Part Twenty-Six
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1840 Local
Harm looked at Trask for a moment, "It might save time if you'll tell me what you know about Koslov. I'm pretty sure I know what his game is but you're an astute man, I'd like to know what you've figured out. I should be able to confirm or deny your suspicions." He steepled his fingers, "And, of course, we need to discuss price."
Trask stared and then, shaking a finger at him, laughed, "I knew you were a clever man, Commander, the moment I laid eyes on you." He rubbed his chin and continued to chuckle softly, "I suppose we should discuss price first. I assume you would prefer not to die?"
Harm smiled slightly, "Don't we all? ... And I'd like you to release Lt. Singer."
Trask narrowed his gaze, "I'm sure you're aware of how foolhardy a request that is, Mr. Rabb. The government, in its infinite wisdom, thinks of this militia as a sort of southern men's club. We're just a bunch of illiterate rednecks pretending to be soldiers so we can gather to talk about guns and drink beer. I have no intention of disabusing them of that notion."
Harm was annoyed with himself. He'd actually done what Jeff Foxworthy had meant as a joke, automatically dropped the Reverend's IQ 100 points because of the southern accent. He began to suspect this man was smarter than Koslov and infinitely more dangerous. At the same time, he could feel the adrenalin start to kick in. This could have all the aspects of a dogfight... minus the fun flying stuff. "Releasing the Lieutenant won't change that."
The Reverend just raised his eyebrows in silent invitation.
With an easy smile, Harm said, "The Lieutenant won't go to the authorities because the only one who'd get hurt would be her. And I can assure you, her survival instinct is too finely honed to allow that."
Trask drummed his fingers on the table, "You're asking me to believe that after kidnapping Lt. Singer and the unfortunate Col. MacKenzie and capturing yourself, that it would be the Lieutenant in trouble with the authoritiies? I'm not sure if I should be laughing or insulted."
"Ahhh, but technically, it was Koslov who engineered the kidnapping." Harm's expression hardened and he said softly, "And I owe him for Colonel MacKenzie." On this one point, Harm wasn't acting. He owed that son of a bitch for every ache and pain Mac had gone through.
The Reverend watched the ice form in the Commander's eyes and suppressed an involuntary shiver. He'd do well to remember that Rabb could be a deadly adversary. "Go on," he said calmly.
Harm forcibly dragged himself back to the matter at hand. He looked at Trask, "It could be argued, sir, that your militia rescued us from Koslov's men and kept us here in order to protect us. Still are protecting us, for that matter, while we continue our investigation into Captain Koslov and his treasonous activities. Should Lt. Singer prove difficult, I can contradict her on every point and bring up her collaboration with the Captain before you rescued us. She'd wind up in Leavenworth and she knows it. I don't think she'll be a problem."
Trask stared up at the ceiling while he thought everything over. What the Commander was suggesting was certainly plausible. It would take the militia off the hook and lay the blame squarely at Koslov's feet. That in itself was attractive. Rabb needn't know the extent of his plans for the militia, Koslov or the JAG officers. He lowered his gaze, "We have a deal."
Near Bethel
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest
1940 Local
Liston glared at the older man, " 'Where we are' is you and your... boy getting back in your overpriced yuppie mobile and getting the hell out of here." He hated these rich corporate types. Damn worthless at anything except shafting the little guys and raking in the dough. Just once, he'd like to drop one of these guys in the middle of nowhere and watch them panic. He stopped suddenly and thought about it for a moment ... why not? Why the hell not? Slowly he began to grin as he brought his rifle to bear on the two men once again.
"Budge?" Thomason said nervously. He didn't like it when Liston got this way. Inevitably, there'd be hell to pay, one way or another. "What's got into you?"
"Relax Del," Liston said. "I've been feeling sorry for Mr. Corporate Bigshot here. And I think I know just the thing to make his day."
AJ and Walters stood perfectly still watching the rifle swing back and forth between them. They were both too far away to make a try for it. All they could do was wait. AJ swore under his breath, of all the times to run into some nutcase. He scowled at the militia men, "What the hell is going on?"
Liston's grin faded, "Watch your mouth, old man, or I just might shove this gun barrel down it." He heard Tinker shift behind him, "Relax, Tinker. I'm not planning on killing them. Just the opposite, I'm gonna give 'em what they want: a couple of days getting away from it all. Don't that sound nice, Mr. Bigshot?"
