Let us do something, while we have the chance. Still don't own Chuck. And the people in my stories are fictional.

Chapter 10 Stampede

Pine Ridge

Sarah studied Carlos and Philip Ramirez for a second. She was a bit surprised they knew Chuck's boss, but even more surprised that they knew his dad as Orion. She began, "Good afternoon sir." She looked at LT; he gave her a thumbs up. "Just as a reference we also have Director Robins on line, General Beckman, General Mathews, who is supporting with surveillance assets, and Mister Johnson, the SAC from Sacramento. Our crew here at Pine Ridge includes Chief Scotts and Agent Lawrence Taylor. At our base called Castle, we have Mister Steven Bartowski, Special Agent Alice Kazan, Miss Liz Reynolds, and Agent Elton Devers. Our people with the cattle drive have ear phones and if they are not being watched should be listening in. They include Director Chuck Bartowski, Colonel John Casey, and Special Agent Mary Ramirez."

"Yes, thank you Sarah." John commended her for knowing what he was wanted with one of the phone calls. The Honorable John H. Wabash was an icon in the intelligence world. He had been everything including an undercover agent in the Cold War, a lawyer, a strategic politico-military analyst, a federal judge, ambassador and the head of several intelligence agencies at various times. In most cases listening to him or seeking his advice made people think they were at a dean's office in an Ivy League school.

"Now so we all agree, Sarah has the tactical command of this situation. Kelly and Diane here have already agreed with that. Roy, do you have any problems?"

"No sir," answered SAC Johnson.

"Carlos, I assume you and your special task force has no problem. Am I correct in my assumption?" asked John.

"Yes, John. And we have checked. She will be riding with us," added Carlos.

"Carlos once again, I do appreciate you thoroughness in these operations." John asked, "Sarah, could you review the plans and any contingencies?"

Sarah reviewed the plan with those on-line while Carlos' men got the other horses and equipment ready.

The Trail

Chuck, Casey and Mary heard about half of the plan before Max's riders came over and said they were going to have a break. Max apparently wanted to see them.

"Thank you for coming over. I really wasn't sure what you were thinking after that mess with Curly this morning. Once again, I am sorry for what he did," Max said while taking a sip of coffee.

Chuck said, "Certainly, just a misunderstanding. And you can tell him that I did not mean to spill the coffee on him." Chuck smiled.

Max smiled and offered Chuck a cup. "Well, I would like to talk with you two for a minute. If your wife would not mind, Julie Halverson would like to talk with her. She is over by the horses."

Mary got a cup of coffee and headed over to Julie.

"I am interested in finding another source of cattle. The previous one that I had a deal with has gone into foreclosure. I am looking for one hundred head this year with expansion in the following years," Max offered.

Casey and Chuck looked at each other. Casey said, "Well, we could handle half of that this year with prime stock. More than that and you would be looking at cast offs."

"That would be at least a start. If we got you hooked up with the Watts', they may be able to increase your breeding program. They have a pretty good method," responded Max.

Chuck then said, "That sounds interesting." Looking at Casey he said, "We would have to hire a few more hands."

Max looked up at the statement, "I have been working with Ted Halverson on a support program. We might be able to extend that to you."

Chuck asked, "What would that entail?"

"The conditions are that Ted brings in his own foreman. He and possibly a second, depending on the size of your overall operation, will then run everything for you. Ted will arrange housing and transport," Max answered.

Casey quip, "So what are these guys, Aggies?"

Max looked at him for a moment, "You'll find they generally come from quite a ways south of that. You have any problems with that? Like government sales that may force labor inspections?"

Casey answered more seriously, "No. We don't have any projects like that. We are pretty well independent. How would you intend to do this?"

Max said, "It could be simple for a start. Let's say for the fifty head over the summer, we provide the manpower. That would be about twelve people including the foreman. If at any point, you have a problem call me and we'll take care of it."

"That sounds pretty inviting. Let us talk it over and we will let you know by the time we bed down tonight," Casey said.

"I think you boys will like this. It is a cheap source of labor and I'll get some prime beef." Max shook their hands and got back on his horse. "I'll see you later."

As Max rode off, Casey palmed his ear phone and asked, "You guys get all of that?"

He heard back, "Yes." Then he took it out again.

Mary came back over.

Casey asked, "What was that about?"

"She just was asking about our ranch and how we operated. She seemed interested in how many people it took to run the place. And then a few questions about the number of cattle we have and if we did anything else. They are going to join me on the left flank." Mary looked at Casey and Chuck and asked, "Has that got anything to do with the offer Max made you?"

Casey took her hand, "It may have." Then Casey took her closer and whispered in her ear, "Or they could still be trying to check us out."

