Money Grab

"The Reverend's got a real church set up over in Coates, Davis. I've been going over there and he makes a lot of sense."

"And I suppose the New Jerusalem is Coates and he's the harbinger of God sent to warn all us sinners. You're an idiot Clanton, and King is a fanatic. I don't know why I came here."

He turned to leave. The Reverend walked down the sidewalk two steps behind him. "The fury of God is going to strike you, Rade," he thundered. "You and those two harlots will face the wrath of God."

Davis was on him in a blur and the point of his hunting knife was under the Reverend's chin, tilting his head up uncomfortably. Clanton started to get up and the sound of a shell being jacked into the chamber of a riot gun from the Jeep froze him. He sank back down.

"You open your mouth again and insult those two ladies and I'll cut out your tongue. You're a piece of shit, King. You aren't fit to lick the boots of those good people you call 'false prophets.' Keep off my trail or I'll gut you and feed you to my dogs." He pressed on the knife and a thin trickle of blood ran down the Reverend's neck. His eyes rolled in terror and he felt hot wetness flow down his leg as his bladder emptied.

Davis pushed him back and he staggered and nearly fell. Davis walked to the Jeep and drove away.

"Why did you do that, Davis?" Malina asked.

"He was uncomplimentary toward my girls," Davis said.

"Let me guess," Calley laughed. "We're whores or harlots, and the wrath of God is going to fall on us."

Davis grinned. "Something like that. How did you know?"

"I've met people like him before. There used to be a group that came to campus every year when I was in college. They liked calling women whores and promising hell fire to everyone they didn't like. I like our German Baptist friends better. You made that man piss himself, Davis."

"Yes, it was very exciting, but you must not fight with everyone that insults us, Davis." Malina told him.

"Why not?"

"We do not need your help. Calley and I will scratch their eyes out. We might shoot them with our guns. I was ready to shoot the fat man on the porch, but he was a great coward."

"I know, thanks little girl. I love you but it's my job to protect you, not the other way around."

"Davis, you're a fool," Calley told him. "You're so chivalrous. We aren't some hothouse plants that you've got to shelter. I hate being treated like that. I mean I love you for feeling like that, but it is our job to protect you. That's what you do for people you love. Do you understand? We're partners. I think that's what Malina is saying and I agree with her. I know you protect us and take care of us, but we spent a lot of time taking care of you, too, after you were shot."

Davis grinned ruefully. "I guess I do have a lot of old fashioned ideas, but that's how I was raised. I know you're smart and strong and brave. You're both a lot smarter than me. I'll try to reform. Do you love me?"

"Wait till we get home and we'll show you," Calley promised.

Chapter Ten

Davis got up the next morning with a plan. The girls were still in bed when he went to the barn and found Will milking Molly.

"Will, I've got a job for you. I want you to go up to Barnes place on 281. There's no one there and it's a mile off the highway. Take a good pair of binoculars and some camping gear. Take a radio and watch that highway. If you see any military vehicles you call me and hightail it back here. Don't let anyone see you and don't engage them under any circumstances. Will you do that?"

"Sure, boss," Bryant said. "Be like a vacation. I'll finish the chores and leave.

Davis went to the big garage and got out his 5 ton Chevy. He walked around it for a while studying it. He went to the machine shop and inspected his sheet metal. He walked down to an old grain bin and looked it over. He went back to the truck and took a lot of measurements with a tape measure.

He went back to the house, took a cup of coffee to his office, got out drafting tools and began to draw. He heard movement from his bedroom, the shower running and the girls talking. He smiled at that wonderful warm feeling those voices caused and bent back to his task.

He didn't notice when Calley came in until she slipped her arms around his neck from behind. She rested her chin on his shoulder. She was holding a cup of coffee in one hand. "What are you drawing, baby?" she asked him.

"I'm drawing armor for the truck," he told her. She pressed against his back and watched him draw for a while. She nibbled on his neck and he straightened up and spun around on the stool to face her. She had on a button up shirt and that was obviously all. Her hair was still damp and he pulled her against him and buried his face in her fragrance.

"You look so beautiful in the morning," he told her.

