Money Grab

"I'm an idiot," Davis said. "I never thought about the radio. Thanks Angus." He started to get up but the old man held up his hand. "Don't get up. I'll have the boys bury those bastards up on top of that hill and we'll fix the hole in the fence. Call me on the radio if you need help." He turned and walked to the door. Calley walked with him. "Hey, you all want to come over for dinner Friday after next? We'll get Curly to play his fiddle, Mack plays guitar, Tom plays piano and we'll have a dance. I'll invite the neighbors and everyone can get to know the ladies."

"Can we go? Please Mr. Davis, I love dancing," Malina begged.

"Yes, little girl; we can go."

"Thank you Mr. Davis. We will not wear the grass skirts. That is only for you," she confided.

Angus laughed. "That's a story I want to hear sometime. Walk me out Calley."

She walked him to his truck. He leaned against it and chewed on a piece of grass. "I'm glad he's got you two here," he told her. "After Cindy was killed he kind of went into a shell. He got cold and hard and I've been worried about him. I can tell he loves you girls. Be careful with him Calley. I know it seems like he's the total package of cool, but he's still a little boy inside. He gets hurt easily and it takes him a long time to get over it."

"I know," she said. "I really do love him, you know."

"Are you in love with him?"

Her face flushed. "Yes, I think I am."

"What about Malina?"

"Yes, I'm in love with her, too."

"Good God girl, this gets more and more complicated. That's not what I meant. I'm an old fashioned kind of guy. I never dreamed. I meant is Malina in love with Davis?"

"Yes, I think so."

"Does that bother you?"

"No, she's in love with me, too. Do you understand? We all love one another. Davis would die for us. He almost did. I would die for him or Malina. It's not complicated. I love them, they love me. I know you're old fashioned but they're both incredible people and so beautiful and they love me. It's the most natural thing in the world to me."

"I think I understand. I'm not built that way, but it seems right with you. If there's anything I can do for any of you, you only have to ask. I won't meddle, but I will help if you ask. You're a good girl, Calley. I can see that. Just take care of Davis and I'll love you for it."

She embraced the old man and he got in the truck and drove away.

****

Anubis and Issus slipped quietly through grass toward the fence. They sniffed Lilly's body and something like a low, moaning growl came from Issus' throat. They trotted around the dead men sprawled around in the grass; sniffing their bodies. Anubis tested the breeze with his nose. It was blowing in from the southwest and the hair over his shoulders rose. He growled and Issus came to stand beside him. They slipped through the hole in the fence and turned away from each other, each circling the hill and they were invisible in the prairie grass.

Agent Matuszi lay in a clump of switchgrass at the bottom of hill. The ground was uncomfortably damp but he didn't dare move yet. He had jumped in the truck with Johnson but when the other agent had produced a gun he had opened the door and leaped from the moving vehicle and rolled into this cover. Johnson had sped across the valley but a truck full of men cut him off and another pulled in behind him. A hail of gunfire swept the truck. Nothing moved for a moment and then four men jumped out and approached Johnson. There were three more shots and the men got back in and drove away.

Matuszi stayed put. They wouldn't stay, and he would use the darkness as cover and when everything was quiet Rade would think things were over. Matuszi would slip through the hole in the fence and the prize would belong to him.

He settled in and waited.

An hour later the breeze picked up a little and the leaves of the switchgrass rustled. There was a slightly louder rustling off to his left. He peered into the tall grass. It was over six feet tall and he was well concealed. It was possible that someone was searching for him. He felt a bit of panic, but he was well hidden.

He heard the rustling again, to his right this time. Were there two of them? He looked toward the sound and some intuition made him glance back to the left.

Anubis sprang from the grass directly at his chest. He only had time to raise one arm in an attempt to protect his face. His gun was in that hand and the big Cane Corso's jaws closed on his arm with a snap. Matuszi's arm was paralyzed and he screamed as Anubis' 140 pounds crushed him to the ground. He heard his arm break as the huge jaws exerted extreme pressure. Anubis' feet found leverage and he began to twist and tear at the arm. The gun dropped from his nerveless fingers.

