Chapter 10
Sam's cell phone rang. For one second he hoped that maybe it was Elsa, but when he looked at the screen, he saw it was Michael. "Yeah, Mikey, what's up?"
"Not much, Sam. Just checking in to see how things are going."
"Oh, I'm having a great time watching this old movie. Good thing you called during a commercial break." Sam replied with a sarcastic tone. "Seriously, I hope you guys are having a better time than I am."
"We can be there in..."
"Oh, no! You just enjoy yourselves." In the background, he heard music. "Grab Fi and go dancing. Don't mind me."
"Sam... be careful."
"Oh yeah, I might strain a thumb on the remote." He chuckled.
"No, seriously, Fi, Erik and I have been looking for Roger and his friends and they aren't here. That's not normal, according to Erik."
"Oh. You think..."
"Yeah."
Sam let out a breath. "I'll be careful, Mike. Don't worry. Just go do your part and enjoy the festival, okay?"
"Okay, Sam. We'll be back around ten."
"Put the watch away, Mike. You need to just relax." He glanced at the TV. "Oh, gotta go, the movie's back on. Go! Dance with Fi!" He closed the connection and dropped the phone on the coffee table where he'd placed it before, and he put his feet up to enjoy the rest of the movie. Once he got into it, it really wasn't that bad.
"Well?" Fiona stared at him. "Are we going back to the farm?"
"No, Sam wants us to stay here and... and dance."
Fiona's face lit up like a firework. "That sounds like fun!" She grabbed his empty food tray and tossed it into the garbage with her own, then grasped his hand and turned him toward the temporary wood floor set up in front of the round gazebo in the center of the square.
"That does sound like fun." Elise looked up at Erik with an innocent glint in her eyes. "Erik, would you like to dance?"
"Me? You wanna dance with me?" He looked stricken with fear by her invitation.
Fiona twisted in Michael's grip around her waist and elbowed Erik in the ribs.
"I haven't danced in years, so I might step on your toes..." She spoke with a shy look up at him.
"Well then, we might both wind up with bruised toes, but I'd be willing to give it a shot if you are."
Elise's face brightened with a sweet grin. "Alrighty, then! Let's dance!"
Erik tossed his empty cup and dared to slip his arm around her shoulders.
On their way to the dance floor, Michael saw Roger and a small cluster of his friends. The four men perched their butts on a picnic table near the floor and made snide comments to some of the dancers. Roger had a beer in his hand. He caught Michael's gaze and got to his feet, and he met Michael and Fiona at the edge.
"Surprised to see you two without Sam. Where is he?"
"None of your concern, Roger," Michael replied as he glared at him.
"I suppose he couldn't get a date so he stayed home." Roger grinned. "Kind of like senior year, when he invited Carol to the festival and she turned him down. He stayed home and cried into his pillow all night, I'll bet." Roger laughed. "You know why she turned him down?"
"I wouldn't have a clue."
Roger stepped closer and puffed up his girth. "Because she was with me. We had a great time, too."
"Yeah, I see how well that turned out. She married someone else."
Roger glared at Michael and took a long drag on his beer. "If you see Sammy tonight... nah, never mind." Roger grinned. "I've got more important things to waste my words on. Later." He returned to the picnic table, said something to his friends, and they laughed.
"Some people never grow up," Fiona muttered.
"Don't mind him, Fiona. Roger Mauer has always been a jerk. He always will be. End of story." Elise remarked, and she gave out a little whoop as Erik pulled her toward the dance floor.
Erik twirled Elise on the dance floor and spoke over his shoulder. "Come on, you two, you came here to have fun! I've got men on the streets watching out for Roger and his friends' antics. Nothing to worry about."
"What about them causing trouble outside the festival grounds," Michael asked as he took Fiona in hand and followed him to the floor. "What if they go out to the farm?"
"I requested a deputy to patrol that part of the county. If anything happens, he'll be there in a few minutes."
Michael shook his head. Erik really had no clue how quickly things could turn. He'd been in law enforcement in a small town for too long. While Michael danced with Fiona he listened to the music and kept his steps in time with it, but part of his mind worried about Sam. Hopefully Roger and his gang would just sit around and get too drunk to do anything, and if they did, in their inebriated state, Sam could easily handle them. As much as Erik hated it, no matter how it went down, Michael couldn't see Sam getting away safely without discharging a few rounds. Then Roger wouldn't be a problem for anyone anymore.