Her eyes sparkled and she looked down a little shyly. He reached out and took her coffee cup, setting it on the table, unbuttoned the three buttons she had fastened and slid his hands inside around her waist, parting the shirt. He let his eyes feast on her lush breasts, down over her muscled stomach and to the narrow strip of dark curls. She was unbelievably curvy and sexy.

"You're embarrassing me, Davis," she whispered, a blush creeping down from her cheeks.

He pulled her close and nibbled his way down her neck. She shivered and arched her back, giving him access to her breasts. His lips fastened to one little cone and he stretched it out with his lips as she gasped and shuddered. She reached for his drawstring, and he helped her slide his shorts and boxers to the floor. She climbed astride and threw her head back in ecstasy. She came easily and often, and they were oblivious to the world for thirty minutes.

Malina came to the door and saw them. She smiled happily and waited. When they stopped moving, she knocked and told them breakfast was ready. Davis beckoned her over and she ran to be folded in their embrace. Davis slipped his hand inside her boxers and cupped her butt. He stood up, picked her up and carried her to the sofa. He and Calley stripped her clothes and nibbled and caressed her slender body until she cried out her completion, clutching Calley's head between her thighs, her fingers tangled in Davis' hair at her breast.

They warmed breakfast back up, sat naked on the sofa and fed each other.

"Will you girls help me put armor on the truck today?" he asked them.

They agreed, and stood up to get dressed. He smacked their rumps and they squealed and ran off to their bedrooms.

He rose languidly and dressed in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. He thought to call in and advise them to do the same. They pulled the truck into the machine shop and Davis used the overhead crane to move sheet metal onto tables. The girls used soapstone and drew the shapes on the metal, and Davis took his welding truck down the grain bin and cut five large rectangles out of it. He loaded them onto the truck and hauled them back to the shop,

The girls were finished with drawing the shapes he had drafted. He put goggles on them and they watched fascinated as he fired up the cutting torch and began cutting the shapes. The sparks began to fly and molten steel dripped on the floor. The first part dropped to the floor and Calley dragged it out of the way against the wall with a large pair of channel locks.

"Davis, may I try cutting the metal?" Malina asked.

"Sure, little girl," he cut off the gas and lifted his goggles. "Put on a pair of those long leather gloves."

"Why must I wear the gloves?" she asked. "It is very hot and they look very uncomfortable."

"Yes, it is and yes they are, but not as hot or uncomfortable as it will be if some of that hot metal splashes on your arms. I should make you put on leathers and I will if you weld with the MIG."

"I see, I was not thinking, Davis. I will not ask any more questions. I should have known you would have a reason."

"Nonsense," he told her. "If you don't ask questions you won't get answers. I don't always know what I'm doing. If it doesn't make sense I expect you to ask questions. That isn't always true. If I tell you to run or drop or hide I don't want you to ask questions. Just do it and ask why later. Assume I have a reason for emergency stuff."

"I will remember, Davis." She put on the gloves, he showed her how to use the striker and explained what the valves did. She opened the acetylene valve and lit it with the striker.

"Open the valve a little more," he told her.

She turned the flame up a little and opened the oxygen valve. The orange flame turned blue as she adjusted the flame.

He pulled her goggles down. "Hold the flame there on the edge until you see a glow and a shiny looking puddle forms. Then you push the cutting lever and it blows the metal away. Make a cut over to the line and then just follow the line."

Malina cut a long, narrow rectangle and then cut a rectangular slot in it and turned off the torch. "I love to cut metal," she told him. "The colors are very pretty, but it is very hot. I do not think I would wish to do it all the time as a job."

"Well, welders don't always cut metal. You might like the actual welding better."

It took the rest of the day to cut the pieces and get the sharp edges ground down. They cut brackets to weld to the truck and set them aside for tomorrow when they would actually attach them.

When they completed the job, the engine and wheels were protected by the sections from the grain bin and the cab was lined with steel. There was a slot in front of the driver so it was possible to see out, but the driver would be totally protected from fire. Davis made the truck as safe as he could and fabricated a mount for the M2 .50 caliber in the bed. He had also made a shield that attached to the gun with another slot to protect the gunner while still allowing them to aim.