"What are you talking about, Budge?" Thomason stared at his friend. "We're gonna get in trouble."
"Us? Why would we get in trouble just 'cos some city boys snuck past us and got lost?" He looked at Del, "Get the rope outta the jeep." Liston looked back, "Empty your pockets. We wouldn't want any contraband going along. Tinker, go collect the stuff, make sure they haven't forgotten anything."
AJ's eyes narrowed when he heard the big man's name. Could this be Tyler's Corporal Bell?
Tink ambled forward, he still wasn't sure who these two were. Hearing Tyler's name during the phone conversation had made him hope that they were here to help. Of course, it was about to become moot, and all because Liston had got a wild hair. He reached the older man first. When Tink heard him murmur, 'Corporal Bell?' he froze for a split second. Then he continued to pat AJ down, took his wallet and cellphone and moved over to Walters. Repeating the procedure, he turned around and looked at Liston, "This one's got a pocketknife."
Liston smiled, "I'm feeling generous today, he can keep the knife. Get rid of the phone." As he started to look over to Del, Tink drew back and threw the cellphone and the wallets as far as he could into the woods. Liston whirled back, "You Idiot! What did you do that for?!"
Tink looked at him blankly, "You said get rid of it."
"The cellphone, you stupid lump! Not the wallets!" He looked upward in frustration, "Why the hell did I ever get saddled with someone like you?"
Tink hung his head, decided scuffling his feet would be overplaying it, and said morosely, "I'm sorry."
Liston sighed, the big jerk had no more brains than a rock, "Never mind, get the rope from Del and tie their hands. It only has to hold for an hour or so. Oh, and find something to blindfold them." He grinned at AJ and Walters, "No fair peeking on the way to your new location."
After their hands were tied, Liston herded them over to the jeep, "Get in. One in front, one in back." When they were sitting, he looked at Del, "Go ahead and blindfold them." Glancing at Tink, he said, "Wait here and keep an eye on things 'til we get back. Can you do that?"
Tink looked unhappy, "Can't I come along?"
"Sorry, no room on this trip. You'll be fine, just wait." Liston nodded to Del, "Let's go."
Tink watched them leave and swore quietly to himself. Then he went over to the SUV to make sure there was no evidence of their real identities. If Liston found out they were military, he'd go back and kill them.
Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
2005 Local
Perez slowly opened his eyes and carefully took in his surroundings. For the life of him, he couldn't quite remember where he was. Then he saw Tyler hunched over a small campfire and the memories came flooding back. Raising himself to his elbows, he stifled a moan - he couldn't remember the last time he'd been this stiff and sore. He glanced over at the Colonel and then pushed himself more upright for a closer look. Damn, she was still out of it, but he couldn't tell if she was sleeping or unconscious. Cautiously, he reached out to put a hand on her forehead. If she was just sleeping, he might get the same reaction that Tyler had gotten. A couple moments later, he swore softly. She was hot enough to fry an egg. He looked over to see Tyler watching him. "Ensign, you wouldn't happen to have a flashlight and maybe a first aid kit handy, would you?"
Tyler nodded, reached behind to grab the backpack and came over to kneel next to the Captain, "The Colonel's sick?"
"She's running a fever." Perez was annoyed with himself. He should have kept a more careful eye on her, although there was little he could have done. No doubt the very reason the Colonel didn't say anything either. "Hold the light for me Tyler." He unzipped the windbreaker and pulled it open. He heard Tyler inhale as he grimly surveyed the mess. The makeshift bandages around her ribs had loosened a bit, stretched by sweat, blood and gore. Pulling the scissors out of the first aid kit, he began cutting. A minute later, he gingerly dropped the last of the bandages to the side and took his first good look at the slash in her side. It wasn't deep but it was obviously infected. The area surrounding the wound was red and angry-looking, the slash itself looked raw and weepy. Perez looked over at Tyler, "I don't suppose we have anything to disinfect this, do we?"
The ensign shook his head, "Not nearly enough." He poked through the kit, "Maybe half a dozen of these little packets of antibiotic cream."
