Chapter 2: Calm before the Storm

Lee was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He dreamed about Penny, about going for long walks with her and driving around Signal in his FJ40. And he dreamed about bacon... bacon?

Wait he thought, that wasn't a dream that was a smell. Lee woke up and slipped his pants on and went to the bathroom across the hall and took a quick shower. After putting on the clean clothes he had brought in last night he followed his nose to the kitchen.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Brown," Lee said as walked up into the room.

"Good morning. Come, in and, sit down. Mary will have you some breakfast ready in a few minutes and Lee, you can call me Matt,"

"No Sir, I can not. I'm sorry but my parents would not approve and it would be uncomfortable for me."

Matt Brown smiled and nodded his head, "I understand. I think I like the idea of you dating Penny better than the last yahoo that she went out with, and I'm not talking about Stephan. I mean the knothead that came up and honked on the horn till she came out two weeks ago."

Mary sat a plate piled high with scrambled eggs, bacon, and biscuits in front of Lee. After returning to the stove she returned with a bowl of cream gravy. Lee's smile ran from ear to ear, "Your mother said that this was your favourite breakfast. If there's not enough there just let me know, Mary said with a twinkle in her eye. She had heard Matt's comment about Penny dating Lee."

"Thank you ma'am," Lee was about to sit down when he caught movement out the corner of his eye and turned to look out the front window of the house. "Mr. Brown, I think you are about to need a new picture window."

Matt jumped up grabbing a hand held radio that was sitting on the table, "All units they are here." The brick came crashing through the large plate glass window, "Move in!" Mr. Brown walked over slipping a pair of rubber gloves on he removed the note from the half brick and read it,

If you press charges both you and your mother will be gang raped and then beaten to death.

Matt slipped the note in one evidence bag and the brick in another. Outside, unmarked cars from the Department of Public Safety (DPS) had blocked off both ends of the street. The four individuals that had been in the car were now leaning against it being searched and handcuffed. Matt and Lee walked outside to see who the brave souls were. Matt smiled when he saw that this was the same bunch that had stopped Tim Dyer last night when he tried to follow Penny. "Well, well, well, I am really glad that you boys did this."

"Oh and why's that?" the more mouthy of the four asked.

"Well you see, now I have you for witness intimidation, terroristic threats and since this also shows that last night wasn't so innocent, I'll just bet I'll be able to include you four in with the conspiracy charges." "And what makes you think that Judge Blevins is going to stand for that?" the mouthy one asked.

"Oh he'll be standing right beside you. We arrested him last night along with all of the Signal police force including the chief. We also brought in, two doctors, and three nurses, and of course Stephan. I just hope you boys don't have the problems he did last night."

"What happened to him?" the mouthy teen was fast losing his bravado.

"It seems that the fathers of some of Stephan's victims got arrested last night too and, well we're not real sure what happened after, the security cameras went out, but Stephan claims he was raped and there may be something to it. They, had to take him to the hospital about two hours ago to sew up his asshole and some of the other wounds he received."

"Who are you anyway?" the mouthy teen was looking kind of sick.

"Oh I'm Penny's new step father. I'm also a Texas Ranger." The mouthy teen who had been looking sicker and sicker threw up all over the front of his car. Lee smiled, the worm had turned in Signal.

Penny walked out of the house and up to Lee, "Come back in the house and eat your breakfast before it's ruined." Penny slipped her hand into Lee's and watched as the four boys looked on in disbelief.

Lee sat back down at the table and Penny took his plate out of the oven where she had put it to keep the food from getting cold. "Your Dad said Stephan had a bad night."

"Yes mother was telling me, I wonder how he liked his date last night after he finished with me?" Penny asked.

"I suspect he better learn to love it. Doesn't Tiffy Jones have an older brother and an uncle in prison?" Lee started in on the bacon and eggs, Mrs. Brown and Penny watched silently as a growing boy put on an eating exhibition.

Matt Brown came back in the house and made a few phone calls. A1 Glass would be by within the next few hours and replace the front window. Another call had been to the surveillance team. That call had yielded both good and bad news. The good news, Phillip Meeks was getting desperate. The bad news was he had hired some people to come and rough Penny and Mary up. The news of Mary getting married to a Texas Ranger had somehow not made it to the town rumour mill. And with all of the suspects in this case being arrested and shipped out of the county, none of the ones involved had been able to get the word back to Mr. Meeks that his phones were tapped, so he was building up quite a case against himself. Matt was more than happy to give the man all the rope he wanted to hang himself, but he for sure wanted his wife and step daughter in a safe place.

