Danita was awakened by a loud pounding. She sat up, confused. Where was she? What was going on? She looked around and recognized her childhood bedroom as memory rushed in. She was at home helping Barb fight the takeover of her hometown.
The pounding came again, even louder this time. It came from below, echoing up the staircase to her room.She grabbed her phone to check the time: almost 7:30 in the morning. Her father would already have been out doing chores for hours. Her mother would be either working around the house or helping with chores, too. When the pounding continued without anyone answering the door, Danita realized she must be alone in the house. She threw on her jeans and a T-shirt and hurried downstairs. At the door, she looked through the window to see Carl, the “friendly Nazi” as she thought of him, standing on the porch.
“What is it?” she called through the door.
“Open up,” he said.
“What’s the matter?” she said.
“Your father’s hurt,” he said.
She undid the lock and opened the door. Carl stepped inside.
“What happened?” she said. “Is he okay?”
“He’s fine,” said Carl with a crooked smile, like a naughty little boy. “I just needed an excuse to get you to open the door.”
Danita was furious. She wanted to yell at him or slap him across the face. He seemed to read her mind, and he turned to face her, planting his feet solidly on the floor. She was instantly aware that she was alone in the house with him. She took an involuntary step back. He noticed, and his smile became a smirk.
“What do you want?” she said with ice in her voice.
“You don’t need to be like that,” he said. “I’m bringing good news.”
“What’s that?”
“You can score yourself a cool fifty grand just by telling me where your friend Barb is.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you do. He’s the one who sent those two airheads in the van out front. He wouldn’t do that for just anyone. You guys must be really close.”
He watched her, waiting her out. When it became clear she wasn’t going to say anything, he shook his head.
“I understand loyalty to a friend,” he said. “But fifty grand is fifty grand. If that doesn’t mean anything to you, it sure as hell does to me. I get the reward if I find him, so I’m just going to take another look through here. And I can’t guarantee I’ll be gentle in my search. You can spare your parents’ house and put money in your pocket at the same time. Or you can stand back and watch me work.”
She stared at him, unmoving and unflinching.
“Have it your way.” He walked past her to the opposite wall of the living room. He began to knock on the wall with his knuckles, moving down its length.
Danita watched him impassively, but inside she was churning. Her biggest fear was how her father would react if he came in and found Carl at work, so, paradoxically, she hoped the asshole would work fast.
Carl came to the wall-mounted shelves where her mother displayed the family’s framed pictures. He swiped the photos out of the way to get access to the wall behind. One of them, her parents’ wedding picture, fell to the floor, the glass shattering. Danita rushed to pick it up. Carl ignored her. After he’d finished knocking on all the walls in the living room, he stepped to the middle of the room, dragging the coffee table off the rug where it sat. Magazines and the TV remote fell off and onto the floor. He dragged the rug aside, apparently looking for a trapdoor in the floor.
Not finding anything, he moved on to the hallway, which Danita’s mother had lined with photos of Danita’s childhood. She didn’t follow him. Instead, she pulled her phone out of her jeans and texted Barb with the secure app.
did you know theres a 50k reward 4u?
No, Barb texted back.
nazi carl searching my parents house
Do nothing
what ru going to do?
Not sure
u need to do something and fast
Understood
Danita heard another photo fall to the floor and shatter in the hallway. Her anger burned hot in her chest. She tamped it down, needing to keep her head. She hoped the smirking Nazi would finish his desecrations before either of her parents came back to the house.
Most of all, she hoped Barb knew what she was doing.
#
Barb frowned. A reward meant homes all throughout the county were likely having their walls thumped and their floors stomped on. How long before the crowbars and sledgehammers came out?
Her moves to put Jackery off-balance had resulted in a worsening situation for everyone in the county. She didn’t blame herself. This was war, after all, and collateral damage was inevitable. But that didn’t mean she had to stand by and do nothing. She needed to come up with a move to take the pressure off the citizens of Dixon—without taking the pressure off Jackery.
As she turned over the problem in her mind, Marmalade jumped up and settled into her lap. As if her hand had a mind of its own, it began stroking the cat’s head and back. Marmalade purred. Barb liked that about cats. Despite their reputation as inscrutable, they were really quite straightforward. If they liked you, they purred at your touch. If not, they didn’t. Of course, they were also cruel and violent predators. A cat-and-mouse game was no game for the mouse.
Her thoughts, by some mystery of association, went back to Jackery. He was like a cat on the hunt. He wouldn’t let anything stop him—as long as he believed the mouse was within his reach. So, how could she change his belief? Once she arrived at the question, the answer came quickly. She turned it over in her mind to be sure it was sound. The more she considered it, the more she liked it. It was strong on its own merits, but she also could use it to further her larger plan of undermining Jackery’s alliance with the militia types.
