Terkels twist, p.7
Terkel's Twist, page 7
By the time his brother had it adjusted, it felt better. “This is an interesting design. I’ve not seen these before. They are new, you say?”
“We can talk about that later. But, yeah, it’s one of my own designs.”
At that, Terk looked at him.
Merk shrugged. “Hey, it’s not as if I sit around here and do nothing all day.”
“And here I thought you were out on missions all the time.”
“I was, but less than I have been,” he said sheepishly. “I’m getting soft in my old age.”
“Huh, I can’t see anybody around here getting soft.”
“Well, we don’t dare let it happen, but, at the same time, you know what’ll happen as we age.”
“Maybe so or do we just keep bringing in younger people?”
“That’s happening too,” he murmured. As he settled in, Merk added, “By the way, you’re not the only one who will be a father. Katina told me that she’s pregnant. So you were right again.”
Terk looked over at his brother, and a smile crossed his face. “Well now, that is great news.” He laughed. “Do you remember our grandmother’s message way back when?”
“Yep,” Merk replied. “It’s been on my mind a fair bit lately.”
“Yeah, I wonder why?” he asked teasingly.
“She said we would have families at the same time. It’s just not quite the way we expected it to be.”
At that, Terk stopped and then nodded. “No, it isn’t, but, hey, I’m nothing if not adaptable.”
At the same time, a signal buzzed, and they headed out through one of the secret entrances.
“It’s two miles out, so move your asses,” Levi snapped in their earpieces.
“Heading out now,” Merk replied, then spoke to Terk. “I’ll go high. You go low.”
And, with that, the two of them scooched down through the pastures and through the intervening meadows to the point where they could see the vehicle in front of them.
Terk crouched low and tapped his earpiece. “I can see them. They are setting up equipment. Hidden but not hidden.”
“Well, I think they’re hidden enough for them,” his brother responded. “It is a pretty concealed little dale, and nobody here would even know to look for it. It just happens to be that we’ve already mapped this property and set up alerts.”
“Smart,” Terk murmured.
“We don’t leave anything to chance anymore,” he explained, “because you know what happens when you do.”
“I do, indeed. Shit happens.”
His brother chuckled. “Yeah, that’s for sure.”
With his brother on comm and Levi on the other end, Levi shared over their earpieces how the neighbor had no knowledge of the trespassers. “The good news is, he’s agreed to sell me the property. And we’re adding that piece for good measure.”
“Good. Time to take out the garbage then,” Terk said.
When they inched closer, one man talked on a radio. And whoever he was talking to wasn’t all that far away because the radio looked like a walkie-talkie.
“That’s pretty low-tech,” Terk muttered, “but there could be a reason for that.”
“They’re probably about to start taking out the high-tech equipment. That would be the priority, since they have no idea what it can do.”
“Agreed.”
All on the same page, they set up a signal to rain hell on the intruders.
“Jesus, that would cause chaos everywhere, so keep an eye out once the shooting starts.”
“Does Levi need to shut down any equipment?”
“No, don’t even think about it,” Merk said calmly. “We have that covered too.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” Terk smiled. “I’d hate to think that something so simple would take you guys out.”
“Nope. It might make Stone scramble a bit to get everything back up and running, but you can bet up and running is where we’d be in no time.”
“That’s good news,” Terk murmured. “I didn’t really expect anything less.”
“Better not.” Merk laughed. “Now, shall we go and have a talk with these guys?”
“Well, if it’s like anybody else we’ve had talks with, they won’t do much talking. Odds are these guys don’t know anything, and, as soon as it’s discovered that they’ve been compromised, they’ll be dead.”
“Nice guys you’re dealing with,” Levi chimed in.
“Tell me about it.”
“Why don’t we get in there and grab them first?” Merk suggested. “That’ll give us a little more chance to make some decisions first and foremost. Once we get back to the compound, we can interrogate them with a little bit of privacy and ask any questions we want.”
Terk didn’t say anything, but he’d seen it time and time again. Still, maybe it would be different here. This was a different group of local hires in a more controlled environment. So maybe they’d have a better chance of surviving a drone shot to kill.
He’d wait and see.
As they neared the trespassing truck, Levi walked up casually, apparently unarmed, and approached the vehicle. “Hey,” he called out. “You know you’re on private property, right?”
One of the men came around, frowning at him, and replied, “No, sir, we’ve an agreement with the owner.”
“Well then, that’s a sorry state of affairs, considering I’m the owner. This property belongs to me.” He glared. “So I’d sure be interested in seeing that agreement of yours.”
“Well, shit, … somebody must have made a mistake then,” the one guy said in feigned disgust. As he turned, Terk felt the hairs rising on the back of his neck.
Without another thought, the man lifted his weapon and fired, as did his companions, but Levi had already ducked and raced around behind the vehicle. Terk took out one of the weapons with a bullet hitting one guy on his hand, square and clean.
The shot gained him a rampage of fireworks. He just waited for it to die down.
In his ear, Merk chuckled. “Nice shot.”
“Yeah, I should have killed him though. I’m pretty damn tired of this shit.”
