Chapter 90

We left Nellis and headed back toward my cabin. I was thinking about things and waited until we took off before I told the pilot there was a change of plans. I had decided to go back to the cave and drive my Jeep home and spend a few days with my family. I knew it would take at least a week before the bruising on my chest went away. The ribs would heal themselves but I would be sore for a while. I also had sense enough not to let Tran see the vest and where the bullets had hit. I just wasn't ready to face her temper if she saw that. If I let Preacher help me get the vest off, then I could go home and not have so much hassle from my wife.

"Harry, we just got orders from some Major not to land at the cave. He said they were busy and that we should return to the plant."

"You get me on the horn with that Major."

It took about five minutes before he would come to the radio but he finally did and I went off on him.

"Major, this is Harry Hanson and we will land whether you like it or not. If you persist on giving my pilot flak, I will have you brought up on charges. Also, I want Preacher standing by when we land."

"Sorry Sir, it wasn't explained to me who was in the chopper. Preacher is unavailable at this time but will be back in about fifteen minutes."

I didn't like this at all, so I called Stumpy and brought him up to speed as to what was going on. He said he had been arguing with that a-hole all morning. I told him to get his team and Preacher's ready to go. They were to board a Whisper and stand by for my call. If I didn't call in fifteen minutes, they were to assume we were captive and come in by force if necessary. I then called the President. He immediately answered the phone and I told him what was going on. He was fit to be tied and said I was to do whatever I thought was necessary to handle the situation. He also said he would scramble two more teams from San Diego and get them out to me immediately. I told him to have them come in with the local Sheriff and his Deputies as soon as they landed. I then called Butch and he said that the Special Teams were still with him at the gulch eating. I brought him up to speed and told him they were to come in from the gate we used yesterday. If they were accosted, they were to take prisoners but if they were shot at, they should return fire and keep on coming to the cave.

As we were settling down to land, I told my pilot that he was to take off as soon as I hit the ground. He was to fly backup and if he was shot at to return fire immediately. I got a grin and a thumbs up from him. I jumped out at about three feet above the ground and he was in the air immediately circling my position.

"How come your chopper didn't land, Sir?"

"Because I prefer that it stays in the air. Now, do you want to tell me what's going on here?"

"I assumed command this morning after we found that the reported weapons were missing."

"Major, you were given direct orders that either Preacher or I were in command, so have your men stand down. If anyone has been harmed in any way, I will have you brought up on charges. Also, General Brown is dead so you won't be getting any more orders from him."

I watched as the shock set in from my news about General Brown, I could see he didn't know what to do now that his direct line of command was shut down. I guess he decided that discretion was the better way to go since he didn't know that I knew all about him.

"Have the men stand down, Captain. Bring them all into the cave area and load the trucks so we can go. Sorry about the attitude Sir, but we thought the weapons had been stolen and we were give specific orders by General Brown on what to do when we arrived."

"How many of my people were harmed when you took over, Major? Answer carefully, your career is on the line because I talked to the President before I landed."

"We had two wounded and they are fine and have been treated. We had several that were slightly injured when they resisted but they also will be fine. About fifteen escaped into the woods and I have men out trying to find them, Sir. The civilians are all fine and in the other cave under guard. I have given the order to recall all my men as you heard, Sir. I hope this doesn't create any problems for you or your teams."

"Major, I will promise you this; if you think you are going to get away with violating a direct order from the President, you better think again. I have more men coming in and if you hadn't stood down there would have been a lot of innocent lives lost here today because of your actions. I know your men were following your orders, but that's no excuse for terrorizing innocent people. The guns you were supposed to escort are under heavy guard, and I guarantee you that none of the members of Global will ever get their hands on them again."

"Sir, sorry for the misunderstanding, but I got a call from General Brown yesterday, and was given explicit instructions to take those guns to another location when they were loaded. If I may ask Sir, who or what is Global?"

That gave me the answer I needed. The Major and his men weren't part of Global, but dupes used by the General to do his dirty work. I looked behind me when I heard a noise and what I saw made my day. Preacher and Masters were coming toward the cave with about fifty of the Major's men with their hands in the air. At least the teams hadn't lost their touch, I thought, as they came up and marched the prisoners into the cave.

