Chapter 64

I was smiling to myself as I grabbed my cell. I called Charley and was told he was out. I left word for him to call me when he had a chance. I then called the motor pool and Doris answered the phone. I explained to her some of what was going on and asked her to have a talk with Jimmy. She should tell him I wanted him to stay away from the cabin until I let him know it was safe to come back around. She said she understood and would pass the word onto him.

"Harry, are you going to take over the department since Mark is no longer the sheriff? Andy is running it now with Shorty's help but the commissioners are starting to get antsy, afraid that it will revert back to the way it used to be. I expect you will be getting a call in a few days about this."

"I would not make a good sheriff, Doris. I can't take orders worth a damn. Besides, I don't work well behind a desk."

"I figured that but I thought I would ask anyway. Oh, by the way congratulations on your upcoming marriage. You two make a good pair. Maybe she can keep you under control in your declining years. I bet the girls are having a ball with all of this. Harry, I'm sorry about Mark. I know what it's like to lose close friends."

"Thanks Doris, but I need a little information if you can provide it. Who bought the casino in the gulch for the first question and have the new owners of the restaurant opened up yet?"

"The casino was bought by a conglomerate of casino owners from Vegas and they hired everyone locally before they went outside. The people in the gulch are almost all working now, Harry. The restaurant is owned by an old couple from back east and they are really sweet. I think they came from Indiana or close by there. They also hired all local people, and from what I hear, they are great people to work for and they pay a fair wage. What exactly are you looking for Harry?"

"I am trying to locate a bunch of Russians that have come into the area in the last couple of weeks. I have seen several in the last couple of days and wondered where they are all coming from?"

"Harry, you don't lie very well do you. I haven't heard of any moving in but I will put the word out for you and see what I can find out. Hey, they are planning on selling your old unit if you're interested. The whole department has these new four wheel drive pieces of junk that we are constantly working on."

"I want it, Doris. Do the paperwork on it and I will come in and pay. I want it set up so buy what you need to do it and I will pay for any charges incurred. I want lights hidden in the grill and a wig wag system put on it. Tell Jimmy to do it and I will pay all his labor. I also want winches on front and rear as well as wrap around brush guards and I also want some of that really thick screening put over the radiator area. I want the small hole diamond style cut to protect the front. Without going into much detail, I want it as safe as possible without adding too many pounds to it."

"Harry, Jimmy is a whiz with that type of thing and I think I know what you have in mind. I will let him set it up for you. His Jeep has more surprises than any civilian vehicle I have ever seen. He was experimenting when he built it and he told me you could shoot it with a rifle and it would only dent the doors. He said he wanted to try some new things he read about if he ever did another one, so don't be surprised if you get more than you bargained for, Harry. He has been experimenting with some kind of ceramic spray he made. He has been really happy since Sandra got back."

"Ok Doris, turn him loose on it but tell him I need it as fast as possible. My jeep is still in the state impound and I am using one of their units until they get it back to me. I tried to call Charley but he is out somewhere."

"I'm surprised he hasn't called you after what happened yesterday evening."

"What are you talking about? I haven't heard from anyone since I got back, other than the other night."

"Butch and another Trooper stopped a large flatbed yesterday and when they walked up to it, the three inside opened up on them with automatic weapons. They were both hit several times but they had vests on. They kept them in the hospital because they both have several broken ribs. I have the truck here as I was the one who towed it after they found it abandoned and burned. The State Trooper wrecker is supposed to pick it up later today so their forensics team can go over it."

"Doris, where was it found?"

"Up at the old Creole mine by that survivalist camp that took over the mine several years ago. They claim they wanted to reopen the mine when they bought the property, but all they do is shoot and play some kind of war games there. Trent took me there once. He said they were all old military officers that tried to keep their old battles going so they could all feel young again. He had a lot of contempt for them, but I can tell you they bought a lot of weapons from him over the years. They shop here in town and are always very polite to all they speak to. They have all new buildings up there and they rebuilt the old place. They put all their housing underground because they said it would be easier to keep warm in the winter. Hubba ran the other camp over in the next county and let me tell you, all of those people are whackos. They think they own that whole mountain and all of them live in concrete caves like moles. I never went up there, but Hubba used to brag about how if they were ever attacked, they could stand off an Army for years, if they needed too. His pappy used to send truckloads of supplies up there every month. That went on for years until you put that animal in his grave. I would like to keep talking to you Harry, but I need to get the men back to work as they are playing poker again. They are supposed to be on lunch but it was over with fifteen minutes ago. I'll get Jimmy started on the power wagon right away."

She hung up the phone, but in that short call I had gotten more information than I had asked for. She, whether she knew it or not, had been a big help, as I now had an idea where the rest of the weapons were. If they were there, we would need more help than just two Seal teams. Damn, this was going to turn out to be really messy if we had to fight our way into the camp in order to search it.

"Harry wake up, your other cell is ringing. Will you answer it? It is driving me crazy."

I grabbed the scrambled cell and it was Butter on the other end, informing me that they were at Nellis picking up some transportation and would be here tonight instead of tomorrow. I told him to come ahead. We would make supper when they got here as I had steaks and beer for all. He said great and hung up. I sat there for I didn't know how long, holding the cell in my hand. Tran came in and kissed me on the forehead and said lunch was ready if I was interested. I followed her to the kitchen and was greeted by two crying girls and Sandra, who had a shocked and puzzled look on her face as she watched them sob. I couldn't figure out what was going on until I saw what was on the table. Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup! Oh God, I thought, how was I going to handle this one as they both came flying to me? I went down on both knees and hugged them, letting them cry. I looked up at Sandra and Tran and mouthed, "I'll explain later." They both looked at me with puzzled expressions. I picked both girls up and went to the couch with them and sat down, holding them in my arms, feeling almost as bad as they did.

"Uncle Harry, can we please live here with you since both Mom and Dad are gone?"

"Honey, I don't know if you can understand this but your dad made sure you would always be with me before he died. I wouldn't ever let you stay with anyone else. Auntie Tran feels the same way and she loves you as much as I do. This is your home now, and I will take care of you both until you get married. Then you can get your own place. Now if we don't eat, I might faint from weakness and then you both will have to kiss me to wake me up."

They both were half laughing and crying at me when I said that.

"Uncle Harry, you can be so silly sometimes. Since I am older, I will be the one who has to kiss you and I don't think that would be much fun. I hate your mustache and it tickles when you kiss me good night."

That started and argument between them about who would kiss me so I quickly kissed them both. They both started giggling, climbing down and headed for the kitchen. I breathed a big sigh of relief and followed them out and sat down. Throughout the whole meal Sandra and Tran both kept watching me. When they were through eating, I told them to go brush their teeth and Sandra would be up in a minute as I wanted to talk to her about her violin. They took off acting normal again arguing who got the toothpaste first.

"Ok Harry, now will you tell us what that was all about? Sandra said as soon as the saw what was on the table they started crying."

"Sandra, remember when we first went to see the cabin and they girls were teasing Mark about his glue cakes, and you asked me what they were talking about?"

I watched as she thought about it and then she realized what I was talking about. She got a look of wonder on her face as she realized what had been on the table.

"I'll go up and talk to them Grandpa. I should have known, but until you reminded me it completely slipped my mind."