Chuck purposely bumped into Casey, "Take special care of Kam." Casey looked at him and grunted. When Chuck got close enough he whispered, "The Halversons will try to do worse than kill her, if they find out."

Max began to get the drive going again. All the riders went back out again. Casey did not like the positioning. Mary was an outrider on the left flank toward the back with the Halversons. Chuck was in the middle of the right flank near Max. Casey was back at drag with Curly. As they got their instructions, they repeated them so Sarah would know. They also let everyone know who was nearby.

Pine Ridge

Sarah and Carlos were walking over to get their horses. Sarah looked at Carlos and asked, "I would like to know how you know Orion?"

"Yes, quite a character," Carlos began. "Well my dear, as you have noticed we are a little more than just ranchers. Our family has been in some type law enforcement for the past one hundred and fifty years. A while ago our group had the job to capture Orion when he was in the States. Obviously we failed. Until just recently, we confirmed his presence at then Miss Eleanor Bartowski's residence.

"Please accept my apologies. But I did want to verify that Orion was Mr. Bartowski. I suspect some day you would like to stop by and compare notes.

"Also, Mary may not know much about this. Other than I was gone a lot more than I should have been," Carlos ended.

"I would imagine that Steven would be very interested in talking with you. A very interesting comparison of notes," Sarah smiled at him.

Sarah and Carlos got on their horses and started over to where everyone was forming up.

Sarah, Carlos, Philip and Dave, started out with their group. Ray, the foreman from Mary's ranch, with nine others started to the back trail. Chief and LT along with the Spec Ops sergeants stayed back at the tent.

With the surveillance assets in place, the plan and positioning were working perfectly.

The Trail

Ray's riders formed in a group of ten behind Curly and the other drag riders. In front a group of ten led by Philip swung wide to cover the left flank. The right flank was led by Carlos. Sarah and Dave went with a group of three others to cover the trail that bent to the right and headed up a Mesa.

With the herd drawn out, the lead riders on both flanks had no backing and surrendered quickly. The problem started in the back. Curly saw three of Ray's rangers coming up to position on the left side of the drag line.

Curly called out, "Hey, we are running a drive here. There's no passage through the canyon till we are out."

One of the rangers started to pull out his revolver. Curly did not hesitate. His Glock was out and up before the other rider finished. He had not completed his aim, but started to fire. The first shot hit the pummel of the ranger's horse and went on to hit the ranger above the belt buckle. The other drag riders pulled their weapons and began to converge on Curly.

Casey was on the right side of the drag line had his out Colt out. As two of the riders going to Curly's assistance approached, Casey pointed to their weapons, "Leave them in their holsters and get down."

Curly shot at the other two rangers, hitting one in the shoulder. The ranger dropped out of the saddle. The other drag riders got to Curly's position. Curly pointed to the rangers coming up from behind and yelled to his riders, "Take them then follow me up the slope."

One of the riders called over to Curly, "That Michelson is with them."

Curly responded, "Get up to Max and tell him. I am going to start a stampede. I'll meet up at the Mesa."

Curly turned to the cattle. He gave the rider a bit of a head start then began shooting into the herd. They were already spooked by the first gun shots and the lagers started to run. Curly angled off to the left of the herd.

Carlos, Sarah and the rest heard the gun shots and then the report from Ray. They had an option for the possibility of a stampede. They identified the Mesa as a likely escape route with a good landing area for helicopters. Dave went to the top of the Mesa with three others. Carlos moved over to Sarah's position and five other wranglers came with him. Sarah's plan was to wait for Chuck and then head to the Mesa.

Mary had two of the outriders with their hands up and the guns on the ground. The Halversons had drifted a head. She was hoping to get them next. Then she heard Chief, "Rider approaching Mary from end of herd."

Mary turned, but not in time. She saw Curly riding up at her. She was starting to wheel around when the loop came over her and she was pulled from her horse.

Curly's lasso dropped over Mary. He wrapped the end of the rope around the pummel and pulled to the back and to the side. He saw her hit the ground. He pulled back further and dragged her a couple yards.

Mary still had her gun in her hand. She was trying to get her elbow below the rope and then get a shot at Curly.

Curly saw her struggling and backed his horse even further. He pulled her far enough that her head hit a rather large rock outcropping. She dropped the gun.

Curly was too focused on Mary to notice. Casey came up from behind, jumped off his horse and tackled Curly. They went down over the left side of Curly's horse. Curly went face first into the dirt. Casey almost had the air knocked out of him. Casey pulled back a little and his right elbow cracked the back of Curly's head.

