Chapter 34

I was still thinking about all that went on in the Chief's office as I drove back to Porter. I went directly to the motor pool to pick up my unit. I parked my Jeep in front again and went inside. Several of the mechanics waved as I walked through the shop. I went up the steps and went into the office, grabbed a cup of coffee and sat down for a minute.

"That was quick Harry. Are you ok? Here are your keys and your unit is in the wash bay. I am going to put your name on the floor so you will have a reserved spot to park here. Your unit spends more time there than the cars we're washing."

"Doris, how well do you know the gulch area?"

I went on to tell her what was going on there and what kind of building we were looking for. She sat and thought for a minute then she perked up with what looked like an idea.

"Harry, you might want to check the old Peters' place. He belonged to the old Sheriff's crowd and his old place is out in the middle of nowhere. He had several buildings on his property that were big enough for what you're talking about. It's hard to find and even harder to get to. He has been dead for several years, but his son ran with Hubba all the time. Let me get my county map out and I can show you where it's at."

While she was digging her map out I got on the phone with the prosecutor and told him I needed a search warrant for the property. I wanted it to be for the aliens and for illegal weapons. He said he would draw it up and I could pick it up on my way back to the gulch. Doris came back to the desk, unfolded the map and she started looking for the Peters' place on it.

"Here it is, Harry. You have to take the old logging road up the hill behind the casino you're checking now. It's about five miles back in the hills. There's only one way in and out of that area. I suggest you watch your step with the son, because he is mentally challenged and has a real bad temper. He is like his papa, and hates the law and won't give up as long as he can fight. Harry, he is not very stable and will shoot at trespassers at the drop of a hat. He is also a very good shot and he and Hubba used to hunt together all the time. He knows all that area up there like the back of his hand."

"Well, this will be a real challenge for the State Troopers. I guess we will find out when we get in there. Where the hell do all these nuts come from? How many of these antisocial clans are there around here?"

"You forget, Harry, this county has been the haven for all these nuts for years. The old Sheriff encouraged them to move in here and he was the unofficial leader of them all. You will run across this type of thing for many years until they all die off. You have only come across a small number of them. I suggest you and your people wear vests if you have them, 'cause Scoobie always shoots for a heart shot and for an instant kill."

I thanked her as I handed her the keys to my Jeep. I climbed into my unit and headed for the prosecutor's office to pick up the warrant. I double parked in front of the courthouse and went in. The prosecutor was coming down the hall and when he saw me he waved a paper in the air to catch my attention. I walked over to him and he handed me the paper.

"This is somewhat broad based, but the Judge said to tell you it will stand up in any court. Harry, one of the women that works in the recorders office knows the Peters boy and said to tell you he is very dangerous. She said that since the old man died he has never been seen in town. She also said there were booby traps all over the hills up there."

"Tell her I said thanks for the warning, but I was told all of that by Doris at the motor pool."

"Harry that was a nice thing you did for her and I think you will never regret it. Before you leave, I need you to sign her probation papers since you are her sponsor. The Federal Court was very adamant that you be her sponsor. Just make sure she stays out of trouble while she is on probation."

"I really don't think she will be any kind of problem, but I will keep my eyes on her just the same."

I followed him to his office and waited while he got the papers out. I signed them and before I left he gave me his card with his home and cell numbers on it. I thanked him before heading out the door to my unit. As soon as I pulled out, I got on the radio and had dispatch call Beau to meet me at the gulch. I was informed he had already returned and was acting as the go between for our department and the State Police. I cleared and headed directly for the gulch. When I went down the main street of the gulch, I noticed that there were a lot of State Troopers units and there seemed to be more coming in. I pulled up beside Beau's unit and got out. He was on the radio and Butch was standing beside the driver's side as I walked up.

"Butch, have you found any sign of the girls yet?"

"Not a sign of them, Harry. We have checked all the buildings big enough to fit the description you gave us but nothing so far. That ATF team leader has been looking for you. I told him you were off the radio for awhile and that Hadley was in charge while you were gone. Harry, the air units want to know if you have any idea where they should look."

"Butch, I have uncovered information about where they might be. I have a warrant, but I want to hold up for a minute until I can check it out by air. Have one of the air units pick me up, will you? While I am up, pull all your men in except the ones on the roadblocks. This shouldn't take too long."

He was on the radio almost immediately so I stood by and waited for the chopper to land. I watched as one of their units landed behind the building in front of me. I ran over and climbed in the back and was handed a headset to put on as we lifted off. Man, I hadn't been in one of these things for years.

"Commander, where are we going?"

I directed them to where Doris had told me the buildings were. As we flew over the faint road, I noticed the truck sitting in the brush up the hill behind the casino. I had the pilot call it in, with the warning for whoever checked it out to be careful of booby traps. We had cleared the ridge behind where the truck was parked, and I saw the buildings that had been described to me. I told the pilot to fly over, and we would give it a casual check before we went any lower for a closer view. I warned him that the resident of the property might shoot at us if we got too low. He informed me this was a retired combat chopper, and it was armored in all the vital areas. Unless he was shooting armor piercing bullets, he wouldn't do anything but ping us.

We flew a high pass over the buildings and I immediately saw a white rag being waved from one of the windows. I pointed it out to the pilot and we went in for a closer view of that building. I told him to fly over the smaller building first so we didn't draw attention to whoever was waving the rag. We dropped down over the small barn and just as we started to turn to go into our run over the big building I felt a PING right under my feet. I told the pilot immediately and he swung the chopper to face the small building. I put the binoculars up to my eyes and saw a man standing in the doorway of the barn with a rifle pointed toward us. I saw the flame out of the barrel and there was SPLAT sound from where the pilot was sitting. I looked around the seat and there was a big Star in the front part of the window in front of the pilot. He was laughing like crazy as he dove the chopper toward the barn and the shooter.

"If you get me killed, I will haunt you forever!"

"Don't worry, Commander, I'm just gonna scare the hell out of that idiot. I can't believe he would draw attention to himself by shooting at us. Hang On!"

I was, believe me, and the pilot was laughing like crazy as he flew almost into the open barn doors. Damn, this guy was crazier than I was when I was young. He was laughing as the shooter dove flat on the ground and he pulled up. I swear from my seat we only cleared the barn by about an inch or so. As we turned we were over the big building, I had the binoculars to my eyes and could see a small girl waving what looked like a pair of panties between the bars over the window. This was all the confirmation I needed and I immediately ordered the pilot to take us back to town. While we were flying back I had the pilot tell Butch to have Hadley at our landing site. When we sat down I jumped out and went over to them pulling Hadley to the side away from the chopper as pilot was shutting down.