“I hear you there, brother,” he said, “but you need answers.”
“I don’t think anybody here will have them, but we’ll do what we can.” Almost immediately more firepower turned their way.
Merk waited for it and then murmured to Terk, “They’ve got something planned.”
“They always do. They’re pinned down and can’t move, but they’ll still need a way to get out of there.”
“They do. But I’m not sure anybody’ll like it.”
At that, one of the guys came out with his hands up. “Hey, look. This is just a misunderstanding.”
“Yeah?” Levi replied. “What kind of misunderstanding are we talking about? You’re on my property. I have the right to pop you right now, and nobody’ll give a shit. If you’re lucky, I’ll bury you, or maybe I’ll just let the coyotes have you.”
The guy swallowed hard. “Look. I know it’s Texas and all, but honestly we thought we had permission. It’s typical that somebody would turn around and put us in this position. People are just dicks.”
“Yeah, especially the ones who didn’t ask ahead of time,” Levi said in a hard tone.
“We meant no harm,” he said, immediately changing his tune. “We’re just looking for a place to spend a few days.”
“What place? Surely you can do without private property. It’s called private property for a reason, just so you know, and most people don’t carry that kind of firepower,” Levi said easily. “So you can pack up and leave right now, or you can leave in a box.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, no need for that,” he cried out. “We’re not trying to be difficult here.”
“Well, you’re also not trying to be easy to get along with. My property is mine, so get the hell out. Now.” And, with that, Levi sent another warning shot toward the trailer.
The guy jumped and screamed, “Jesus, I just wanted to talk.”
“You’ve got nothing to say that I want to hear,” Levi snapped. “Now move it.”
At that, the guy grumbled and went back in the truck, but almost immediately he came back out again. “Hey, how about making a deal?”
“What?”
“I can pay you to stay here.”
“Nope, I don’t need your money.”
“Everybody needs money,” he said in a shaking voice. As he walked out, Terk noticed a movement. He focused until he could see one of the other men trying to sneak out the back window. Before he could act, Merk put a warning shot into the back of the trailer.
Jumping, the spokesman turned and looked around nervously. “Jesus, you’re not alone?”
“Do I look like an idiot?” Levi asked, with a slow Texas drawl.
The guy swallowed hard. “Look. I’m not from around here. So, I mean, I’m not trying to be difficult. I just don’t really understand the rules.”
“Oh, you understand the rules just fine,” Levi murmured. “You’re just happy to break them, regardless of the obvious.”
The guy looked increasingly nervous. “Look. I don’t want any trouble.”
“Then pack up and leave,” Levi said, his voice steady and calm.
Terk had always admired that about Levi. Terk hadn’t done too many missions that involved Levi directly, but plenty of times they had dealt with each other him on a multitude of things, including organizing team members and sending out assistance. Terk knew that, whenever something went wrong, Levi was the guy to have in your corner.
Calm, steady, and always on point.
Terk stopped for a moment. “Did you just hear that?”
“Yeah, I did. Sometimes I hear you, and sometimes I don’t.”
“Wow, it was her,” he murmured.
“You might want to tell her that you got her telepathic message because she thinks I’m the oddball one.”
Terk laughed.
Just then one of the other men stepped out. “Look. We’re not looking for any trouble. We’ll pack up and leave.”
“Right now,” Levi snapped, his voice hard. “And we aren’t leaving until you do.”
The other guy hesitated, and, realizing this wouldn’t get any better, he walked over to align the hitch to the truck parked nearby. He backed it up to hook on to the equipment.
Terk watched the whole scene unfold but didn’t like anything about it. “This will go bad real fast,” he murmured.
Merk replied, “I hear you. I’m sending a message to Levi right now.” Terk heard Merk via their headsets.
Ice also felt uneasy. “Yeah, this one’s not cool,” she said, her voice hard. “Watch your back, Levi.”
Levi was no longer there. Terk and Merk searched for him but found no sign of him where he had been earlier.
One of the men swore. “Where the hell did he go?”
One replied, “You can bet he’s watching this. They told us to watch out for these guys, but nobody said they were bloody ghosts.”
“Well, they are, and I don’t like anything about this.”
“Hey, just finish the damn job,” said the third man from inside the truck. “Then you can go on your merry way.”
The two men looked at each other and quickly tried to pack up the trailer, so they could leave. As soon as it was done, one guy called out, “Hey, we’re done. We’re packing up right now.”
No answer.
He looked back into the trailer. “We’re almost done here anyway,” he said. “Why do we even need to stop?”
“Because you were told to by the angry owner,” the other guy snapped, his voice mean and surly.
“Yeah, but nobody said it would be like this.”
“Well, the job is finished,” he said, “and I’m glad to be leaving.”
“Yeah, no doubt.” An odd tone filled his voice.
The kid looked around. “What does that mean?” he asked. “I was here doing the job you wanted me to do.”
“Yeah, you were,” he murmured. And, with that, a single shot rang out. The kid fell from the back of the trailer onto the ground.
Almost immediately, the truck engine turned on, and all hooked up, it drove away.
