusted and vacuumed the apartment.

After finishing his efforts to clean up the apartment, Pepper sat down in front of his computer. He uploaded the photographs that he had taken during his last few days at the ranch. He looked over them with a smile, thinking about the moment in time they captured. There were pictures of the views from various parts of the ranch. There was a picture of him seated astride a horse. He even had a picture of the outhouse.

He had been going through the pictures for ten minutes before he came across a beautiful picture of his bridge. He stared at that picture for five minutes, recalling the work he had put into building it. He went to a website to make a full sized poster of it. It would look good hanging in his living room.

It was getting late, and Pepper went to the living room to rest. He turned on the television and watched the news. The news was filled of stories of crimes, corruption, money problems, and unchanging LA weather. He turned off the television disgusted by what he had heard. He muttered, "All of those crooks should be taken out and shot."

He sat there thinking about what Carl had told him about having his home stolen from him. As much as he hated to admit it, Carl had been correct. He had been changed by his time in the country. The glamour of the city had been stripped away. He was now a man without a home. Maybe he should take Dan's advice, and move to a smaller town.



-------

Chapter 28


The young woman parked her jeep in front of a building that advertised that it was a gas station, post office, and general store. She climbed out of her Jeep, and looked around at the town with amusement. It was just as small as she had been expecting.

She walked into the store finding that it was packed with merchandise from floor to ceiling. An elderly man was seated in a wooden chair next to a small Franklin wood-burning stove. At least the stove wasn't lit.

The man rose from his chair. In a warm voice, he asked, "Can I help you?"

"I'm looking for the Dan Daniels place," the woman answered.

"You must be Violet," the man said startling the woman.

"I am," Violet said.

"My condolences on the loss of your mother," the man said while taking his cap off and holding it over his heart.

"Thank you," Violet said.

Seeing the surprise on her face, the man said, "Dan stopped by and said that you might be around asking for directions to his place."

"That makes sense," Violet said.

It struck her that life out in the country was a little different than life in the city. This wasn't her first time away from the city. Her mother and father used to take her camping when she was younger. They would pack up a trailer and head out to the national parks for one-week vacations. However, it was her first time to interact with the locals on more than a superficial level. It seemed to her that there was a lot less privacy out here than in the city.

"Vincent is over at the diner having lunch. He'll take you most of the way to Dan's place," the man said.

"There's no reason for him to go out of his way," Violet said.

"He's kin to Dan. Besides, it is no problem for him to take you by Dan's place. He lives right down the road from him," the man replied.

"He's at the diner, you say," Violet said.

"That's right. It is right next-door. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't expecting you," the man said.

"Thank you."

The man said, "It is a shame about your mother. Sonny speaks very highly of her. That cancer is a nasty disease."

"She spoke very highly of Sonny," Violet said.

It seemed strange to her that although her mother had never made it there, the folks ... complete strangers ... spoke about her as if she was a dear departed friend. She didn't know how to take that, but it didn't really surprise her. Part of the reason she was there was to meet the people who had been so nice to her mother during her last days.

Before Violet had a chance to leave the store, an elderly woman entered from the rear door.

She looked at Violet and said, "I didn't realize that we had a customer."

"This is Violet," the man said.

"My condolences for your mother," the woman said resting a hand on Violet's arm.

"Thank you," Violet said.

"You're a pretty young woman. I imagine that Sonny is going to fall for you like a ton of bricks," the woman said.

"Thank you," Violet said.

The woman said, "Sonny is a good boy. You could do a lot worse than him."

"I'm not really here to find a man," Violet said amused by the assumption that she was there to meet Sonny. Her mother's descriptions of Sonny had intrigued her and she had come out there, in part, to meet the man who had so thoroughly charmed her mother.

The woman smiled at the denial. She wasn't fooled for a minute.

Patting Violet on the arm, she said, "Of course you aren't."

"I'm sure that Vincent is waiting for you over at the diner," the man said.

Violet went over to the diner. A young man waved at her to get her attention. She walked over to his table.

Rising from his seat, he said, "You must be Violet."

"I am," Violet said.

"I'm Vincent. Dan said that you might need some help finding your way to his place. Why don't you sit down a spell? I'll take you by his place once I finish eating," Vincent said. He pointed to the chair across the table from where he was seated.