Being careful not to jostle Marmalade, Barb reached for her phone. She dialed the cell of a copter pilot she knew, a former army guy who’d scraped together enough money to lease his own bird and open a one-man business.
“Black Charter.” His voice was just as Barb remembered it, deep and no-nonsense.
“Lewis,” she said. “It’s Barb.”
“Hey, pretty lady. How ya doing?”
“I can’t complain. But I need your help.”
“You need a lift?”
“Not exactly. I need you to fly to an empty field on the outskirts of a small town, set down for a few minutes and then take off.”
“Are you the passenger?”
“There’s no passenger,” she said. “And I need this as soon as you can get in the air, so I’ll cover any rush fee you want to charge. Plus hazard pay.”
“What’s the hazard?”
“The small town is full of gun nuts and Neo-Nazis. I can’t guarantee they won’t loose off some AK fire while you’re overhead.”
“Any chance they’ll be waiting at the landing site?”
“Minimal. It’s far enough from town to be empty,” said Barb.
“Still, I’ll come in high and hot. And take off the same.”
“Do you have any more questions for me?” she said.
“The less I know about what you’re doing the less I have to testify to in court,” he said.
“This won’t end up in court, but I appreciate your caution. I do have one final question for you, however.”
“Shoot.”
“Your copter’s still black, right?”
“As a politician’s heart.”
“Perfect.”
#
“Did I just hear you charter an empty helicopter?” Julian said to Barb.
“For the mythical version of myself,” she replied.
“Do you think he’d mind if I tag along?”
“You’re bailing on me?”
“You don’t need me here.” He shook his head. “I’m just cooling my heels, and I have other cases I could be working on.”
She nodded her understanding; she knew his to be a restless spirit. But, as irrational as it was, she couldn’t help feeling like he was rejecting her. He must have read this on her face because he stepped over and took her in his arms. She let herself melt into him as he kissed her forehead.
“Just send the word and I’ll be back in a flash,” he said softly. “In the meantime, you’ve got this.”
“Do I?” she said, just as softly. “No matter how hard I try to anticipate Jackery’s next move, I always seem to be a step behind.”
“Welcome to the big leagues,” he said with a chuckle. “You’re taking on one of the most powerful men the world has ever known. So far, you’ve fought him to a draw.”
“A draw’s not good enough. I need to beat him.”
“Then that’s what you’re going to do,” he said. “Whatever it takes and however dirty you need to fight. You’re going to knock him to the ground and kick him while he’s down. You’re going to make that son of a bitch wish his daddy never set eyes on his mama.”
“You say the sweetest things.”
#
Barb made a quick call to let Lewis know he’d have a passenger after all, then she lifted Marmalade off her lap and set her on the sofa. The cat glared at her before turning away, curling up, and falling back asleep.
Barb opened her laptop and prepared to write out a small script. The thought occurred to her that Jackery had used AI against her in his cruel deposition. It would be a form of poetic justice to use it against him. She browsed to a chat site and considered the best way to structure her prompt.
One thing she knew about the latest generation of chatbots was that they excelled at role-play. Accordingly, she created a scenario, feeding the bot a backstory and then telling it that it was a particularly entitled and obnoxious man of wealth dressing down an inferior. She was pleasantly surprised to see that this bot offered voice-to-voice, meaning she could speak her part out loud, and it would respond in kind.
When she had everything prepped, she began the role-play and was so astonished by the results, she almost forgot to record the interaction on her phone.
By this time, Julian had packed his things and was ready to head for the landing spot.
“How are we going to get you there?” said Barb. “Not only do we have to get around the skinhead brothers, it’s too far to walk.”
“If you can distract those yahoos, I’ve got a bicycle in the outside storage compartment. I’ll slip out, extract my bike, and be on my way before you know it.”
After a last kiss goodbye, Barb made a quick call to Maria Sanchez, slipped her phone into the pocket of her jeans and stepped out of the RV. She walked towards the Sanchez porch, catching the eye of the brothers. They followed her progress like a pair of guard dogs. As she neared the stairs, she tripped and went sprawling.
Snake broke out in laughter as Barb slowly got to her feet, a hurt look on her face.
“It’s mean to laugh when someone falls down,” she said, slowly getting to her feet.
“Tough tittie,” he laughed.
“That’s even meaner. What would your mama say?”
“You keep your filthy mouth shut about our mama.” He was on his feet, glaring at her, hands clutching his semi-automatic.
Barb ignored him, dusting herself off and stepping onto the bottom stair.
“What do you want anyway?” said Snake.
“I invited her,” said Maria, appearing in the doorway.
Both brothers turned to face her.
“Unless you have a problem with that,” said Barb.
Snake glared back and forth between the two women before spitting on the porch between them and retaking his seat. Barb climbed the rest of the way onto the porch and closed the door. Maria held it open for her, stepping back to let Barb inside.
Once inside, Maria surprised Barb with a hug. “Are you okay?” she whispered.
