Chapter 11

While Michael and Fiona struggled to escape the conflagration, their captors fled the scene. Roger pealed southbound into the night towards home and passed a sheriff's deputy heading north on the county road. He stopped, radioed that he was about to pursue a vehicle, then turned into a driveway to change directions. It was then that he saw the flames licking at the barn.

"Correction. I'm at N2109 County Road C, and there are two dairy barns on fire. Dispatch the fire department immediately."

"Dispatching fire."

"Remaining at the scene." He pulled into the parking area and got on his cell phone. When the caller answered, he said, "Hey Erik, it's Steve. You asked me to call if anything happened, well, it happened. I'm at the Fraser farm, and both their barns are on fire."

"Oh crap. Where's Sam?"

"I don't know, I don't see anybody. These barns are going up fast."

"I was supposed to follow Sam's friends back to the farm, but I got sidetracked with an incident at the festival. Now the beepers are going off all over the place. All the volunteers are getting called, so they'll be out there in no time. I'm on my way."

"Okay, see you soon." Steve got out of his unit and watched from a safe distance. The flames built at such a fast rate, he could see the whole yard and the details on his uniform. He shook his head. Such a shame that another farm had to fall victim to the corporation. He hoped he wouldn't have to be around for the hideous sound of cows bellowing in terror when the fire got inside and licked at the hay and burned them up. He was more than a little surprised that he didn't hear anything yet.

Sirens shrieked in the distance and got louder by the second. A couple of engines turned in and raced up the driveway, and they got as close to the barns as they could. Pickup trucks veered off and parked on the grass behind them. Men got out of the trucks and put on their gear as they hurried toward the barns. Steve had never seen so many firefighters turn out for one emergency.

Dale Dietrich, who served as fire chief, approached the deputy. "Steve, did you see anyone around? Elise says that Michael and Fiona Fraser should be around here somewhere, and Sam Axe. She's already checked the house and they're not inside."

Steve shook his head. "Nope. Haven't seen anyone come out."

Dale put the walkie talkie up to his lips. "I want a line sent to the milking barn with two rescuers, now." From the looks of the other barn, if anyone was inside, they wouldn't be alive for long, if they hadn't yet succumbed to the smoke and flames.

"Rescue one going in." Two firefighters hauled their line to the left of the pumper truck and began spraying the entryway, and the rescue team waited for the signal that it was safe to enter. The fire had already eaten up the old wood sliding door, and the dry grass around it burned along with the wood above the door. When the flames were knocked down enough for them to safely enter, the two firefighters ran inside.

A voice crackled over the radio. "Rescue team one, need rescue team two, over."

"Rescue team two, assist rescue one." Dale ordered.

Another team ran for the entrance and went into the dark and smoky interior. Everyone did their job trying to control the fires. With the age of the buildings, there was no way they could save them. It was simply a matter of preventing the fire from getting out of control. Dale knew how many cows the Frasers had. That was going to be a lot of barbecued beef. He was more than a little surprised that he didn't hear the sounds of dying cattle, but the flames and the hiss of water could have overpowered such a gruesome sound. Besides, he was too concerned about his men and what they found in the milking barn.

The four men came out one after another. One his strongest men carried one man over his shoulder. Another carried Fiona in his arms, and a third had Sam over his shoulder. The fourth man followed behind them. An ambulance had arrived and parked off to the side, and all three victims were deposited on the ground near it. He saw Elise and Erik rush over to them, with Nick and Betty following and standing over in the shadows with concerned looks. He approached his men.

"Report."

"The inside was starting to become fully involved when we found them. It looked like they were locked in a storage room, but they escaped. They didn't get any farther." The firefighter took a breath. "They were all unconscious when we found them."

"Good job. Any burns?"

"Can't tell. We were more concerned with just getting them out."

"Thanks. You guys did a great job. Just like we practiced." He smiled at them. The four were relatively new on the volunteer squad, and this was their first real rescue. "After this, you all deserve a beer."

