QUESTIONS

Chapter 44

Later that evening Adam had escaped to his office, seeking a little peace and quiet. But no more than a half hour later he heard a knock at the door. He sighed then called out, "Come in!"

His eyebrows rose when his father, brothers, and Will trooped in. They remained silent and just stood in a row in front of his desk for a few moments. Adam let them stand there silently, his expression neutral, and waited for one of them to speak first.

"We've been talkin' and were wonderin' if you would answer some questions," Hoss said cautiously, not knowing what kind of mood his older brother was in.

Adam took the time to look at each face and then grinned. He stood and waved the men over to the furniture grouped in front of the fireplace. When everyone else was seated he moved over to a wingback chair and sat down. Placing one ankle on the opposite knee, he smiled and said, "Alright, what do you want to know?"

Joe, of course, was first. "Charlie told me about you snapping that knife blade off the handle when that man was trying to kidnap Alexander. How did you do that?"

Laughing softly Adam shook his head. "First let me tell you that a lot of what I do are tricks and a perfect example is that knife. I picked it up and looked at it first. I could see that it was a cheap knife and not very well taken care of. The tang was very narrow and rusting. Thea could have done it. But I used that to my advantage to un-nerve that man. Luckily, it worked."

His youngest brother was nodding and smiled, now that his curiosity was satisfied. Will spoke up next.

"Joe told me about the papers you gave that deputy and he said it was a federal warrant. Do I really have a warrant out against me?"

"Oh yeah...I forgot about that. Answer a question for me Will. How are you now?"

"Sore as hell."

"Alright, now you don't have to worry about that warrant. The warrant was to bring you in for questioning. You've been questioned by a federal agent and the terms of that warrant have been fulfilled thereby rendering it null and void."

Will smiled and shook his head. "That's all you needed to get me out of there?"

"Well, it helped, but what got you out of there was the fine art of intimidation."

"Ah...I see."

Adam nodded, "Things went very smoothly. We were lucky."

"Could you teach me how to do that?" Joe asked with a grin.

"No Joe. You have to have the right attitude to intimidate someone. It also helps to have the reputation of being able to do what you are implying you will do if they don't cooperate. Everything I was throwing at that deputy was to keep him off balance and you six backing me up had him seriously worried about his physical safety. He folded, that's all there was to it." Then Adam laughed. "You have no idea how thankful I am you were actually there, Will. I was reasonably certain you were, but it would have been horribly embarrassing if you hadn't been!" He smiled when the others laughed, and then he looked at Joe.

"That comment you made to Will about me almost making the deputy wet himself was funny, Joe. I almost laughed out loud."

"Hey, I thought you were sleeping!"

"No, I wasn't asleep."

"But didn't you say you were going to..."

Adam gave him a look that said he was being dense. "Did I? No, you just assumed that." He chuckled, "Have you forgotten already? I just told you that a lot of the things I do are tricks, things that I use to my advantage."

Will broke in, "Just like those things you said to make my temper snap?"

"Correct. Rage will tire you out more quickly than actual physical activity. I played you like a fiddle, Will - it was necessary. For me to get through to you, you had to be both physically and mentally exhausted." He noticed his father giving him a suddenly sharp look, but he didn't respond to it.

"Dang Adam!" Hoss said, looking at his brother almost as though he didn't know him. "How did you learn all that?"

"The hard way, by making mistakes and getting my backside kicked. Plus I never missed an opportunity to listen to the older Pinkerton agents and marshals. Their experiences were fascinating and I learned twice as much from them."

Hoss thought that over for a moment. "Is that how you got to be successful so quick like?"

"Pretty much. Some of my employees were experts in finance. Unfortunately, they usually went to prison for swindles and embezzling. But I listened to their advice on legitimate business deals. I learned a lot from them too."

"But how did you get started?"

"Oh, you mean start up money?"

"Yeah."

Adam quickly glanced at his father then grinned. "Bounty hunting."

"What!" Hoss wasn't the only one who was shocked.

"You heard me," Adam laughed, "bounty hunting."

The other men were silent for a while. "How long did you do that?" Joe asked.

"Actually only once, but Nate and I carted in a whole gang, so the rewards added up nicely."

"Why am I not surprised?" Ben said while shaking his head.

"Well, I wanted a lot of money in a short amount of time and that was the best way to get it."

"Yeah, but how?" Hoss asked.

"We went down south, became members of the gang, knocked them all out with doctored whisky, loaded them into a locked boxcar and shipped them back up north. It was childishly simple, and Nate thought I was completely insane at first, but it worked. That's part of how I met Pinkerton and started working for him, but even though we did a lot of very similar work his 'code' didn't allow any of his people to accept reward money." He paused and yawned. "And that's when we met up with Jerry, Mike, and John. None of them had any family, and I only had Thea at that point so we naturally fell in together."

They all fell silent then, thinking about what they had heard until the clock over the fireplace chimed ten times. Hoss, Will and Joe stood, said "Good night," and filed out of the room. Ben, however, stayed.

Adam stayed in his chair, looking at his father with narrowed eyes, remembering the sharp look he had received from him earlier. "OK Pa, now what do YOU want to know?"

Ben just stared at him for a bit before responding. "It's all about power, isn't it?"

His eldest son's face changed and his eyes lit with a strange light, and his father realized he was looking at a face he hadn't really ever seen before.

"Correct. That is what all of this has been about. I have been at someone else's mercy twice in my life now and that's two times too many." Adam was staring intently into his father's eyes.

He continued. "What are the elements of power, Pa? Money of course, physical and mental strength certainly, knowledge, and position or influence." He raised a hand with his thumb folded in. "These four elements are what constitutes power. I have pursued them and made them my own."

He paused for a moment. "Believe this - I will never be in someone else's power again. Never. I will kill before I'll ever let that happen."

Ben cleared his throat so he could speak. "That's why you became a marshal too, isn't it? To protect other's from being in that position."

"Yes. No one is going to get away with doing that to me, my family, my friends, or even anyone that I know." He shook his head, "No, never again. I will do whatever I have to and use whatever or whomever necessary to prevent it."

"That's a heavy load, son."

Adam's expression finally began to clear and he gave his father a half smile as he laughed ruefully. "I know. Believe me, I know."

They both stood and moved toward the door, but Adam stopped in front of his desk. "Go on up to bed. I'll be working for a while."

Ben stopped to look back at him when he reached the door. All he could think of to say was, "Good night." He started through the door but Adam's voice stopped him.

"Pa? I didn't ask for this burden, but it belongs to me now and I will continue to do my best with it. Good night."

When the door closed behind his father he went to his desk and sat down. He had just turned his thoughts to the problem of Bentwood Junction when the door opened again. He smiled when Thea came in.

She looked as though she was already asleep as she came up to him, cupped his face in her hands, kissed him, then tottered off toward the sofa to lay down.

As usual, she was asleep in seconds and as usual, he came over to tuck an afghan around her. She murmured softly and he smiled again as he smoothed her hair back from her face. "Thea, sometimes I wonder if you're ever aware you married a nut," he said softly then had to laugh when she opened one eye.

"That's alright, so did you..."