"No need to go to any trouble on my behalf," Violet said.

"No trouble. I live right down the road from him," Vincent replied.

He examined the young woman for a second while she took a seat at the table next to him. She was an attractive young woman full of energy. Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. It was obvious to him that she was dressed for the country as evidenced by her hiking boots, blue jeans, and casual blue jean jacket.

Returning to his seat, he said, "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but Sonny is going to be able to resist those blues eyes of yours, for just about one second."

"I don't mind you saying that," Violet said.

Forty minutes later, the sound of a car pulling up to the driveway filled the air. Dan was standing by the corral looking at the Brahman bull inside. The noise of the car wasn't enough to distract him from his dark and angry thoughts.

The bull was two thousand pounds of fury backed by an angry disposition. That particular animal had managed to buck every cowboy that had tried to sit upon its back and had been earning good money on the rodeo circuit. Some idiot had cut the bull with a pocketknife while it was parked in the parking lot at a truck stop. Dan had the handler bring the bull back to the ranch for treatment.

Looking at the bull made him wonder what the world was turning into. Although the man was arrested, that didn't heal the cut. Dan was glad that he wasn't there because he would have cut the man back. He didn't like cruelty to animals.

He felt old and tired. The events of the summer had aged him. It bothered him that ending the gang's reign of terror had required him to intervene. Social conditions should never have made joining a gang an attractive alternative to getting a real job. The local citizenry should have prevented the gang from ever getting so powerful. The police should have been able to end it.

At the sound of the car door opening and closing, Dan turned to look at his visitor. The young woman stood by the jeep looking around at the scenery. She was wearing blue jeans, hiking boots, and a blue jean jacket. Her long hair was tied up in a ponytail. If she were to substitute cowboy boots for the hiking boots, she would look just like a native.

The woman was a lot younger than he had thought she would be. She looked to be the same age as Sonny. He wondered if his expectations had been set by how old the cancer had made her mother look.

Tipping his hat to her, he said, "Hello, Violet."

She smiled at him and approached the corral. She said, "You must be Dan Daniels."

"I am," Dan said. "I was sorry to hear about your mother."

"Thank you," Violet said. "She really appreciated your offer to come out here for a visit."

"It's a shame that she didn't make it," Dan said softly.

"Cancer is a harsh disease."

"Yes it is," Dan said.

The woman looked around at the scenery. It was everything that she had imagined it to be. She said, "She would have loved it out here."

"It is God's country," Dan said.

Violet said, "My mother really enjoyed Sonny's descriptions of it. She would tell me about his visits whenever I stopped by to see her in the hospital."

Dan said, "He'll be over for dinner."

"Good," Violet said. "I can't wait to meet him."

He looked her in the eyes for a moment and then said, "I hope you don't mind me saying this, but Sonny is going to be able to resist your blue eyes for about one second."

Violet laughed and said, "You're the second one who has told me that."

Dan said, "Sonny has had a rough time. He needs someone in his life."

Violet said, "I heard about the gang problem."

"He was in the news for a bit," Dan said noncommittally.

Violet said, "That's not what I was talking about."

"What are you talking about?" Dan asked.

"I'm talking about you destroying the gang," Violet answered.

"Huh?" Dan asked feeling sick to his stomach.

Violet answered, "My mother figured out what was going on, there. She knew that you and Joe had visited Sonny after he was shot the first time. You aren't the type of men to stand by and do nothing when your family is threatened. She knew that you were the ones that took care of the gang that attacked Sonny."

"She believed that?" Dan asked confident that he was going to jail.

"Yes, she did," Violet said.

Her mother had told her that men like them were rare in today's world. They were the kind of men who would take care of their women while treating them with the respect they deserved. In thinking about it, she had come to the same conclusion.

Wondering why she wasn't afraid to be out there, Dan asked, "What do you think?"

"I think that Los Angeles owes you a great debt and, unfortunately, you'll never be able to collect on it. It's a pity, really."


-------
The End
-------
Posted:  2010-01-11
Last Modified: 2010-03-19 / 06:45:19 pm
-------
http://storiesonline.net/
-------