Monday, 8:53 a.m.
“That ought to get it,” Doc said. The silver-haired cowboy sat back and closed his black bag. Matt had resisted yet another needle, but Doc argued that he needed a transfusion, nutrients and B12 with a bit of a stimulant. Just moments later, Matt did feel quite a bit better. He was seated upright in a chair in Sheriff Pickens’ office. He’d refused to lie down again. He’d had enough of feeling helpless.
“Whatever you just did, it worked pretty well,” Matt said.
“Ought to. I’ve practiced on quite a few wounded horses,” Doc said without the slightest trace of a smile.
A jealous Kyle had discreetly followed Sally and Matt out of town. He’d wanted to make sure his rival was gone for good. Kyle explained the truth sheepishly but also seemed proud because of how it had all worked out. He’d seen the huge van drive up and kidnap Matt, but knowing he couldn’t possibly take on mercenaries with weapons, Kyle had hung back and followed the van until it parked out in the desert. Then he’d raced back to town, and the people of Dry Wells couldn’t stand by and let him be kidnapped. They owed Matt Cahill. Something had to be done.
Sheriff Pickens had come up with the plan. Sally and Suzie Pickens had dressed as hookers. They’d taken another volunteer from the whorehouse, a girl named Maggie. The women had approached the trailer while Sheriff Pickens and some of the men watched from a distance. Wally covered them with a hunting rifle.
The girls had gotten the mercenaries to drink a bit of drugged booze, then slipped away before anyone could get hurt. Then they’d all waited half an hour, returned when it was safe, and brought Matt and his bedroll, backpack, and ax back to Dry Wells. Sheriff Pickens hadn’t wanted to risk trying to take the men into custody without more backup.
“But now,” Sheriff Pickens said, “our problem is that the bastards are going to wake up again soon. And it won’t take long for them to figure out what happened. We helped you get away. They’ll want to get even. And that means they’ll be coming for you. For us.”
“Get help now,” Matt said. “Those men are trained professionals.”
“Sure, that’s what I’d figured on doing as soon as we got back, son. Just turns out that I can’t.”
“Can’t you call the state police? The National Guard? Somebody?”
“No, because we got us some more shit luck in Dry Wells,” Sheriff Pickens said. “There’s a badass forest fire going on down the 41, and everything is closed tighter than a gnat’s ass. The Guard is all tied up fighting the fire, and everyone else is either evacuating or blocking the highways. They got to keep away every swinging dick with a six-pack of beer and a digital camera. And the phone lines went dead a few minutes ago. Can’t raise a signal. The long and short of it is, we’re on our own, at least through tomorrow.”
Matt didn’t think it was a coincidence that the phone lines were down and the signals were jammed. It was intentional. The university had paid a lot of money for this team and their support staff. They seemed to think Matt was worth a fortune.
Surprised, Matt saw that Zeke and Hog, the two bullies from the bar, were here with the rest of the residents. Stone sober now, they seemed both tense and oddly deflated. Neither man seemed eager to meet his eyes, but Matt just nodded his appreciation and the two seemed to relax.
“I appreciate what you all have done for me,” Matt said. “But saving me is bound to bring suffering. I should go.”
“If they do come for us,” Doc said, “we’re going to need every man we can get. Including you.”
“Let him leave!” a woman called. Other people shushed her up.
Kyle shrugged. “Let’s just man up and do something for once.”
Bert the grocer said, “Easy for you to say. You’re young, you got no kids and nothing to lose.”
More people crowded into the room. Uncomfortable, Matt found himself the center of attention again. Yet this wasn’t about him anymore. It had grown much bigger than that.
“Far as I’m concerned, Kyle is right,” Sheriff Pickens said. “I owe my daughter’s life to this man. He’s been here a day and in my opinion he’s already changed us for the better. I for one ain’t going to let those bastards murder him. I won’t just look the other way. This is our town, damn it.”
Many of the townsfolk agreed. Several others remained silent.
“And I’ll repeat that,” Doc said. “Matt here has proved he’s got brains and balls. We’re going to need his help to protect ourselves tonight.”
Sally, still wearing tight clothing and smeared hooker makeup, as was Suzie Pickens, spoke up. “We’re going to have to figure out how to do that pretty damned quickly.”
Bert the grocer looked at Matt. “Or we could just give you back to them and say we were sorry.”