“I’m golden,” Barb whispered back. “My little playacting did the trick. And now for the next little moment of drama.”
She gestured to the arched doorway into the kitchen and the wall holding an old-fashioned phone, its curly beige cord dangling. She walked over, stopping just outside the kitchen and holding up her phone. Glancing at Maria again, and giving her a small smile, she pressed “play.”
#
About half an hour later, Barb heard the faint thwap of helicopter blades.
“What’s that?” came Tyler’s voice from the porch.
“It’s a Goddamn helicopter.”
“Do you see it?”
“There,” said Tyler.
A burst of gunfire ripped through the air. It was followed by the sound of other guns firing at different distances from Barb. She was glad Lewis Black had combat experience and knew how to stay out of range, and she hoped no one in town was harmed by bullets falling back to earth.
She followed the action by ear, hearing him cross Dixon, set down out of town, and then take off again. On the flight out he could’ve taken a different route, but again he flew directly overhead, taunting the gun nuts and drawing even more futile fire.
Her phone buzzed with a text from Julian.
thanx for diversion. call if u need anything
She texted back a thumbs-up emoji and sighed, thinking of how big the RV’s bed would feel without him.
#
Peter Jackery was in the cabin serving as his temporary office, going over his plans for the day with Marcy, when he heard the gunfire.
“What’s that?” he said.
“Someone’s shooting,” said Marcy.
“Right. But at what?”
There was more gunfire. Between the shots, Jackery heard a helicopter flying overhead.
“Don’t tell me those idiots are trying to shoot down a copter,” said Jackery as he pushed himself out of his seat and hustled outside.
He scanned the sky, locating the helicopter as it flew high overhead. He followed its progress, as surprised as anyone when it set down on the far side of town. He turned to Marcy, who’d followed him outside.
“Are we expecting anyone?” he said.
“Not as far as I know, sir.”
Within a few minutes of landing, the copter was in the air again. It made another trip above the town, and this time the gunfire was almost continuous.
“Those goddamn idiots will get somebody killed,” he said.
His phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out. Looking at the screen, he saw the number of the Sheriff’s Department.
“What the fuck is going on, David?” he said. “Did you have anything to do with that helicopter?”
“Of course not,” said the sheriff in a tone that immediately grated on Jackery. “But listen to what we just recorded.”
Before Jackery could tell the man to, for God’s sake, summarize the recording, a conversation began to play out in his ear.
“This place has gotten too hot for me,” said a man’s voice. “And it’s all your fault, you incompetent cow!”
“I’m sorry, sir,” came a simpering female voice.
“Spare me your miserable apology. You had one job: to throw Jackery off my trail so I could act in secret.”
“I did my best.”
“And surprise, surprise—it turns out your best is as pathetic as you are. I don’t know why I thought I could trust a woman to handle such a critical mission. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“What are you doing?”
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m packing my bag and getting the hell out of this shithole.”
“Now?”
“No, next year.” The sneer came across the line loud and clear. “Of course I’m leaving now. And I’m taking that overpriced lawyer with me.”
“That doesn’t give me any time to pack.”
“That’s because you’re not coming.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re fired.”
“But what do I do? They’ll arrest me for sure.”
“Then it’s a good thing you don’t know my real name or anything else that could hurt me. Now, get out of my way. My ride’s almost here.
The conversation cut off, and Jackery racked his brain trying to recognize the voice. The problem was that there were too many men it could be. Hell, there’d been several moments when the disgusted tone sounded just like his own.
“What do you think, Peter?” said the sheriff, coming back on the line. “Should we bring in the female?”
“You heard the man. She’s just a witless pawn,” said Jackery. “Keep your fucking eye on the ball, David.”
He ended the call, shoving the phone into his pocket. He shook his head, disgusted. He’d brought in the gun-happy idiots to smoke out Barb, and they’d served their purpose—although not in the way he’d hoped. Now he was stuck with them. He couldn’t very well order them to leave, so he’d have to endure their presence for the time being.
With the departure of Barb, his scheme for capturing the man was moot. But that didn’t mean Jackery’s problems were over, by any means. Just thinking about all the ways a well-funded enemy could complicate his plans—even from a distance—gave Jackery a headache.
He suddenly craved a night away. He pictured Mae Lin, and the mere thought of her made him feel better. Was it too soon for him to slip out of Dixon? Could he afford a night away? The reason he’d come was to lead the search for Barb. That reason no longer existed. There was nothing he could do here that he couldn’t do better from home. Obviously, he couldn’t leave for good. That would make him look weak. But a night away? What would be the harm in that?
That decided, he would spend the rest of the day nailing down everything here. He’d summon the sheriff and the militia commanders and give them updated marching orders. He’d let them know he had important business to handle elsewhere overnight.
He’d also be sure to tell them that, for fuck’s sake, when the helicopter came for him not to shoot at it.