"Thanks, Sir. On you?" One of the men winked.

"Don't push your luck, Bobby."

Bright lights drilled through Michael's closed eyelids, and he opened them in fluttering increments. Someone was speaking to him, but they had the name wrong. It was Westen, not Fraser. Then he remembered his cover and closed his eyes again. Correcting the speaker could have been a huge mistake.

"He's out again. I don't think we'll be getting anything out of him for awhile."

"How's his wife doing?"

"She's been awake for awhile. We're giving her oxygen and she's bouncing back just fine."

"How's Sam?"

Michael was awake, but he listened to the conversation between the doctor and Erik. He pretended to be oblivious hoping to hear something that they wouldn't be as likely to share with him if he was conscious.

"He's got some kind of sedative in his system. We're running blood tests right now to see if we can identify it. Whatever it is, it really put him out."

"Is he in any danger?"

"No. We're monitoring his vitals constantly, but nothing is out of the ordinary outside of the effects from the smoke inhalation. He's going to be okay, Erik. Most likely he'll just sleep off whatever those guys shot him up with and he'll be fine. Not counting, of course, the beating he took."

"Thanks, Doc."

Footsteps diminished, but Michael felt a presence nearby and he heard breathing that wasn't his own. Michael opened his eyes and found Erik at his side. Before the man could acknowledge him, they heard Elise's voice.

"Erik, where's Sam? Are they okay?"

Erik turned to her and Michael watched as he grasped her arms gently. "They'll be okay, and so will Sam. They've got Sam in ICU just as a precaution."

"Oh no!" Elise's eyes watered and her face registered her alarm. Surprisingly, Erik took her into his arms and pressed her close. Her arms circled around him as he held her.

"It's okay, Elise. The doctor said he'll probably just sleep off what those guys gave him."

"Do they know that for sure?" She sniffled and ran the back of one hand across her eyes.

"They're running tests right now, but everything they're monitoring looks good. So don't worry, hon, it'll be fine."

Michael saw the surprise in her eyes when he used that term of endearment. Instead of saying something in protest, however, she simply returned to the warmth of his arms and let him comfort her. Erik said something he couldn't hear, and then the two turned to his bedside.

"Michael? How are you?" Elise gave him a sweet smile.

"I'm... okay." He didn't expect his voice to sound so rough. "My mom's house is smokier than that barn was." He coughed so hard, his chest hurt when he fell back against the pillows. He gasped for a breath.

"Maybe they better put you back on that oxygen," Erik said with his brows knit in concern.

"No, I'm fine. Where's Fi?" He coughed again.

"Right over here," Erik inclined his head to his right.

Michael saw Fiona in the bed next to him. She stirred, coughed, and turned her head toward Michael, but she didn't open her eyes.

"She must be sleeping," Elise said in a whisper, and she got closer to his bed. With a wry twist of her lips, she added, "Which is what you should be doing, Michael!"

"Yeah, right. We need to get on this..." He made a move to sit up, but Erik held him back.

"No, there's no need. Roger and his friends really did it this time. They left evidence behind that points to them. A trooper caught two truckloads of cows on the freeway heading north, and a whole bunch of state police stopped them."

"They were our cows, Michael. They stole them and then burned the barns." Elise tried to keep her voice low for Fiona's sake.

"The men driving the trucks were from MiFarm. Word is the FBI is sending agents up from Detroit to interview them. If they're smart, they'll make a deal and sing. Montgomery and his company are going down, and we've all got you and Fiona and Sam to thank. If you all hadn't come in here stirring things up, no one would have been the wiser about what was going on."

"We've still got work to do," Michael said. "Montgomery will bolt when he gets wind of this."

"Maybe. Maybe he'll just go underground for a little while. The state cops are looking for him and Roger. He would be a key if they can get him to talk."

"Agreed. Until then, we've gotta get out of here."