He felt a shock on his right shoulder and Issus was tearing into his trapezius and deltoid muscles. He screamed again as Anubis dropped his arm and the huge jaws closed over his face. He felt teeth grating on his skull and cheekbones. He screamed and the scream turned into a bubbling moan as Issus shifted her grip and tore out the side of his throat. Darkness filled his vision and he was gone.

The dogs worried his body for another moment. They sat for another moment then turned and trotted back through the fence toward the house. Lilly was avenged.

Two men were working on the hole in the fence when the dogs approached. They had heard the screams and were standing, looking in that direction. They saw the dogs approaching and stood back while they entered the fence. They were covered with blood and the men stepped back and raised their hands. The dogs eyed them for a moment and the stump of Issus' tail wagged a little. They started off in the direction of a pond.

The two men crawled through the hole and a half an hour of searching brought them to the grizzly scene. They looked at Matuszi's mangled body for a moment.

"Jesus Christ! It looks like sharks were eating him," one of them spoke.

"I'd rather have lions after me," the other remarked.

He shook his head and they walked back to fix the fence.

There were no empty bedrooms in the house so Bryant slept in one of the bedrooms on the first level of the bunker. He was a tall quiet man and he quickly took over most of the chores the girls had been doing. Davis' wounds were healing nicely and they took the cast off the next week. His ankle was stiff and his calf looked a little emaciated, but Calley made him run with her and he lifted weights with Malina.

They were eating breakfast the next morning when the radio crackled. "NZ401, this is SX 359 come in please."

It was Angus. "NZ401, go ahead Angus."

"My boys found the guy that was running in the truck. Turns out he was ATF too. They took care of him. We also found Matuszi."

"You take care of him, too?"

"We didn't have to. Your dogs got to him. It was pretty gory, Davis. They tore his face off and nearly decapitated him. Remind me to have you tell them I'm a friend again next time I come over."

"Will do, thanks, Angus. NZ401 out."

"Well, I guess that's poetic justice," Davis told the girls.

"I saw them leaving," Calley said. "I asked them where they were going and they just looked at me and wagged their tails. They looked so cute I told them they could go."

"We must thank them, Mr. Davis," Malina told him.

"How would we do that?"

"We must feed them something nice and tell them how much we love them." She got up, went to the door and whistled. Davis went to the refrigerator and brought two left over grilled chicken breasts and a package of hotdogs.

In a minute, the dogs came to the door and sat, looking up at Malina. "Heel," she told them and led them into the house. They were a little nervous at being in the house, but she insisted and they followed her. She brought them to a rug in front of the sofa and told them "down."

They lay on the rug and Calley brought them the chicken breasts and laid them on the rug. They eyed the chicken and licked their lips but didn't move.

"Why won't they eat?" she asked.

"They won't eat it until you tell them to. I don't want them eating things people give them. They can't be poisoned that way."

"Eat," she told them, pointing at the chicken.

They made short work of the chicken. They licked their lips and looked at Davis. He opened the hotdog package and gave one to Malina. "Tell them 'catch' and throw them a hotdog."

"Issus, catch," she threw her the hotdog.

Issus moved her head quickly and the hotdog disappeared. She threw another one to Anubis with the same result.

"Watch this," Davis said. He walked to the refrigerator and came back with a slice of dill pickle. He broke a hotdog into four pieces and told Anubis "open."

He opened his mouth and Davis put in the pieces of hotdog and the pickle.

"Eat," Davis said.

Anubis chewed a few times and the pickle flew out the side of his mouth onto the floor. He swallowed the hotdog and looked expectantly at Davis.

The girls hooted with laughter and sprang on Anubis' back. He growled in mock menace and they rolled him over on his back and Calley tickled his belly while Malina seized him by the loose skin under his neck and shook him.

"You are such a good boy," she cooed, hugging him and putting her cheek against his. He waved his feet in the air and licked her face. Issus was feeling left out. She stood up and crowded between Calley and Anubis. She nuzzled in and began licking Calley. Calley threw her arms around Issus' neck and scratched under her chin."

"Good girl," she told her and hugged her close.

"Do you not love them, Davis?" Malina asked.