Matt nodded. “I’d understand if you did. But think about it. The problem is, now you know they murdered Kearns in cold blood and you know about what they tried to do to me.”
“Which was what, exactly?” Doc asked.
“Something illegal as hell. They were after my blood and organs.” The townspeople wouldn’t believe the truth if Matt told them. He barely believed it himself. “Guess maybe somebody needed a kidney.”
“Well, okay, maybe it ain’t so bad. All we have to do is hold them off until help arrives,” Wally ventured.
The sheriff shook his head. “Matt is right. They’re gonna come for Cahill, and they’re gonna also want anybody else they think might know more than he or she should. Which means all of us. Are we going to sit by and let that happen?”
By now the remaining townspeople had edged into the room. Matt knew he didn’t have time to make friends with the fifteen or twenty permanent residents of old-town Dry Wells, but he had to win them over immediately. Because the clock was ticking. He scanned their faces, but the townspeople just waited for something to happen. A black crow cawed outside the window like an angel of death.
“It’s your town, your decision.” Matt got to his feet. “You want me to go, I’ll go.”
“If I thought that would work, I’d probably show you the way out of town,” Zeke said. Everyone seemed surprised that he was speaking out. “But it likely won’t. These desperadoes broke the law. They look badass to us. They aren’t going to take any chances folks will talk about what happened out there. Hog and me, we say make a stand.”
Silence.
Hog said, “Mr. Cahill, you beat us fair and square, and you weren’t mean about it. We remember things like that.”
“We ain’t fighting men like you three,” someone called. “We’re just farmers and ranchers.”
“I know it’s not fair that you’re in this position. But here we are.” Matt looked down. Suzie Pickens and her brother were each on one knee. Sally was seated cross-legged on the floor, staring up at him, wide-eyed and smitten. Doc, Wally, and all the others watched him as silence took hold. They were waiting, obviously expecting him to take charge, even though he didn’t know the first thing about combat. And then it hit him. Matt had been wondering why he’d come back to life, why he’d been spared. This was another one of those times when it felt like destiny. His arrival had caused the situation, but it had also saved lives and brought the whole town together. Perhaps this was all supposed to happen.
Matt said, “Kyle, can you draw me a detailed map of the town? Every building, hiding place, electrical panel, water source, whatever you can think of that might help us out?”
Kyle nodded, then exploded into motion. People began whispering as the young man dug in a desk drawer for paper and pencils. Sally joined him and they both got to work. Seeing that, the other residents gained a bit of confidence. They were standing taller, even though Matt didn’t have a plan-he just sounded like he did. Apparently, that was enough for the time being.
Oh man…
“Okay, I’m no expert,” he said, “but I’ll try to figure out how to buy us the time we need until the National Guard can get here.”
The sheriff said, “Listen up. One thing I do know about is firearms. This is crucial, okay? Once we figure out the best defensive positions, you’re all going to have to think about finding cover, not concealment. Concealment is a rosebush. Cover is a brick wall. Get it? These men shoot, and bullets go through just about anything.”
Matt rolled his shoulders. He felt a lot stronger now, almost normal. “Give some thought to some booby traps we can rig to at least slow these bastards down.” He looked around the room. “Does anyone have a working telescope, or at least a great pair of binoculars?”
A teen in the back raised his hand.
“What’s your name, son?”
“Timmy, sir.”
“Timmy,” Matt said, “you need to grab some bottled water and climb the tallest building. Get as high up as possible, son. Start looking around and don’t stop. These guys are well trained. They may come from any direction, or more than one. You’re our listening post, our eyes and ears. Someone else needs to go with him and wait down below to carry the word. Pick him or her now. And remember what the sheriff said. Stay down, behind bricks, not brush, okay? Get your stuff and go.”
Matt continued to bark all the instructions he could think of until everyone had some initial function. He figured it was better to have them all staying busy, and in the meantime he could focus on setting up some specific defenses.
And on how the hell he’d manage to bluff his way through something he knew so little about.
“Doc? How long before those drugs wear off?”
Doc looked at his watch. He seemed less terrified, a bit resigned. “Pickens was right, basically. If he drove back out there now, there’s a good chance that one of them would already be awake enough to shoot his ass dead. I’d say most of them won’t be coming out of the fog for at least a couple of hours, though. Maybe three or four, tops.”
They didn’t have much time.