"No way. You're staying overnight at least, and if I have to stand here the rest of the night to make sure you stay, I will."

Michael stared at the intensity in Erik's eyes, and he believed he would do what he said. "Okay. Only for tonight."

"Good. Now close your eyes and get some rest."

The next morning Michael awoke to find Fiona conscious in the bed beside his. Not long after, they ate breakfast and got the green light to leave. Betty and Nick arrived with Elise and brought clean clothes for them. All the while, he thought about Sam.

"Does anyone know anything about Sam's condition?"

"That boy got beat up real good," Nick said, "And they gave him some sort of knock out stuff, but like when he was a kid, he's resilient. He'll recover just fine. We stopped in his room before we came to see you. They kept him in the ICU for a few hours last night, but then they put him in his own room. He's already up."

"Moving kind of slow," Betty added with a sheepish smile. "But he's up and around, changing. You two need to get dressed too, so we can get you home."

Fiona and Michael rode with Nick and Betty in Elise's car, and Elise drove Sam's truck, despite his protests. She put her foot down, insisting he wasn't healthy enough to drive on his own. She didn't like her father driving, but he did just fine as she drove behind him. When the three left for the hospital that morning it was still dark outside, so none of them had seen the damage from the night before. The car and truck pulled into the parking area, and everyone got out to assess the scene.

Seeing beyond the charred piles where the barns used to be was too strange. Something stuck in Sam's throat as his eyes roved over the scene and he felt his family's loss as if it was his own. Steam rose into the air from parts that still smoldered. No doubt he and Mike would have to get out and hose it down now and then to avoid a flare up.

"It looks..." Elise couldn't even put words to what it looked like. "I've never seen anything like this before. No one had a barn burn down like this!"

Sam put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder. "Just be glad the cows are okay. Erik came to the hospital this morning and said they've got room at their farm to keep them until the barn is rebuilt, and they'll get well taken care of over there."

"Thank God. It's going to take a lot of work to rebuild."

"Don't worry, Elise." He looked down at her glossy eyes. "I'll stick around and help. I promise." He could see that she doubted him, but he would prove his words were genuine. He turned to Michael. "Mike, you and Fi can go home, but I'm staying until this is all cleaned up and we've raised two new barns."

"This isn't over."

Sam knew how stubborn Michael could be, but he and Fi really should go back to Miami. Their work was done. "Once the Feds stick their noses in this, and we get them up to speed on our intel, there's really not much they'll let us do."

"Are they here yet, because I sure don't see any suits hanging around." Michael stood with his arms crossed in front of him, his eyes behind his sunglasses staring at the debris field. "Until we have Montgomery, we're not going anywhere."

"Well, I should probably go inside and get some coffee going," Betty said. She sensed a storm brewing between the two men, and in her experience, when Samuel got angry, it was better to let him handle things on his own. So she turned toward the house. "I'll get some lunch together for everyone, and then there's work to be done."

"I'll help you out, darling," Nick said as he followed, his eyes locked on the charred mess. He shook his head, his lips pursed to hold back his emotions, and he stepped up to the back door. Wordlessly, he followed Betty inside.

"This is devastating," Elise said.

"Elise, I don't want you to think I'm being cold, but, this is far from devastating. Mike and Fi and I, we've seen worse things and we've come out of it okay. The farm, and your family, will make it through this. Don't worry." He pulled her to his side and winced at the pain it caused him, but he did it anyway. She held onto him like he was her life preserver. Sam kissed the top of her head and let her go into the house with her parents.

"Nice job, Sam." The family interaction was a nice distraction to diffuse the tension.

"Yeah, well, I don't know how well it worked." Sam shrugged and discovered that even that hurt. "I need to go get something for this pain. I'll be out in a minute, and we better start throwing some more water on that barn."

Michael nodded in agreement. He and Fiona watched Sam walk away with slow, careful steps. "He's really hurting, Michael, and I don't think it's all about his body."

