The Great Satan Falls Chap 1-3, 4-6

Oh, they are going to clean house, can't wait.

Way to go whtdragn.

love it when a plan comes together, thanks for the new chapter, looks like the iman has 3 more days till he sees the virgins

Chapter 45

Chapter 45
Agent Smith walked up the steps and out to his car side by side with Nora. As their hands swung and touched they clasped hands and walked down the gravel drive to his car and spoke quietly for a few minutes. Sheriff Boland walked past the two whispering back and forth and said a quick good by as he passed them. They both looked back to the Sheriff and said goodby almost in unison. Nora turned back towards him and then leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He returned the soft kiss and it ended much to shortly for him. Nora hugged him and whispered “thank you”. He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek and down to her neck.
“I will try and always come to your rescue” he whispered.

They separated as he opened the door and sat down rolling down the window so he could reach out and hold her hand he started the car and pulled down the driveway. Agent Smith drove down 44 and then turned onto Dixie Highway heading back into the city. He had noticed the sedan as he passed the turned off for Knob Creek gun range. It may have been back there for longer but he saw it on that long straightaway. He headed down Dixie Highway and increase his speed. He was getting somewhat tired of this cat and mouse game and he was pretty sure this was Agent Burke behind the wheel. What he did not know was if the agent was working alone or if Agent Solince was also involved. The change in his work and the access he had been given was a worry to him. If they were trying to set him up it would take both to work it out as they had. Agent Smith just did not want to believe that Agent Solince was involved. He knew he was burnt out but he felt he was still a patriot and took his pledge seriously. Agent Smith turned into one of the many gas stations and started to fuel his car and walked into the station and looked for the bathroom. He went in locked the door and pulled out his cell phone. He pulled up an app that he had downloaded from the secured apps that the FBI used and entered the number of the device he was looking for. A small screen popped up and a small dot appeared on the map. Right outside where he was stopped. He had placed a gps device on Agent Burkes car the other day after he was followed. He chatted Burke up as he was cleaning out his car trunk. Agent Smith had slipped a small tracking device on the side wall under the carpeting. He helped Burke grab some trash and some tactical equipment and acted like the best of friends. Now the application showed that Burke's car was sitting outside the gas station following him. Agent Smith washed his hands and walked back out to his car and proceeded home. He was going to head into work in a couple of hours and he needed to find out who Burke was working with. There were new files that had showed up in his list last nigh and they were no where near old enough to be in the group he was looking at. He had opened one and it looked like a detailed report of the Attorney General then a attorney working on the cases of many of the detainees at Guantanamo. It detailed visits to countries and meetings with radical elements in many communities. It also documented what looked to be his continued meetings with the IDG and some very cozy relationships. It was damning and he closed the document and thought he would go in tomorrow and speak with Agent Solince and let him know about the inadvertent file addition. Then the night go interrupted and now he was driving home with an Agent on his tail. He pulled into his driveway and opened his door getting out of his car and looking around for the possible tail. He did not see anyone stopping down the street he could not see the back alley over the fence. Agent Smith walked up the stairs and placed the key in the lock and opened the door. He walked into the front room and turned on the lamp next to the couch.

“Hello Agent Smith” Tim was startled to see Agent Solince sitting on his couch his hand moved to the gun he carried but noticed the gun pointed at his chest and did not move his hand further.

Agent Smith new this was bad news and he had walked into a situation without any backup that he might not get out of. “hello Sir, to what do I own the pleasure of such an early visit.”

A quick tap on the door. “Come in Agent Burke.” I was about to tell Agent Smith why we are here. “You see Agent Smith we have been watching you for some time and we are going to arrest you for gun running and unlawful distribution of Top Secret Documents. Agent Burke had come in the door and stood in between Agent Smith and the front door. Agent Solince Stood up and walked over to Agent Smith and reached under his coat and pulled his service pistol out and placed it in his waistband. He moved back arms length from Agent Smith and motioned Agent Burke to close the door. “you see Agent, Agent Burke here had been watching you and has brought me some very damning information on you.”

“so I have been under a formal investigation.” Agent Smith asked.

“well maybe not formal but Agent Burke felt after the problem you had with agent Eliz you needed to be kept and eye on. He thinks you bought a gun for that Tanner fellow and that you were securing data to use against the Attorney General, he also thinks you shared data with people who were not allowed to see it.” The Special Agent explained. “further more he asserts that you helped that Tanner fellow out when he was in the Hospital and Eliz was going to interrogate him. He does not think you are with the program of the agency and feels you are a danger to the Director and to the policies that the Director and the Attorney General are working to implement.”