A couple of numbers later, Michael realized that he'd let himself get too deep into the music and the sensations of holding Fiona's warm body in his arms. He looked around and didn't see Roger anywhere.
"Michael, what's wrong?" Fiona followed his gaze. "They're gone."
"Yeah." Michael turned out of her arms and strode to the edge of the floor while reaching for his phone. He hit the speed dial for Sam's phone. It rang and went to voicemail. He programmed the landline into his phone, so he tried it as well. With Fiona beside him and Elise and Erik bringing up the rear, he started walking to the car. The phone rang and rang, and Elise's sweet voice told him to leave a message. He closed the connection and let out a sound of frustration. "Fi, he's not picking up. We're leaving."
"I'll get my truck and follow you, Mike."
Michael stopped and turned to him. "You better come armed."
"You better believe it," Erik agreed. Then he gave Elise a short glance. "You stay here with your folks. We don't need you getting into the middle of a gunfight or anything."
"Be careful, Erik... all of you!" The wetness in her eyes glinted in the light from lanterns hanging over the dance floor. In different circumstances she would have looked sweet enough to kiss, but Erik had more pressing matters on his mind.
The movie was almost over and the combination of dinner and the popcorn must have had an effect on Sam. He was getting tired. No, it was just too much of this fresh country air and activity. I'm not used to this. He curled up on his side, his head on the arm rest, as the movie came to a close. A Three Stooges marathon was coming up next, but Sam didn't think he'd have the ability to keep his eyes open, not even for Larry, Curly, and Moe.
A sharp bang that sounded like it came from the back yard got Sam's attention. His eyes flew open and he sat up and slipped into his boots. He quickly laced them up, grabbed his gun from where it lay beside his phone, and he moved toward the kitchen. It was dark, making it easy for him to stop at the back door and look outside. Dark shadows hurried toward the barns. Sam remembered how the other farmers talked about such stealth tactics, and he recognized a hit. If he had anything to say about it, nobody was going to mess with the Fraser farm tonight.
Fiona kept one of her shotguns near the door. He picked it up in his right hand and cocked it. Then he opened the back door inch by inch to avoid the squeak. Through the screen he heard the voices, and it sounded like they were close by. There was no time to call for backup. In seconds they would be at the porch doing God only knew what. Sam moved outside and down the three steps to the flagstone path that led to the barn. His boots were silent on the material, so he had some surprise on his side. Someone broke into the barn, because he heard the cows mooing and making noises like someone was agitating them. He heard a low grumbling noise and turned his attention to the source.
Behind him, a large truck backed up the drive and stopped at the end of the lane. At the same time, the wide barn door slid aside and two of the shadowed men led two cows each to the plank that someone laid out for them to load onto the truck.
"Hey, what are you doing," Sam called out to them.
The light above kept the faces in shadow, but the two men stopped and stared at him.
Sam held up the shotgun and leveled it at them. "Put those cows back, now. Nobody's stealing our herd."
Like a move out of high school football, a large body came from the shadows and tackled Sam with such force, he felt like he couldn't breathe for a few moments. The assailant got in a good punch to his face, but Sam brought up the butt of the shotgun and slammed it into the attacker's nose. He fell back, clutching it. Sam scrambled to his feet, but he didn't have time to raise his weapon to fire on another attacker. Suddenly there were two, and one wrestled the gun away from him. Another grabbed him from behind, his arms squeezing Sam so hard, he saw stars. He gasped when Roger came forward and threw everything he had into a fist that connected with Sam's midsection, causing him to bend over. A knee came up and knocked him back upright.
Sam tasted blood in his mouth, but that didn't matter. He had to get free before Roger beat the life out of him. He raised a foot and pushed it into Roger's chest. It wasn't easy to move that much weight with his balance thrown off. He and the man who still held onto him went down to the ground. Sam rolled away the second the arms lost their grip. He got to his knees and recognized the face in the light. It was Tommy Tobenheim, an old friend of his. From what Sam learned, his family was one of the first to fall to MiFarm. Distracted for a moment, Roger kicked Sam in the side and he collapsed on the ground.
"Come on, boys, get him."