"I know. That's why we're not leaving until we get the MiFarm Corporation and Montgomery busted, and the cleanup and rebuild is underway."

The two heard gravel crunching and turned toward the noise. A black Town Car pulled up the lane and stopped. The man behind the wheel smiled, no, grinned, as he turned off the car and got out. His gray hair was nearly white, but his skin still looked youthful.

"Good morning! You must be Michael Fraser." He held out his hand as he approached. "My name's Christopher Montgomery, and I am the President and CEO of MiFarm."

"We know who you are," Michael replied with a tone as cold as ice.

"Yes, well it's a terrible tragedy that happened here last night. Just terrible." He face showed pity, but his eyes were like a crocodile ready to strike at fresh meat. "I hear the livestock survived, so there's still plenty of value in this farm, and..."

"You bet there is, and once the barns are rebuilt, the Frasers will be up and running again." Michael countered before Montgomery could say any more.

"With Mr. Fraser's health issues, his nephew almost being killed, and no barns, I would think he'd be very interested in selling."

"We were almost killed in that fire, set by your underlings," Fiona said as she took a step toward him, her face a mask of menace that caused him to swallow and consider taking a step back. But he held his ground.

"Yeah, well, you get what I meant." He straightened his tie and made a move to walk around them, but Fiona took a large step into his path. "Do you mind, Miss? You're not even part of this family, so why do you care?"

"Sam is our friend. He is our family. And what happens to his family affects us," Michael said and he joined Fiona to block the man's way to the back door. "You've got a lot of nerve showing up here. You know the police are looking for you."

Montgomery scoffed. "I've already taken care of that. They arrested me and my lawyer took care of my bail. They've got nothing on me to keep me legally, and you can be sure that after this mess is taken care of, I'll be suing the Grunewald Police department for false arrest."

"You may be free now, but you better enjoy it while you can," Michael spoke in a tone that promised danger if the man stood there any longer.

"I had nothing to do with those men stealing the cows and burning down these barns. They were doing this on their own. The truth will come out." He took a step back and stared into Michael's eyes, then Fiona's. "And you can be sure I'll be back to make an offer that Mr. Fraser would be a fool to resist. Good day." He turned on his heel and marched back to his car. He started it, his eyes locked on the two standing in the yard, and he pulled back and out on the street without looking. He was almost t-boned by a passing car, but the driver managed to swerve and avoid a collision and the culvert at the same time.

"The cows being stolen isn't public knowledge. At least not as far as we know," Michael muttered to Fiona after Montgomery drove away.

"We knew he was in on it. That proves it."

Michael turned and strode to the back door, pulled it open and went to the phone on the kitchen wall. He quickly pressed Erik's number. When the chief answered, he asked, "Erik, does everyone in town know that the Fraser cows were stolen?"

"Maybe by now some people do. I can guarantee if a few people know, by the time late church service is over, the whole town will. Why?"

Michael quickly related Montgomery's visit, and Erik's response wasn't something repeatable in church. "I'll let the FBI guys know. They're here in my office right now." His deep sigh resonated over the line. "Mike, you and Fiona have been a great help, Sam too. But this is out of our hands now."

"Erik, there's one thing I know about the FBI, and that's that I don't trust them to get the job done right. We need to work on this ourselves and trap Montgomery."

"But how?"

"I'll work on that this afternoon. Can we meet somewhere later?"

"Yeah, come on out to my house for a barbecue. Bring Sam." He listened to one of the agents and returned his attention to the phone. "Gotta go, Mike. I'll talk to you later."

"Talk to you later, Erik." He hung up the phone and looked at Fiona and Sam. "After lunch, we've gotta work on a plan and put it into action before the Feds get a hold of Montgomery."

"We're all over that, brother."

Elise glanced at her cousin with a raised eyebrow at the word, but when she studied the two she realized that over the past few days she'd seen their relationship up close and personal. They truly were more than best friends. They were like brothers.