"It's better than nothing," Perez said, "Which is what we had before." He worked steadily for several minutes and then sat back on his heels. "Well, that's the best I can do for now. Hopefully, it will help." He looked at Tyler, "There's aspirin in there?" When the young man nodded, he said, "Maybe when she wakes up, we can get some down her for the fever." He picked up the old bandages and went over to the spring. Moving a little downstream, he stuck them in and weighted them down with rocks. When he finished with those, he scrubbed at his own hands.
Tyler gestured towards the campfire, "Sir, why don't you eat? There's rabbit on the spit and watercress and some other greens on that slab of bark next to the fire. I'll keep an eye on the Colonel and let you know when she's awake."
Perez was suddenly aware he was ravenous, he grinned over at Tyler as he settled by the fire, "Keep this up, Ensign, and I'll have to make you a Marine."
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
2045 Local
AJ pushed himself upright, pulled the blindfold down and looked around. He decided he could have left the blindfold on, there wasn't much to see in the dark. Of all the stupid things that could have happened, this had to top the list. Gingerly, he tested all his limbs and decided he'd been lucky. That jackass had literally kicked him out of the moving jeep and down an embankment. He hadn't been able to stop himself until he'd crashed sideways into a tree. He could have easily hit headfirst and then he wouldn't have had the luxury of calling that misanthropic moron every expletive in the book. He could live with the bruises.
AJ had no idea where he was, they had turned and looped for at least an hour. He could be 500 yards from the SUV or 500 miles. Worse, he had no idea which direction the militia camp now lay. He surveyed the area again, there was no sign of the Gunny either. Obviously, part of the fun was to separate them. On the good news side, it wouldn't take long to free his wrists. Tinker had tied them just tight enough to pass inspection. And he hadn't bothered to let Liston know that both Dubby and AJ were armed. Each had a 9mm in a skeleton holster attached to their waistbands and hidden under their windbreakers. AJ couldn't help chuckling to himself, so that was Tinker Bell. Tyler didn't do him justice... oh dammit! Tyler! He was going to miss his call, if he hadn't already. Son of a bitch! AJ sat and fumed for a few more minutes and then sighed. There was nothing he could do until morning and there was no point in wasting energy about something he had no control over. He'd settle in for the night and get started as soon as it was light enough to see.
Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
1840 Local
Harm looked at Trask for a moment, "It might save time if you'll tell me what you know about Koslov. I'm pretty sure I know what his game is but you're an astute man, I'd like to know what you've figured out. I should be able to confirm or deny your suspicions." He steepled his fingers, "And, of course, we need to discuss price."
Trask stared and then, shaking a finger at him, laughed, "I knew you were a clever man, Commander, the moment I laid eyes on you." He rubbed his chin and continued to chuckle softly, "I suppose we should discuss price first. I assume you would prefer not to die?"
Harm smiled slightly, "Don't we all? ... And I'd like you to release Lt. Singer."
Trask narrowed his gaze, "I'm sure you're aware of how foolhardy a request that is, Mr. Rabb. The government, in its infinite wisdom, thinks of this militia as a sort of southern men's club. We're just a bunch of illiterate rednecks pretending to be soldiers so we can gather to talk about guns and drink beer. I have no intention of disabusing them of that notion."
Harm was annoyed with himself. He'd actually done what Jeff Foxworthy had meant as a joke, automatically dropped the Reverend's IQ 100 points because of the southern accent. He began to suspect this man was smarter than Koslov and infinitely more dangerous. At the same time, he could feel the adrenalin start to kick in. This could have all the aspects of a dogfight... minus the fun flying stuff. "Releasing the Lieutenant won't change that."
The Reverend just raised his eyebrows in silent invitation.
With an easy smile, Harm said, "The Lieutenant won't go to the authorities because the only one who'd get hurt would be her. And I can assure you, her survival instinct is too finely honed to allow that."
Trask drummed his fingers on the table, "You're asking me to believe that after kidnapping Lt. Singer and the unfortunate Col. MacKenzie and capturing yourself, that it would be the Lieutenant in trouble with the authoritiies? I'm not sure if I should be laughing or insulted."
"Ahhh, but technically, it was Koslov who engineered the kidnapping." Harm's expression hardened and he said softly, "And I owe him for Colonel MacKenzie." On this one point, Harm wasn't acting. He owed that son of a bitch for every ache and pain Mac had gone through.