They delivered weapons and ammunition to the posse and waited to hear from Will Bryant. The wait was not long. Four days after they completed the modifications on the truck, Bryant reported that a group of Desert Sand vehicles had left town and were headed south. He ignored Davis' instructions and shadowed the group as they moved south.

Davis notified the posse and they met at the Sawyer Post Office. Davis and the two girls brought the five-ton, and Calley drove. Bryant gave them the location of the raiders and the posse set out on an intercept course. The posse set up at a crossroads and waited for the raiders to appear.

Soon they could see the dust of the approaching vehicles. Bryant reported that the lead vehicle was a Bradley fighting vehicle and Davis got his surprise ready. The Guard unit stopped 100 yards away and Davis rose up in the back of the truck. Fire roared from the tube of the Panzerschreck Bazooka and the rocket struck the Bradley. It leaped into the air on a ball of flame that surrounded it and landed on its side in the ditch. Davis reloaded and blew up a transport truck which exploded into flames, disgorging flaming figures that flopped for a few moments on the road and were still.

The posse surged forward, guns blazing from the back of pickup trucks with Calley driving the five-ton in the vanguard. Davis opened up the M2 and the heavy slugs shredded anything they touched. In less than a minute 18 men lay dead in the road or sprawling from doors where they died trying to get out. Four men were wounded and taken prisoner.

The group discussed what to do with the prisoners. "These men raped a 14 year old girl and her mother repeatedly while they forced their brother and father to watch," Davis argued.

"How do you know it was these guys?" Anthony asked him.

"I don't," Davis replied. "It may have been some of these other sons of bitches but these men were there and watched it happen if they didn't do it. I think they ought to be executed right now."

"What about a trial?" another man asked.

"They declared themselves guilty when they drove out of town on this raid," Bryant said. "I agree with Davis. I think we should leave one of them alive though. Let him go back and give everyone in that town the message that we're going to kill every son of a bitch that comes out here and tries to rob people in this community."

"Who's going to execute them?" the man asked.

"I'll do it," Bryant said. He didn't give anyone else a chance to argue. He drew his revolver and put three rounds into the heads of the prisoners. He struck the last prisoner in the face and flattened him to the ground.

"You go back home and tell them what happened here. If I ever see you again I'll open you up like a Christmas package." He struck the man across the face again with his gun barrel, leaving him bloody and barely conscious on the ground.

The group dispersed, Davis got back in the truck and they drove to the Ray's farm. They got out and saw Susan in the back hanging out laundry. She waved and hung up the last garment and walked around the house to meet them carrying her laundry basket. Kent came out of the barn and shook hands with them.

"Kent, I know you didn't want this to happen but that Guard unit was heading for Carl Brubaker's house today. We got together with the Z bar boys and about 40 of us met them on the road. They won't be raping or killing anyone else."

Susan burst into tears and threw her arms around Davis and the girls. "Oh, thank you Davis, thank you girls. I was so afraid. You can't imagine how afraid I've been for my girls. I don't care, Kent," she said as he started to object. "I know it's not our way to fight. I'm sorry Davis killed them but I'm not sorry they're dead. I can't be. Our girls are safe and I'm safe and you're safe. I'll pray for those men but I can't be sorry they're dead."

Kent embraced his wife and patted her bonnet. "I know, Susan, I know. I'm grateful to you too, Davis. I just don't want to see blood on your hands. You're a good friend to us, Davis. We all love you and we want you to know that we're all in your debt. I don't know how we'll ever pay you back."

"You don't owe me anything, Kent. I was protecting my family, too. Do you think I didn't know what those people would have done to Calley and Malina if they caught them out somewhere? We would never have had peace as long as they were out there. I can go to bed at night now and know that my friends and people I love aren't being raped and murdered. The way you can pay me back is the way you've been paying me back since we were three years old. Keep being my friend and keep my pew ready for me at church when I come."

Chapter 11

Fall was rapidly approaching. The corn was beginning to turn brown and the mornings brought a chill to the air. The last of the garden was in sight and Davis and the girls worked hard to harvest their winter food. Some of the vegetables were allowed to grow un-harvested so that they would fully ripen for seed. The rest was canned or frozen.