“well I guess he is correct I am not with the policies that this Director has laid out and that now the President has disavowed. The whole idea that we give special exceptions to one group and attempt to demonize another is ludicrous and it will fail.” Agent Smith replied.

“That is so like you. Agent Burke said. “America has a great deal to apologize for and we must allow some expression of that. These Muslim Terrorists are showing us we have been to arrogant and have to be brought down a rung or two.”

Agent Smith turned to Agent Burke with a grim look on his face. “ So you must actually be a apart of this IDG liaison group I have heard about.”

Burke's face became angry for a spit second and then he smiled. “So you have been doing your homework Agent Smith.”

“yeah I have heard about the lapdogs of the IDG and how they tried to kill a young man and run him off the road. I would go so far as to bet you might have some connections to that Commonwealth Attorney and his friends in the mayors office. I wonder if you know they sent ten men to Jerome Tanners house tonight to kill him and his family?”Agent Smith wondered aloud.

Agent Burke scoffed “they could have sent one hundred men it does not really matter, they will eventually kill him. They...”

“they have not done such a good job at that whole killing thing yet, have they.” Agent Smith retorted and laughed.

“It hardly matters to me when they do it as long as they get it done. He is standing in the way of this getting done. He is giving the people hope and that is the one thing they cannot have.” Agent Burke said his face turning red as he spoke.

“So I guess this is not going to end well for me, am I going to go for my gun or die in custody.” Agent Smith asked shifting back and forth on his feet. Looking hopefully for some kind of a break where he could escape.
Agent Burke explained how it was to bad that Agent Smith had come home and surprised an intruder and was killed at the scene. He pulled open his coat and retrieved a small caliber revolver and raised it towards Agents Smiths chest. He pulled back the hammer and began to squeeze the trigger.

Agent Solince stood close to Agent Smith. He had to be close for this to look right. The two were going back and forth bickering away as if this was not the most important seconds passing in the world. He saw Agent Burke go into his waist band for the revolver and get ready to fire it.

Agent Solince slowly pulled the 22 from behind him and fired twice hitting Agent Burke in the heart. He looked at Agent Solince with a mixture of surprise and hatred as he knew now he had been betrayed. Agent Solince turned towards Agent Smith and pointed the silenced 22 his way. “tim do not move, this has to go quickly so you have to listen to me. I have known Burke was with this shadow group for some time and when he started watching you I knew the end was that he was going to try and take you out. I needed to look like I worked with him so he would trust me and I could make sure he was unable to take you out. I think he saw that you helped Tanner and maybe made a difference and he had to stop that. He also thought that you were not with the system and you might find those files I gave you and would try and damage the Attorney General and the FBI Director. He of course did not know that I gave them to you he thought it might have been Agent Dawes.” he saw a look of concern cross over Agent Smiths face. “He is a bit to well connected for them to go after him they just want him contained. Listen we have not got much time. There is a file in my desk that shows you and I have been looking at this whole IDG liaisons and if there were doing illegal stuff. It also shows Agent Burke seemed to be investigating you for files that the IDG thought could be used against the Attorney General and the FBI director. ” Agent Solince handed a small thumb drive. “ the information on that can cause some serious problems for both of the scoundrels.”

Agent Smith held the drive in his hand and looked at it closely and then back at his silenced 22 in the hands of his friend. “Sir why do you still have the gun on me”

“Because you have to promise me something and it has to be done now.” Agent Solince said tears steaming down his face.

Sheriff Boland had seen the car parked at the entrance to knob creek gun range and pulled off on a side street and followed it and Agent Smith to what Boland assumed was Agent Smith's house. He had gotten out and walked to the door just in time to see the person standing by Agent Smith shoot whoever was near the door. He was not sure what was going on but he turned the knob and drew his weapon. He went in and aimed the gun at the man holding the gun on Agent Smith.

“tim you have to do this it has to be done so this looks all to right.” Agent Solince said his voice now rising. He did not see the door opening until the big man was in the room and aiming a gun at him.

Agent Tim Smith moved quickly and grabbed the 22 from Solince and ended up between Solince and Sheriff Boland gun.

“what in the hell boy are you trying to get killed. Sheriff yelled.

“sorry Sheriff this is my SAIC Agent Solince, he saved me.”Agent Smith explained.