The Reverend watched the ice form in the Commander's eyes and suppressed an involuntary shiver. He'd do well to remember that Rabb could be a deadly adversary. "Go on," he said calmly.
Harm forcibly dragged himself back to the matter at hand. He looked at Trask, "It could be argued, sir, that your militia rescued us from Koslov's men and kept us here in order to protect us. Still are protecting us, for that matter, while we continue our investigation into Captain Koslov and his treasonous activities. Should Lt. Singer prove difficult, I can contradict her on every point and bring up her collaboration with the Captain before you rescued us. She'd wind up in Leavenworth and she knows it. I don't think she'll be a problem."
Trask stared up at the ceiling while he thought everything over. What the Commander was suggesting was certainly plausible. It would take the militia off the hook and lay the blame squarely at Koslov's feet. That in itself was attractive. Rabb needn't know the extent of his plans for the militia, Koslov or the JAG officers. He lowered his gaze, "We have a deal."
Near Bethel
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest
1940 Local
Liston glared at the older man, " 'Where we are' is you and your... boy getting back in your overpriced yuppie mobile and getting the hell out of here." He hated these rich corporate types. Damn worthless at anything except shafting the little guys and raking in the dough. Just once, he'd like to drop one of these guys in the middle of nowhere and watch them panic. He stopped suddenly and thought about it for a moment ... why not? Why the hell not? Slowly he began to grin as he brought his rifle to bear on the two men once again.
"Budge?" Thomason said nervously. He didn't like it when Liston got this way. Inevitably, there'd be hell to pay, one way or another. "What's got into you?"
"Relax Del," Liston said. "I've been feeling sorry for Mr. Corporate Bigshot here. And I think I know just the thing to make his day."
AJ and Walters stood perfectly still watching the rifle swing back and forth between them. They were both too far away to make a try for it. All they could do was wait. AJ swore under his breath, of all the times to run into some nutcase. He scowled at the militia men, "What the hell is going on?"
Liston's grin faded, "Watch your mouth, old man, or I just might shove this gun barrel down it." He heard Tinker shift behind him, "Relax, Tinker. I'm not planning on killing them. Just the opposite, I'm gonna give 'em what they want: a couple of days getting away from it all. Don't that sound nice, Mr. Bigshot?"
"What are you talking about, Budge?" Thomason stared at his friend. "We're gonna get in trouble."
"Us? Why would we get in trouble just 'cos some city boys snuck past us and got lost?" He looked at Del, "Get the rope outta the jeep." Liston looked back, "Empty your pockets. We wouldn't want any contraband going along. Tinker, go collect the stuff, make sure they haven't forgotten anything."
AJ's eyes narrowed when he heard the big man's name. Could this be Tyler's Corporal Bell?
Tink ambled forward, he still wasn't sure who these two were. Hearing Tyler's name during the phone conversation had made him hope that they were here to help. Of course, it was about to become moot, and all because Liston had got a wild hair. He reached the older man first. When Tink heard him murmur, 'Corporal Bell?' he froze for a split second. Then he continued to pat AJ down, took his wallet and cellphone and moved over to Walters. Repeating the procedure, he turned around and looked at Liston, "This one's got a pocketknife."
Liston smiled, "I'm feeling generous today, he can keep the knife. Get rid of the phone." As he started to look over to Del, Tink drew back and threw the cellphone and the wallets as far as he could into the woods. Liston whirled back, "You Idiot! What did you do that for?!"
Tink looked at him blankly, "You said get rid of it."
"The cellphone, you stupid lump! Not the wallets!" He looked upward in frustration, "Why the hell did I ever get saddled with someone like you?"
Tink hung his head, decided scuffling his feet would be overplaying it, and said morosely, "I'm sorry."
Liston sighed, the big jerk had no more brains than a rock, "Never mind, get the rope from Del and tie their hands. It only has to hold for an hour or so. Oh, and find something to blindfold them." He grinned at AJ and Walters, "No fair peeking on the way to your new location."
After their hands were tied, Liston herded them over to the jeep, "Get in. One in front, one in back." When they were sitting, he looked at Del, "Go ahead and blindfold them." Glancing at Tink, he said, "Wait here and keep an eye on things 'til we get back. Can you do that?"
Tink looked unhappy, "Can't I come along?"
"Sorry, no room on this trip. You'll be fine, just wait." Liston nodded to Del, "Let's go."