"Harry, is this shit over now? I am ready to start shooting some of these dummies that think they are a match for any team member."

"Preacher, the Major has stood down and you are back in charge as of now. He was following a traitor's orders and that person is now deceased. I guarantee he and his men will not cause any more problems. Get the trucks loaded and have them get the hell out of here before I lose my temper at this mess."

"The trucks are all loaded and ready to go, Harry."

"Ok, let them go and get out of our hair. This has already been a disaster and now I have to apologize to Zeke and his people for what's happened to them. As soon as the trucks pull out, I need a medic and a conversation with you. Meanwhile, let me get on the horn and call off the reinforcements I have coming in."

I spent the next fifteen minutes having the teams that the President called up return to base, and Butch and his men return to the gulch to continue their party. He and several of his men I could hear in the background sounded a little disappointed because they had been called off. The President must have asked me fifty questions by the time I had called off the teams from San Diego. I finally asked him why they were in San Diego and was told they were training for a mission. I decided I didn't want to know any more so I quit asking questions. He also gave me hell for not going home like I had been ordered. Since I didn't have an answer for that one, I just said sorry about that, and hung up the phone before he got started again. I had forgotten to call my friend with the information about Global, so I did and gave him the number that he should fax it to. I reminded him to make sure there wasn't a stamp on the fax paper that he could be traced with. He just laughed and asked if I thought he was stupid or something.

That's it, I thought to myself. I was making a mental note to not try to advise people who were smarter than I was. I felt foolish enough as it was and decided I would just stick to the facts from now on.

I stood next to Preacher and watched the convoy of trucks and MPs pull out to go to Nellis with the last of this crap. I was watching Preacher out of the corner of my eye. I could tell he wanted to shoot the Major on the spot as he went by and threw a half ass salute at him. The Major didn't know it yet but his career in the service was at an end. I would have a long talk with the President tomorrow about his actions here and if I could, I would have him forcibly retired as soon as he got back to where he came from.

"Harry, if I ever lay eyes on him again I will kick his ass. Now let go up and explain all of this to Zeke's people and try to squelch any hard feelings. Man, I can't believe he pulled that stunt and I didn't shoot him for it."

As it turned out we didn't have to go to Zeke. He came to us and it took about an hour to calm him and the men down enough so I could explain what just happened and tell him that they were still going to get everything I had promised. We talked for about another fifteen minutes and then they went back up the hill to get some food on for everyone. I went into the cave with Preacher following me and headed to the office. When I finally sat down, I was exhausted and thank God there was a coffee pot with fresh coffee. Well, at least it smelled like coffee. The taste left something to be desired but I needed the pick me up. I stood up and took my jacket off. Preacher almost jumped out of his chair when he saw the vest and the two bullets still stuck in it.

"What the hell happened, Harry? Man, whoever shot you sure meant business!"

"Just help me get this thing off before I go home will you? I am too sore to lift my arms high enough to take it off."

He came over and helped me lift it over my head and examined the bullets while I sat back down. He set it on the desk and looked at me. I could see the question in his eyes. I didn't feel like explaining it right now so I just shrugged at his obvious question.

"Preacher, I will explain it all to you later. I am going home and let my wife see if she can do something for the bruising. I can feel it all over the front of my chest. I also think I have a few fractured ribs. Rotate the men for one more night. Tomorrow I will have the safe opened then we are done here. I think I will let Zeke handle the cars and their disposal. They will probably get a reward of some kind for their recovery. If they don't, then I will make sure the insurance companies give them something. Oh, by the way, we no longer have that leak we discussed earlier."

I got up grabbing the vest and headed for my Jeep to go home. I got a dirty look from Preacher for not explaining everything. I wanted to do it with him and Stumpy both being present since we were all on the same team so many years ago. I would be almost willing to bet they would have a cussing fit when they got the news. I climbed into the power wagon and started for the cabin. I was so sore that every bump I hit brought agony to my chest.

When I pulled up to the cabin, I was still debating with myself why I called the Dodge Power Wagon a Jeep. I checked in with the ear bud, and was told the guards were back on duty and everything had been quiet. I grabbed the vest and slowly went up the steps.