They made another collection of carp from the river for dog food, and Davis was satisfied that they had enough for the winter. Issus was pregnant and so was Molly. They allowed her to go dry for a couple of months and although they missed the milk, they had canned cream to cook with and had plenty of butter in the freezers.

The fall calves were born and the girls fell in love with the shaggy little Beef Master calves. There were also two colts and these quickly became the girl's pets. Pumpkins began to turn orange and it was time to harvest the corn.

Several of their neighbors helped them harvest and traded their hybrids for Davis' open pollinated varieties. They put the corn in the grain bins and Davis traded with Krista and Vera Ray for two kittens, promising them a puppy when Issus whelped. The kittens were instantly adopted by the girls. They were little balls of fluff that Davis hoped would keep down the rodent population around the ranch buildings. He had to speak sternly to the dogs, who regarded the kittens with a great deal of suspicion. The kittens viewed their stumpy tails as toys to be attacked every time they moved and the dogs quickly learned to tolerate them. It was not unusual to see a huge Cane Corso sleeping in the sun with a fluffy kitten curled up under their chin or on their belly.

Four puppies were born two days before Halloween, a male and three females. Davis gave two of the females to the Rays and the Calley chose the male and Malina one of the females. They named them Boris and Natasha. Davis got quite a kick out of those names. The girls insisted that Issus be allowed to sleep inside in the mud room while the puppies were little, and Anubis grew so vocal about their separation that they let him in too to keep him quiet.

They hosted a Halloween party and all the neighbors attended. Angus pulled Davis aside and they went into his office and relaxed and sipped whiskey. Joel Anthony joined them and Malina came in and curled up on Davis' lap.

"Davis, I've been hearing some things I don't like. Reverend King has been spreading it around that you assaulted him. Tom Clanton is backing up his story. He's got a bunch of people from around Coates going to his church and a bunch of people from up around Havilland. Did you attack him Davis?"

"Yes, I suppose I did."

"Why? I've never known you to go around picking fights. Why would you attack a preacher?"

"Angus, you're my oldest friend. I've known you since I was in diapers and you've always been like an uncle to me, but with all due respect, I don't have to justify myself to you."

"Now don't take it like that, Davis. You were always the damndest kid for getting your back up. I'm not asking you to justify yourself, I just want to know what happened."

"Sorry Angus, but the Reverend is a sore spot with me. What would you do if someone told you that Zelda was a whore and that the wrath of God was going to fall on her?"

"Who is Zelda?" Malina asked.

"Zelda is his daughter," Davis told her. "She's about ten years older than me and she lives on a ranch down in Oklahoma."

"I'd kick his ass," Angus replied. "Is that what happened?"

"Yes. Did you think I'd just attack the man for no reason? Clanton was there and started to pull a gun and Malina covered him with a riot gun and stopped him. But I didn't kick his ass. I should have, but I put a knife to his throat and told him to keep his mouth shut or I'd cut out his tongue."

"He was very afraid," Malina said. "He urinated on his own leg. He is a great coward."

Angus and Anthony shouted with laughter. "I didn't think that," Angus said. "I knew you would have a good reason. Don't be so touchy boy. I'm on your side. I just wanted to hear what happened. I'm afraid King is going to try to stir something up. One of my boys went over there to one of their meetings and King was talking about the beast and the false prophet and it seems like you're him. Well, he doesn't like the Baptists over at Sawyer much either but you seem to head the list of the people the Lord is going to punish. I'm just afraid he won't wait on the Lord."

"What can he do?" Anthony asked. "Davis is dug in like an Alabama tick here. No one is going to come in here and get away with it. Those people out there in his living room think he hung the moon. Especially after what happened up there at Sawyer. Hell, man, I think so, too."

"My boys would die for those girls to the last man," Angus said. "Just watch out for him Davis. He's a vengeful man. His religion is all about wrath and hell fire."

"The only time I go outside the fence is to go to one of the dances around or to church," Davis told them. "Let him try to come in here and start something. I despise that kind of fanatic. Religion is supposed to be about love and grace and mercy and treating other people like you want to be treated. He's a nut case and probably a dangerous man once he gets a mob together, but I'm not going to sit back and let him call my girls whores."