He got back on the phone and made yet another call. Ten minutes, later he walked into the kitchen where Lee had just finished eating. "Lee, I just talked to your Dad. I was going to have you stay here till Monday, but something has come up," He said, then he turned to his wife and step daughter and said, "I need you two to go pack a bag. Pack enough stuff for a week." Matt gave them a look that brooked no argument and they both left to go pack.

Matt turned back to Lee, "They will be staying at the ranch with you. I've known your dad a long time, he's the only person that I'd trust with their lives. He tells me that he has been training you for years, is that true?"

"Yes Sir it is," Lee responded.

"Do you have a pistol?"

"Yes Sir, a Steyr M9," Lee answered.

"Where is it right now?" Mr. Brown asked looking around to see if they were still alone, "Phillip Meeks has hired a man to come and kill Penny and Mary."

Lee got up and walked into the room where he slept and brought back his dock kit. He unzipped a side compartment, "Sir, I apologise for bringing that into your home without asking, I intended to and got distracted and forgot."

Matt checked the gun and found it unloaded, "Why is it unloaded? Is that because you brought it in with out asking me?"

"Yes Sir."

"You have a holster for this?" Matt asked.

"Yes Sir."

"Go get the holster and any extra clips that you have. Starting right now you wear it everywhere you go."

"Sir, What about school?"

"Well keep it locked up in your Cruiser, I'll cover for you if someone checks, now go get your holster and those clips." Lee walked out to the cruiser and got his holster and the extra clips then went back inside the house.

When Lee went back in the house Matt handed him the pistol. Lee put a clip in and jacked a round into the chamber and put the gun on safety. He then pulled the clip out and pulled a single 9mm round out of his pocket and put it in the clip then inserted the clip back in the pistol. Lee put the pistol in the holster and looked up at Matt Brown. Matt smiled and put his hand on Lee's shoulder, "I trust your dad and by extension I trust you. Take care of them."

"I will Sir, with my life if need be,." Lee responded and got a big smile from Matt. Penny came out with two bags and a backpack. Without saying a word Lee grabbed Penny's bags and walked them out to the Cruiser and put them in the back. As he was walking back to the house he caught movement at the back of the house next door. Unless there was more security than he knew about, this couldn't be good. He got inside as fast as he could without running. "Sir, there's someone moving around behind of the house next door."

Matt ran to the master bedroom at the back of the house just as the back door exploded inward in a shower of glass and wood. Penny was coming out of her room when Lee knocked her backwards just as the front door flew open and two men, both with pistols, came charging in. Matt heard three shots just as a man stepped into the hallway headed for his wife's bedroom. Matt fired and the man staggered backwards, "They're wearing vests," Lee yelled out. That's when Matt noticed the man he'd shot trying to get up just as another man put a gun around the corner and fired at Matt.

Matt ducked as the shot hit the door jamb on the opposite side from him. He moved where he could see the man he'd shot and shot him again, this time, he aimed at where he knew the vest wasn't. That just happened to be the man's crotch, and he screamed bloody murder. The man down the hall stuck his gun around the corner and Matt heard a shot and watched the pistol drop to the floor. Sirens were coming from every direction, Lee called out, "Mr. Brown are you and your wife alright?"

"Yes, are you and Penny ok?"

"Yes Sir," A loud speaker outside announced that the house was surrounded. Matt walked to the door and signalled for them to come in.

Matt looked at the two dead men in the living room, both had been shot right between the eyes and one of them had a hole right over his heart but the vest had stopped that shot. Pointing at the man who had been shot twice, "Was this the first one you shot?"

Lee was taking the clip out of his pistol and putting a full one in, "Yes Sir, that's when I realised they were wearing vests. That's why I switched to head shots."

Matt looked at the man that had been firing around the corner, "Son, where were you standing when you shot him?"

Lee looked at the man Mr. Brown was pointing at and then pointed to Penny's room, "From there just inside Penny's room, Sir."