"Yes, I do. But they're not pets, girls. They're my friends and they help me work and keep us safe, but they're dangerous if we don't handle them right. They aren't human and they don't understand how human relationships work. They know I love you and so they protect you. You're part of their pack. They think you're superior to them or they wouldn't let you handle them like that. You can play with them and wool them around and they'll love it. But, you've got to keep giving them commands. When you give them a command and they don't do it, you've got to punish them. When they do it, you reward them. That's the way you keep your place in the pack. They think I'm the pack leader so they defer to me. They're smart and they know there's more to it than that, but they react the way dogs have reacted for millions of years. They can't help it."

"But they're so cute," Calley protested.

"Yes they are. But those cute puppies just tore a man's face off because he was an enemy. He killed their puppy and threatened their pack. They don't know what pity or mercy is. There's the pack and then everyone else. They're friendly to things they don't see as a threat, but they will attack and kill anything they think is dangerous to them, me or you girls. I do love them, and I think they love me, but I don't make the mistake of thinking they're not killers."

"You are a killer, too, Mr. Davis. You killed that man at the fence and those two men that were raping Calley."

"They were threatening my pack," he laughed.

When Friday rolled around the girls were very excited for the dance. They had been hard at work all week making dresses to wear. Davis had bolts of material in the bunker, but few were suited for dresses. They found two, a pale yellow silk Mikado for Malina and a deep red two-ply Chiffon for Calley.

Calley was very good at sewing and Malina was very careful at tracing patterns and cutting the material. Davis had a very nice sewing machine of a commercial grade. It was easy to go too fast and Calley had to take out a couple of seams but the dresses came together nicely. They had browsed through stacks of Magazines Davis kept to start fires with and had found what they wanted.

They raided the jewelry boxes in the treasury and got exactly what they wanted. Shoes were the only problem. They made slippers with leather feet on the bottom and the remains of the dress material for the top.

They insisted that Davis wear a suit. He was very reluctant. "Those cowboys won't have suits on," he protested. "I'll be overdressed and so will you."

"Imbécil," Malina scolded him. "Of course you will wear a suit. You are not a cowboy. You are a rancher. The other ranchers will wear suits. Mr. Angus is going to wear a suit. I asked him. You are our date for the dance and you must look beautiful."

"I don't think it's common for pretty girls to call their date's imbeciles, for that matter," he shot back.

She was instantly contrite. "Of course not; I am very sorry Mr. Davis. Only you insist on not making yourself beautiful for us. It is very frustrating and I lost my temper. We Latin's are known for our hot tempers. But I am very sorry. Do you forgive me?" She pressed herself against him and offered him her lips.

"Of course, little girl. I wasn't mad; I was just teasing you." He took the offered lips and kissed her for a long time. She was breathless when he let her go.

"Oh, you are recovering very quickly, Mr. Davis. Are you sure we should not stay home and test how much you are recovered?"

He laughed. "As tempting as that sounds, I think you're still too much for me Malina. We'd better go, and I will wear a suit."

The girls went to their rooms and dressed. Davis had many suits from his baseball days and he picked out a tuxedo he had worn when he won the National League MVP. It was black and he found a red and yellow bow tie. He struggled with it for a while before remembering how to tie it.

He got the Suburban out of the garage. It didn't seem right to drive a Jeep or a truck to a dance.

He went inside and poured a couple of fingers of bourbon and sipped it while he waited. The bourbon was gone and he was becoming impatient. Calley's door opened and he heard her call. "Close your eyes Davis."

He obeyed and heard the swishing of material as they stood in front of him.

"Okay," Calley said, "you can open them now.

Two visions of loveliness stood in front of him. Calley's dress had no shoulders leaving her brown and bare to the top of her deep cleavage. Her mane of black hair glistened with the auburn highlights and fell down her back. Her breasts were confined to make a deep and mysterious valley and the ruby pendant he had given her hung inside. The dramatic swell of her hips flowed into a tapered full length dress with a high cut on one side exposing one leg nearly to the top of a gorgeous brown thigh. She wore a ruby ring and matching ear rings dangled.

Malina's dress had a one shoulder sweep and two triangles were cut in the sides leaving golden skin exposed. The long dress made her look taller and she looked like a princess out of a fairy tale with her golden hair held up by a delicate white gold and emerald tiara. Her ear rings matched and a beautiful yellow choker of the same yellow dress fabric with a black felt band held another large emerald to her long slender neck.