“Tim this has to be done now grab Burkes gun.”

Agent Smith reached down and grabbed the gun out of Agent Burkes hand and looked over at Agent Solince and saw he had walked close to where the body was and knelt down. “Stand Just where agent Burke was and right behind me.” Agent Solince said as he knelt down in from of the Agent. “now you have to do this... you have to for me. Now shoot me in the back of the head.”

“WHAT! are you out of your damn mind why, he is dead we can make anything .. we can say anything we want.” Agent Smith said raising his voice.

“No this is how it has to be if Burke killed me that will turn many agents against them and we need that.” Agent Solince said as he turned pleading with Agent Smith.

“this is crazy I am not going to kill you.. you are just burned out we can do...”

“I am dead already... I have bone cancer small cell. I will be dead in months and it will not be some quiet death. I will be racked with pain. I will not kill myself you know I cannot do that but this way I was killed on the job and my family will get all the benefits and none of the misery. I have said my goodbys. I do not want to waste away. I want to do this on my terms.” His eyes full of tears. Agent Smith's hand was shaking as he stood behind Agent Solince. He tried and tried to squeeze the trigger and he could not. “Tim for God-sake think about my family.. do this for me.”

Sheriff Boland walked slowly over to Tim and wrapped his hand around the young mans hand. Agent Solince looked back and nodded. “Agent Burke and I went shooting today.” As he turned his head and face away. Agent Smith held his hand steady. “thank you Tim” Agent Smith and the Sheriff squeezed the trigger. Agent Solince body slumped forward.

They both moved away and stood over the bodies. It look like agent Burke had stood over Agent Solince and shot him in the back of the head and then was killed by Agent Smith. He placed the gun one the floor and kicked it away from Agent Burkes hand.

“get your story straight and stick to it. I heard the call and headed over here because we have a mutual friend.” The sheriff said as he walked to the porch to wait for the police.

“Thank you.” Agent Smith said quietly.

Sheriff Boland looked back over his shoulder. I know this is something that will have to tell someone to keep your sanity but keep it few and make sure they understand.”

“I will be telling JT and I have a long time friend in DC beside them this will be going to my grave with me.” Agent Smith said as he nodded towards the older man.

The police arrived and FBI agents arrived and detectives arrived and over and over again Agent Tim Smith re-accounted the heroics acts of Agent Solince and how he and the SAIC had became worried about Agent Burke and his allegiance to this shadow group inside the FBI. He explained how Agent Solince had a case file opened on this and he felt it would probably be on his desk at work. He talked over and over how Burke has gotten the drop on Solince and tried to get Agent Smith to disarm. He showed them the place her had thrown his pistol trying to get Agent Burke to not harm Agent Solince and then after Burke shot Solince Tim Reached down in this top drawer where he had the 22 and shot agent Burke twice in the chest. Yeah he had not registered the silencer. Everyone decided that should be left out of the report and he should just pretend no one saw it. He was very upset and told his story over and over again and even told it downtown until there was no one else that wanted to hear it.

Dan called Jeanie and let her know of the attack at JT home and let her know that everyone was alright but that a deputy had been killed. He had not gone into a great deal of detail but suffice it to say JT was not in a good mood but there was a bright spot and Dan explained the list and the information that was coming back from the list. Jeanie was excited at the prospect of getting at some of these guys but at the cost of a shootout at JT house was a steep price. She was going to have to ask her father for people to go down there. She had become attached somehow to this man she had never meet and his family. It was somehow now very important that nothing happen to him. Dan also told Jeanie that he was going to buy a ring for Beth Ann. Of course She squealed as she knew he was serious. She said she would come out and meet this woman as soon as this whole thing was settled. She worried who would be left when this was all done though. Dan said he was heading down for breakfast and would call in about an hour or two when the computer program should be finished. She said her goodbys and decided to call JT and let him know anything he needed to just let her know.

JT sat in the recliner and waited for the call from Dan and dozed some. The phone rang and reached for it and flipped the phone open.

“JT it is Jeanie...Look I know Dan said we would talk later...but”

“Jeanie it is always good to speak to you.” JT said letting her know that she should not worry about the call.

They spoke for several minutes about what had happened. JT went over in some detail the attack that had occurred earlier. He explained how chaos had saved him and even detailed the final moments when he had felt something explode in him. The rage and anger he had felt as he swung the blade. Jeanie listened as only someone who had been through something similar could. She wiped a tear as he told her of how chaos had saved him. She could tell something was sitting under the conversation, something he was not sure about bringing up. “JT is there something that you want to ask... I just feel like there is something you are not sure about saying.”

