Chapter 24

Rob and Bryan had crawled back into the Observation Post to watch helplessly as the situation unfolded six hundred feet in front of them.

The drivers of the vehicles that were now crammed into the driveway entrance had apparently not seen the two men or at least had made no indication as such.

The radio call that brought everyone inside the wall to arms had been made almost fifteen minutes prior, but nothing had happened. There had, thankfully, been no gunfire. But there had been no other sounds and no further indications that anything at all had transpired. Bryan glared at the silent radio, not willing to make a call lest someone inside give away their position and be put in danger.

The day was not a particularly warm one but both men were sweating profusely. Rob wiped the sweat from his brow and shivered at the same time. Another fifteen minutes passed and still no sounds or movements were noted.

The radio suddenly squawked to life and both men jumped at the sound. Rob reached to turn it down and not give away their position to the "enemy" in front of them.

"Bryan," Andrew's voice said calmly.

"We really need code names," Bryan remarked as he took the radio to reply. He pressed the button and spoke. "Go ahead."

"There's a man here that says he knows you."

"What's his name?" Bryan inquired.

"Sean Callahan?" Andrew answered.

Bryan shook his head. He looked at Rob. "He shouldn't be here. His mom lives just five miles to the west. They have a huge farm. His coming here is not logical."

"Would he drop by for a visit?" Rob queried.

"Hmmmm," Bryan said. "Possibly, but why bring three cars and drive in a convoy type configuration?"

Rob shook his head, then shrugged. "Ask for some bit of information only you and he would know so we can confirm his identity then we'll go from there."

Bryan nodded, then pressed the button to speak. "Ask him the last time that I spoke to him."

A tense moment of silence followed and Bryan was toying with the order to withdraw everyone from the gate area and wait in covered positions until the people either left or attacked. Finally the answer came.

"Wednesday March 16^th before eight o'clock."

Bryan shook his head. "He's the one that warned me about the financial restructuring. That was the phone call that warned me actually." He thought carefully for a minute, then pushed the talk button again.

"Tell him to walk out of the driveway with his hands held in plain sight and walk across the road and keep walking until he is told to stop. Just him, no one else."

"Acknowledged," Andrew replied.

A few more tense minutes passed before the tall lanky figure of the man appeared. He was walking slowly, scanning every potential hiding place and choke point that was visible. Bryan could tell by his face as he got closer that he was nervous.

He was perhaps fifty feet away from the OP when he noticed it. Bryan stood up and waved the man in. Sean let all pretenses go when he saw Bryan and hurried over, relief registering on his face.

"Thank GOD," Sean said. "I was worried that something had happened to you all and this was some kind of ambush."

"What's wrong?" Bryan asked. "Oh and this is Rob," he pointed over his shoulder.

"Nice to meet you," Sean said dismissively. "My mom is missing. There's no one there and the house has been trashed."

Both Bryan and Rob started at this news. No mentions had been made that insinuated that there was any local violence going on. They looked at each other, wondering just what had been going on in the area since their self-imposed solitude had begun.

Bryan pulled his mind back to Sean, and his worry over his missing mother. "Any idea where she would have gone?" he asked, trying not to imply the worst. Sean shook his head.

"That's not the worst of it though," he said. "We have more immediate worries. Derek has been shot and he's bleeding pretty bad."

"Shot?" both men said simultaneously, the shock in their voices apparent.

Derek was Sean's younger brother. He was a farm boy through and through and a bit of a black sheep when it came to the rest of the family. He had been the only Callahan to shun college and joined the Marines right out of high school. The last Bryan had heard of him he had been living in California, working for security company of some kind.

Bryan turned to Rob and paused, unable to think for a moment. Finally catching his wits, he spoke. "Give Andrew the heads up to open the gate but still be on guard. Tell him he have a wounded man on our hands." Rob nodded, and though he questioned the wisdom of the decision, he chose not to question it aloud. "I'm going over there and helping. You want to stay here and keep an eye on things?"

Rob nodded again, still keeping his decisions to himself. "We need to address some things when all this settles down," Rob said. "And have somebody bring me a rifle later please."

Bryan nodded acknowledgement and stepped out of the OP, headed toward the gate. Sean followed quickly, his walk showing a great deal of stress and worry on his mind.

Rob shook his head as he watched the men walk away. "You're gonna get yourself killed jumping in like this all the time," he mused aloud to himself. "You wanna lead, you need to think more and act less."

As Bryan and Sean neared the entrance to the driveway, muffled yet uncontrollable crying could be heard from a decidedly female voice. Bryan shot a look at Sean, but he appeared so deep in his own thoughts that he didn't notice.

They passed the SUV, then the car, and found Derek lying in the back of the lead truck, a group of people gathered around him. It was apparent that he was in shock. His breathing was ragged and there was a healthy pool of blood seeping out from under the large heavy blanket that was covering his body. His face was pale, almost grey in color and soaked with perspiration. The air had a tangy metallic smell, the smell of large amounts of fresh blood.