"My God," he breathed. "Turn around so I can see the back."

They turned and it was a sight that took his breath away. He walked to them and turned them to face him. He took one girl under each arm and kissed them both, stroking the smooth bare skin.

"I'm the luckiest man alive," he told them.

"Look at your clever tie," Malina admired him. "It matches our dresses. Is he not magnificent Calley?"

"I'm just a bench warmer tonight. You girls are the stars."

They glowed at the look in his eyes and he offered them his arms. They each took one and he walked them to the Suburban. He opened the back door and helped Calley up. He took Malina to the other side and helped her in beside Calley.

"I'm your chauffeur tonight," he told them. "I'm sorry I don't have a coach and four, but this won't turn into a pumpkin, either."

They laughed at his joke and he drove to the gate. Will opened the gate and they drove around the road to the Z bar headquarters. There were ten vehicles parked in the grass across from the house and Hardesty was parking the cars when they pulled up at the driveway. He opened the back doors and assisted the ladies out. His jaw dropped as they emerged and he temporarily forgot to park the car as they walked in on Davis' arms. He shook his head and came to his senses.

Angus had a dining table 20 feet long and all the places were full except for three. Davis escorted the ladies to their chairs and seated them and took his seat between them.

"I see you're fashionably late, Davis," Angus called down from the head of the table. "One look at the ladies and I see why. It was worth the wait." His eyes twinkled.

"I think we all know each other here except for the girls. This young lady in red is the lovely Miss Calista De la Vega. Her friends call her Calley. You might recognize her. She was the news anchor that brightened up our screens on channel 3 in Wichita. The charming lady in yellow is Malina Nebrija. She is a visitor from Spain to our country. We hope she'll be staying permanently. They are living with our Davis Rade. Well, not living with him, but you know what I mean." A laugh went around the table. "Please make them welcome.

"You all know that we're going through some tough times. We're all neighbors and neighbors stick together. We're pretty isolated out here and we're all pretty self-sufficient. We've all got food to eat, water to drink and we can take care of ourselves. That's the western way. We've all got western minds; that's why we live out here. This is a party and I want you all to enjoy yourselves. But in the back of your minds I want you to be thinking about how we're going to survive the next ten years.

Some of you are running out of fuel. We need to find a way to get more. Some of us have quite a bit and we'll share but we need a long term solution so be thinking about it. We need seeds. Most of us are growing hybrids and when we harvest that's the end of the line.

Davis saw this coming and he's the only person here that's growing open pollinated wheat, corn and vegetables. I suggest we ask him if he'll trade for our hybrids and eat them and save his crop for seed. That will mean a lot more work for him and I expect you'll all want to pitch in and help him.

He was attacked the other day and I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't come along and helped him. He's dug in pretty tight and he'd probably have been okay, but I might be next or you might be next. I think we ought to get a posse together to help each other out if we're attacked. I'm done with the speech now, so let's eat and get the party started."

Dishes were passed and plates filled as the buzz of conversation sprang up. A young man sitting next to Malina introduced himself as Greg Wilson.

"My older brother played baseball with Davis at Wichita State," he told her. "What part of Spain are you from?"

"I am Castilian, from the north part of Spain. My city is León. Are you born here?"

"I was born in Wichita, but I've lived here all my life. I love your accent. Can I call you Malina?"

"But of course. I shall call you Greg."

"Will you dance with me Malina?"

"Perhaps, I wish to dance with Mr. Davis. If Calley dances with him first or when she is dancing with him I will dance with you. Are you an expert dancer Greg?"

"I've got moves the world hasn't seen yet," he laughed. "Why are you so keen on dancing with Davis? He's got two left feet. You'd be better off sticking with me. Besides, he's old. You can hang out with the kids."

"I have decided not to dance with you at all, Greg. You are a great estupido. Mr. Davis is not at all old. He has saved my life and you shall not speak of him like that." She glared at him fiercely.

"God, Malina, I'm sorry. I know he's a great guy. My brother worships him. I didn't know you would be so offended. I didn't know he saved your life. I just thought you're way younger than him and you might like to dance with someone your own age. Please, I'm sorry. Now will you dance with me?"