Chapter 7

Any hopes we had of resolving this whole mess without having to confront Adamson's goons came crashing down that very night.

Bonnie had opted to sleep in the tree so Sarah and I had taken full advantage of her absence from our bed with a particularly enthusiastic bout of sexual misconduct, leaving both of us blissfully fatigued and panting for breath. As we lay there letting the sweat evaporate off our bodies and drifted toward much-need sleep, we were jolted back to full consciousness by what I was certain were two gunshots.

"Fuck!" I said, reaching on my jeans. "Call Jimmy!"

Sarah grabbed my arm. "What do you think you're doing? Don't be running outside when someone is shooting the place up! That's crazy!"

"If it's the visitors we've been dreading, do you think it'll be any safer in here? After you call Jimmy, call the Sheriff and get them on the way, then grab Bonnie and get the two of you into the trees."

The only thing resembling a weapon in the house was a dart rifle used to tranquilize animals that were being particularly problematic. I grabbed it and a box of tranquilizer darts and headed out the door toward the nearest stand of trees. When I was under cover, I looked back and saw Sarah holding Bonnie's hand and running the other direction.

I couldn't tell for sure but I thought the shots came from across the pasture. I loaded a dart into the chamber and began circling the open field just inside the tree line. I couldn't see anything moving except some horses shuffling about nervously, probably looking for the same thing I was; the source of those loud reports.

I was about half way to the caretaker's house where Jimmy lived when I heard movement off to my left toward the fence. I did my damnedest to move silently but I couldn't avoid crunching a few dead leaves as I neared the sounds. Suddenly, I was bathed in bright light. I could think of nothing to do but drop to the ground and wait for the bullets to tear into my body as I tried to get a bead on whoever it was. Not that putting a dart into someone would prevent him from splattering by brains in the dirt.

"Aaron! Is that you?" It was Jimmy and he obviously wasn't concerned about the amount of noise he was making.

I heaved a huge sigh of relief and stood up. "Come on over," he said, "I've got our visitors."

He was holding the flashlight in one hand and pistol in the other. There were two of them. One was sitting against a tree cradling an obviously broken arm and the other kneeling on the ground spitting blood from a face that looked like it had collided with something big and fast. Turns out it was Jimmy's fist.

"Who are they?" I asked, although I already had a pretty good idea.

Jimmy chuckled, "Well, they haven't been very forthcoming with information but I think it's safe to assume they're the assholes we've been expecting. Look!" He pointed the flashlight to a large canvas bag lying on the ground with a handgun and a dart pistol lying on top of it. "I don't think they were hunting raccoons, do you?"

"I guess we don't have to wait for the shoe to drop now. Sarah called the Sheriff. They should be here in a few minutes. Shall we get these guys back to the house?"

"Well, that might be a problem, Aaron. I'm not sure I can make it that far." Jimmy turned the flashlight on himself illuminating a bullet hole in his t-shirt just below his collarbone.

"Oh shit, Jimmy, let me look at that!" I took the light and pulled the collar away to see the entry wound. There was a neat hole about an inch below the bone. When I lifted his shirt in the back, I found an exit wound near the top oh his shoulder blade that wasn't nearly so neat. It was a sure bet he was bleeding into his lung.

"OK, you sit against that tree and I'll run back and get an ambulance on the way."

"Better make it quick 'cause I'm getting a little woozy. I don't know how long I can keep an eye on these guys."

I picked up the dart pistol and walked behind the guy with the mushy face and shot him in the ass with a dart. It got a reaction.

"You motherfucker!" he screamed. "You're a dead man!"

I helped him down to the ground with a smack across the head with the barrel of the pistol. His associate wasn't nearly so aggressive. He just cringed, pleading with me not to shoot him. I smiled as I put a dart in his upper leg, just missing his equipment.

I helped Jimmy slide down the trunk of a poplar into a sitting position. He laughed as he got settled, "Why, I didn't know you had such a mean streak in you, Aaron. Wish I'd thought of that."

Both men were totally out of it within a minute.

"Hang on buddy, I'll be right back!" I took off running for the house as fast as I could manage across the uneven ground. As I neared the door, I shouted for Sarah and Bonnie to come in. I could hear the sirens of the Sheriff's cars approaching on the highway. I hit the button on the wall that opened the gate, then I grabbed the phone and hit 911.

"I'm at the animal compound three miles east of town. The Sheriff will be here in a minute but you need to send an ambulance as well. There's been a man shot in the chest and he looks pretty bad. Oh, and if they have a four-wheel-drive unit they should send that because they'll have to go through a pasture to get to him."

When I stepped out the door, Bonnie leapt into my arms and Sarah hugged me. "What was it Aaron? Did you find Jimmy? He didn't answer his phone."

"Jimmy got the two guys that were coming after Bonnie but he got shot in the process. I just called for an ambulance."

"Oh my god!" Sarah groaned. "How is he?"

"He was watching the guys when I left him. I put a dart into each of them so they won't be going anywhere. Jimmy doesn't look too hot, Sarah."

The Sheriff's car skidded to a stop. I handed Bonnie to Sarah and trotted over and climbed in the rear behind the deputy. "Jimmy intercepted two guys inside the fence and got shot for his trouble. We need to get back to him right now. Head across the field and I show you where he is."

"Jimmy was shot? Jesus! How bad is he." Seems the Sheriff and Jimmy were cousins.

"He was pretty weak when I left him five minutes ago but he was still conscious. I darted the two guys he caught."

Jimmy was still with us but his breathing was fast and, even with the flashlight, I could see he was as pale as a ghost. The prisoners were both still out cold. The Sheriff got on his radio and shouted, "I want that goddamned ambulance here double time, you hear me? And call the hospital and let 'em know they got a gunshot to the chest on the way."