The two riders Mary had the started to arrest grabbed their guns. Mary had her lasso off and saw their move. The riders' guns were laying aim at Casey. Mary got off four shots.

Casey left Curly. He was sure he saw Mary get off her shots, but swore he heard one more. Casey was almost running when he got to Mary.

She looked up and screamed, "Casey!"

Casey turned pulling his Colt at the same time. He saw Curly getting on his good knee with his hand extending. Curly had his Glock and it was coming around. Casey shot twice. Then he heard the chief, "Colonel, got forty or more steers heading to your position. Go left to the canyon wall."

Casey did not ask. He scooped Mary up. He almost threw her up on Shadow and got behind her. Going for the wall he was able to get passed Dusty and gather his reins. They all made a run for the wall.

Chuck knew that his part in this was starting to unravel. He was behind the Watts. They were riding in the chuck wagon. Max was just a head of them. When they heard the gun shots, Max and the others drew their guns. Chuck also realized that idea of declaring himself a federal agent and arresting everyone was just a dream. There were too many of Max's riders around to even think about it. Finally, he decided his best approach was to play along.

Chuck drew his gun and kept it pointed skyward like the rest. He moved up to the wagon and asked, "Hear anything about what is happening?"

Ted said, "No. No word yet." He pointed at Max. "He should know."

A rider was coming from behind and headed to Max. He got up to Max.

Chuck knew he had little time when he heard, "This is LT. Rider coming from Curly's position about to hook up with Max."

Next, "This is Sarah. Chuck, you need to move out of there. LT guide him."

"This is LT. The stampede is now over half of the herd. Chuck, your best route now open is to the left. Make a hard dash now."

Chuck started fast. Nacoma was a very quick sprinter. He made it a quarter of the way through the herd before Max noticed. Max began shooting and sent three riders after Chuck.

Chuck heard the shooting and saw the riders coming. He flashed…Wild West, Rodgers, rodeo, and gymnastics. Chuck sighed. Now, he understood. At the next shot, he moved headed and to the side on his saddle and then leaned as far to the left while holding on to the pummel. The horse appeared to be rider less.

"This is LT. Chuck, they are still coming at your position. Turn to the right now and go straight up the slope."

Chuck pulled himself back up and got Nacoma to make that quick turn characteristic of a quarter horse. He was headed up the slope. But he realized he was still being used as target practice as two more shots rang out. He made a quick side dismount and hop. Grabbing the pummel with his right hand, his feet hit the ground, bounded up and his right foot came up in the left stirrup.

"This is LT. Chuck, they are headed back. Continue to go straight."

Chuck didn't think he could hold the position, so he jumped to the ground and bounded back into the saddle. He leaned down low to Nacoma's neck, but kept going.

"This is LT. Turn right. You should see the rock formation. That's Sarah's position."

Chuck was able to answer back, "Thanks LT, headed that way."

So was Max. He had gathered a small force and was whipping the cattle on. There were a good hundred head in front of him. They were kicking up a good amount of speed and headed for the fork between the slope up and out of the canyon and the trail to the Mesa. His men started shooting at Carlos and the others.

The fire between the groups intensified as Chuck approached. Two of Carlos' men were already down. One of Max's was down and trampled under the stampede. The chuck wagon was being used as a shield. The driver was crouched behind the buckboard. Max, the Watts and several riders were between it and the canyon wall.

The volleys were concentrated. Two more went down on both sides. Carlos and his men were returning fire. Chuck was watching Sarah. She would change positions from behind the rocks and fire at the on-coming riders.

Another group of riders coming from the left at a diagonal began shooting at Chuck. Chuck reached over and slung himself alongside the left side of Nacoma. The stampede was now moving in the front and coming full force. Chuck's attempt to go straight to Sarah was being deflected.

Carlos and his men were giving way as the stampede was coming over their position. Sarah and one other wrangler were cut off.

"This is Chief Scotts. Colonel Casey you have four riders converging on your position from the front. They are heading for the wall."

Casey was still trying to check Mary. He did not stop and till he got his hand swatted away.

Mary yelled over her shoulder, "What is wrong with you?"

"I thought you got shot," he reached around and held her. He thought for sure he heard a grunt.

They came at them pistols out and blazing. It was the Halversons and two others. They cut down the cattle before them and made a dash for Casey and Mary. They were on each other before their guns could be brought to bear.

Mary and Casey were focused on the left. Max's riders were shooting. Mary took out one of Max's riders, but Julie Halverson came at a gallop beside her hit her over the head and knocked her out.

Casey felt Mary slump in his arms.

A/N Just posting a correction, I had the Halversons in two places at once (with the chuckwagon and back with Mary). This version corrects that.

A bit of a western cliffhanger. Please review.