The pain was excruciating, but Sam used his training to rise above it. He got up on his hands, trying to stand, but there were men standing all around him, cutting off the light, his means of defense, and his chance to escape. Something pricked him in the neck. He tried to get away, but the damage had already been done. With the way his pulse was racing, it only took a few seconds for his muscles to relax and give up control. Sam collapsed in an involuntary heap on the ground.
"Get him up, tie him up real good, and let's finish this once and for all."
Sam saw the rage in Roger's eyes, even though he couldn't focus very well. Several pairs of hands picked him up and the sight bled into darkness as they carried him away.
Michael tried to call Sam again while Fiona drove. "He's not picking up, Fi. Something happened. I just know it."
She glanced at him a moment, then ground out between her teeth. "Well, try to control yourself until we get there."
He shook his head. "We never should have left him alone. That was crazy. We should have had Jesse come along on this one..."
"Second guessing isn't going to help, Michael." A large truck passed them in the other direction going way too fast and almost forced her off the road. "Did you see that? What the... who does he think he is?"
"Fi, we're here!"
She jammed on the brakes and turned the wheel sharply, and she almost missed the driveway and wound up in the culvert. The gravel popped under the speeding tires and she came to a jolting stop in the yard. A few men in black moved around the barns.
"What are they doing?"
"I don't know, Fi. Are you armed?" He looked at her.
She let out a short sound. "Do you really have to ask?" She held up her gun.
"Okay, let's do this on three. One..."
Fiona was out the door and running toward the barn. "Stop that!"
The figure got up and stared at her, then saw Michael. He took off running. The two followed him and ran through the space between the two barns. Neither of them suspected that others were waiting. Michael dropped to his knees like he'd run into a tree, but it was in fact a two by four that took him down. Fiona screamed as someone bigger and stronger grabbed her. She kicked at the one who took her legs and struggled to tie them together.
"She's not going to let you do that, you dummy." Roger came out with a hard right that smashed into Fiona's face and snapped her head back, causing her to lose consciousness. "There, that's better. Now get those two into the storeroom. We've got more work to do."
Michael heard the voices outside, with Roger's the loudest of all. He barked orders for them to hurry up and soak it. That could only mean one thing in Michael's mind. He forced his eyes open and his mind to clear. It was dark wherever they were. He was tied up.
"Fi? Fi, are you here?"
He was rewarded with a soft moan, and a few moments later she answered in a thick voice. "I'm here, Michael. Sam's right next to me."
"Is he okay?"
"I don't know. I'm tied up, and I can't check on him." Her clothing rustled as she attempted to sit up. With one good gasp and a grunt, she made it. "Where are you?" She hitched herself backwards across the concrete floor and bumped into something warm. "Well, looks like I found you. Can you sit up?"
"Yes." He sat up and with some effort turned around so he was back to back with Fiona. Together they worked on untying the ropes that held them. "Lucky for us they didn't use zip ties."
"Oh, I have a solution for that in my bracelet," Fiona said with a bit of trouble in her tone. "Okay, I'm almost loose. How about you?"
"Yeah, I'm done." He reached down and untied his ankles. Fiona did the same. Then he jumped to his feet and felt for the door. "It's locked from the outside."
"Figures. Do you hear that? And smell that?"
"Crap. They're burning the barns." He patted the edge of the door at the frame, hoping for a weak spot that they could exploit. There was nothing. The barns were built as solidly as the house, apparently, and kept in good condition for so many years. That was one of the reasons the Fraser farm was so in demand.
"Michael, we've got to get out of here. I wish I had a little C4 or some det cord. We'd be out of here in no time."
"But we don't have any of that." Michael felt the wall. It was still cool, but the outside wall was warm. "They must have dropped accelerant all along the perimeter and set it on fire. We've got to break down the door." Michael stepped back, took a couple of running steps, and launched his legs at the door. It moved, but popped back into place. "Okay, if we both do that, we might get out. Come on, Fi. This time don't jump the gun. On three. One... two... three."
Together they kicked at the door and heard a crack. Two more times they tried and heard more cracking and splitting. On the fourth try, the door split in the center. Michael pushed at the pieces until they fully separated.
"How's Sam?" He was out of breath from the exertion and the lack of oxygen. As each minute passed, they had less of it.
Fiona knelt on the floor beside him, unbinding his hands and feet. "He's still out, Michael. I don't know what they did to him, but..."
"Don't worry, we'll get him out of here."