Tink watched them leave and swore quietly to himself. Then he went over to the SUV to make sure there was no evidence of their real identities. If Liston found out they were military, he'd go back and kill them.
Vicinity of Militia Camp
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
2005 Local
Perez slowly opened his eyes and carefully took in his surroundings. For the life of him, he couldn't quite remember where he was. Then he saw Tyler hunched over a small campfire and the memories came flooding back. Raising himself to his elbows, he stifled a moan - he couldn't remember the last time he'd been this stiff and sore. He glanced over at the Colonel and then pushed himself more upright for a closer look. Damn, she was still out of it, but he couldn't tell if she was sleeping or unconscious. Cautiously, he reached out to put a hand on her forehead. If she was just sleeping, he might get the same reaction that Tyler had gotten. A couple moments later, he swore softly. She was hot enough to fry an egg. He looked over to see Tyler watching him. "Ensign, you wouldn't happen to have a flashlight and maybe a first aid kit handy, would you?"
Tyler nodded, reached behind to grab the backpack and came over to kneel next to the Captain, "The Colonel's sick?"
"She's running a fever." Perez was annoyed with himself. He should have kept a more careful eye on her, although there was little he could have done. No doubt the very reason the Colonel didn't say anything either. "Hold the light for me Tyler." He unzipped the windbreaker and pulled it open. He heard Tyler inhale as he grimly surveyed the mess. The makeshift bandages around her ribs had loosened a bit, stretched by sweat, blood and gore. Pulling the scissors out of the first aid kit, he began cutting. A minute later, he gingerly dropped the last of the bandages to the side and took his first good look at the slash in her side. It wasn't deep but it was obviously infected. The area surrounding the wound was red and angry-looking, the slash itself looked raw and weepy. Perez looked over at Tyler, "I don't suppose we have anything to disinfect this, do we?"
The ensign shook his head, "Not nearly enough." He poked through the kit, "Maybe half a dozen of these little packets of antibiotic cream."
"It's better than nothing," Perez said, "Which is what we had before." He worked steadily for several minutes and then sat back on his heels. "Well, that's the best I can do for now. Hopefully, it will help." He looked at Tyler, "There's aspirin in there?" When the young man nodded, he said, "Maybe when she wakes up, we can get some down her for the fever." He picked up the old bandages and went over to the spring. Moving a little downstream, he stuck them in and weighted them down with rocks. When he finished with those, he scrubbed at his own hands.
Tyler gestured towards the campfire, "Sir, why don't you eat? There's rabbit on the spit and watercress and some other greens on that slab of bark next to the fire. I'll keep an eye on the Colonel and let you know when she's awake."
Perez was suddenly aware he was ravenous, he grinned over at Tyler as he settled by the fire, "Keep this up, Ensign, and I'll have to make you a Marine."
Holly Springs Nat'l. Forest, MS
2045 Local
AJ pushed himself upright, pulled the blindfold down and looked around. He decided he could have left the blindfold on, there wasn't much to see in the dark. Of all the stupid things that could have happened, this had to top the list. Gingerly, he tested all his limbs and decided he'd been lucky. That jackass had literally kicked him out of the moving jeep and down an embankment. He hadn't been able to stop himself until he'd crashed sideways into a tree. He could have easily hit headfirst and then he wouldn't have had the luxury of calling that misanthropic moron every expletive in the book. He could live with the bruises.
AJ had no idea where he was, they had turned and looped for at least an hour. He could be 500 yards from the SUV or 500 miles. Worse, he had no idea which direction the militia camp now lay. He surveyed the area again, there was no sign of the Gunny either. Obviously, part of the fun was to separate them. On the good news side, it wouldn't take long to free his wrists. Tinker had tied them just tight enough to pass inspection. And he hadn't bothered to let Liston know that both Dubby and AJ were armed. Each had a 9mm in a skeleton holster attached to their waistbands and hidden under their windbreakers. AJ couldn't help chuckling to himself, so that was Tinker Bell. Tyler didn't do him justice... oh dammit! Tyler! He was going to miss his call, if he hadn't already. Son of a bitch! AJ sat and fumed for a few more minutes and then sighed. There was nothing he could do until morning and there was no point in wasting energy about something he had no control over. He'd settle in for the night and get started as soon as it was light enough to see.