Terk lifted his handgun and took out the front tire, while Levi jumped out of the far fence line and took out two other tires. Within a matter of seconds, Merk had his gun pointed at the driver’s head. “See now,” Merk said, “that’s just plain mean. We don’t take kindly to people killing off their partners.”
The driver swore heavily. “Shit,” he said, “we’ll be in deep trouble for this now. You have to let us go.”
“No, we sure don’t,” Terk added in a bored voice. “You shouldn’t have been on this property as it is.”
“They told us that it wouldn’t be any big deal,” he babbled.
“Well, guess what? It is. Now put up your hands and get down out of there.” And the two men slowly raised their hands but remained in the truck.
Levi’s gun was now pointed at them too. “Remember,” Levi said. “Don’t do anything stupid. I have no problem dropping you right now.”
The one guy complained, “We didn’t do anything to you. It is just a piece of property.” But his gaze was ever searching the area and looking for something.
Merk walked closer. “All right, keep your eyes on the wheel in front of you.” His buddy was already slipping out of the passenger side, and suddenly made a run for it, heading up the road. At that, the driver hit the gas hard and intentionally swerved, striking the other man hard with the truck and trailer, then continued to the top of the hill.
However, the vehicle came to a halt at the top of the hill, where Ice had cut off the driver. The big truck and the gun she had were absolutely not something to be taken lightly.
Levi was the first to arrive at the driver’s side door.
The driver looked at him and swore. “What the hell has she got?”
“Looks like a rocket launcher to me,” Levi said, with humor in his voice. “When she gets pissed, you really don’t want to cross her.”
“Holy crap.” Obviously the intimidation was working because the driver quickly exited the vehicle and fell to the ground, his hands over his head.
Levi raced over and quickly disarmed him, then rolled him over and tied him up neatly.
Seeing that situation was nicely in hand, Merk joined Terk, gathered where the second man had fallen. “Really stupid on your part to run.”
The guy was barely breathing, clearly with terrible internal injuries from being struck and run over. “We … didn’t do … anything, and … I didn’t shoot my … buddy. It … was him,” he gasped.
“Maybe so,” Merk said calmly, “but that won’t save your ass now.”
He looked at him fearfully. “Call … the cops.”
“Well, the cops won’t help you either,” Terk murmured, as he stepped forward. “We just want to ask a few questions.”
The guy swallowed hard, gasping. “I don’t … know anything, right?”
“No, we don’t know that at all.” He glared. “I mean, we suspect you don’t know anything because it was a pretty stupid stunt you just pulled, but, at the same time, I imagine you had a reason for doing that.”
The kid nodded. “Me and … my friend needed … money. His girlfriend’s … pregnant.”
“Well, this wasn’t a good way to do it,” Merk noted. “Now that kid will grow up without a father.”
His breathing grew even shallower. “Sometimes … decisions look decent, … then turn to … shit.” And, with that, he closed his eyes, barely breathing.
“He’s done for. He won’t live another ten minutes, if that.” Terk bent down to the dying man.
“The way his whole body was crushed, it’s amazing he lived this long.”
Terk was quiet for a moment, concentrating. “He’s gone. Let’s go give Levi a hand.”
A few minutes later, they had Levi’s prisoner on his feet.
“Now walk.”
And, with that, he looked at him. “Walk where?”
“You’re walking up to the compound,” Terk said. “Which is up and around that corner.”
“Oh hell. I heard that place is like a fortress.”
“Yep, it sure is. But you also stumbled onto the heartland down here, so deal with it.”
Chapter 5
Celia heard the ruckus, as everybody returned to the complex. Dear God, please let everyone I love return safely. As she raced downstairs, Alfred immediately caught her hand. “Nope, the prisoner is headed down to the jail.”
“Jail?” She stopped in her tracks. “I’ve been here all this time and had no idea there was a jail.”
“Ice insisted on it. She wanted a holding cell to secure prisoners.”
“Does she get many?” Celia asked in shock.
Alfred nodded. “Way too many for all of us. However, in your case, you need to sit down, have a nice cup of tea, and relax.”
She almost chuckled. “How much tea do you think I can drink?”
“Considering that the babies are getting bigger, as much as you need to.” He smiled. “But that’s okay if you don’t want to. We understand babies around here.”
“Sounds like a few are on the way.”
“A whole lot of them.” He puffed up with paternal joy. “And I’m perfectly happy to have every last one of them. All homes should ring with the cheerful sounds of children.”
She chuckled. “Even while there’s chaos?”
“Yep, that’s the way we like it. Some chaos comes with control.” He chuckled. “Now chaos without control? That’s bad. Babies? We can control.”
She murmured, “Do I get to go see him?”
“See who?” he asked innocently.
She frowned. “You know who.”
“Oh, …Terk. … Well, he’s probably bringing the prisoner up.” Alfred pointed at a screen in front of them.
There, sure enough, Terk marched with his brother toward the house, a man in front of them.
“That’s really what he does, isn’t it?” She’d never seen him like this.
“Yes, that’s what these men do. They make the world a safer place for everyone.”