There was a slight pause. JT wanted to make sure he had this correct in his head before he let it slip out of his mouth. “Jeanie you know what Dan is working on, if this works we might be able to find and … neutralize some of these terrorist groups. I have sworn to kill that old man in four days before that if we could get these locations to people we can trust maybe they can be taken care of no matter what happens to me. I was thinking of contacting the people who have already fought them. They already have a vested interest maybe they would take up arms again and fight them. Is that to much to ask them to do?”

“I think if you asked they would follow your lead.” She answered somberly. “I swear that I am willing to do whatever is necessary. I will not speak for my father or anyone else but I believe they would say the same.”

“then that is the plan, I know you have more resources then I on this could you see if you can find contact information for Liser and that Sargent and I already have the contact information of the Ranger in Texas. I will call them all and ask. I feel I have to do that myself. When Dan calls back I will call you and we will get this going. I am a date in four days that I have no intention of missing.” he said is a solemn tone.

They said their goodbys and were off the connection. Jeanie needed to go talk to Gael and her Father. If there was more of a group in this area she wanted a crack at them.

Dan sat down to breakfast and looked over at his fiancee. Her brother and father sat at the table chatting back and forth. Her brother already had been told the news and congratulated Dan. She had made a huge meal of pancakes biscuits and gravy and bacon. She was an excellent cook and he smiled as he looked towards her and into her eyes. For the first time in his life he was making long term decisions but he wondered would they ever come to pass. They had come after JT a third time and he knew that JT had accepted they would never stop until he was dead or they were. Would they come after Beth Ann like that because of him. He would find them all.

Intense,
Thank you for the new chapter!

Jeepcats3

a curious turn of events, good chapter

MORE!MORE!MORE!
Pleeeeease!
Matt

Sad but a good chapter, the chapter ended way to fast lol.

That sure was a twist there at the end of the chapter. I thought they had Smith in the bag. Need more story please.

WWWHWHOOOOOHHHOOOO!!!! Good Stuff!!!!!!!!!


WAB

Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Agent Tim Smith walked into the downtown FBI office and slowly made his way to his desk. He was emotionally drained after more then two hours of telling his story over and over again. He closed the laptop on his desk and was surprised to see a new skin on the back of it. He made no outward notice of anything different and continued to move the laptop to its case and headed for the door. He saw several agent in the Office that used to be Agent Solince going through paper and folders. He nodded and walked out.

“Agent Smith” An Agent walked out into the hallway and called for him. “I know it has been a long morning already but if we need to get in touch where can we call.”

Agent Smith considered for a moment. “ Well I am srue they are going to be at my house for some time so I may have to rent a hotel room for a night but for now just call my cell I will make sure and have it with me and charged.”

“will do... I am sorry about Solince he was a good man and whatever this group is that Burke was involved in we are going to ferret it out and make them known.”

“Thank You, yes he was.” Agent Smith said reaching his hand out to shake the Agents hand. “bring them out into the light. Let them know they cannot hide.”

The two parted and Agent Smith headed down to his car. He hoped JT would not mind some more company but oddly enough with all that had happened that seemed to be the only place that he felt safe right now. The happenings with Agent Solince and Burke had caught him off guard. If not for Agent Solince he would be the dead agent and no one would ever have questioned it. His body leaned against the cold concrete blocks of the parking garage and shivered uncontrollably. Agent Smith got into his car and drove out of the garage and down the street and when he was sure there was no one following he turned into the nearest McDonald’s and grabbed a coffee through the drive thru and parked. He pulled out the laptop and unsnapped the skin. A small usb memory stick was taped to the inside. He loaded the stick and as he thought it was password protected. It took some time but he finally guessed that it was his FBI identification number that had been used. The screen opened to a single spaced paragraph.

Agent Smith.... Tim;

I am sorry that what happened today was necessary but I assure you it was. I had become aware of the group that Agent Burke worked with some time ago and had been able to find some of the players and I had found out they would do anything to protect the Attorney General and to some lesser extent the Director himself. My inquires had been meet with a note from higher ups that if I continued this probe my career was in danger all be it in a very nice and legal way mind you. I dropped it and did nothing further until Agent Burke took an interest in you. I did not know if it was the Eliz incident or your ties with Mr. Tanner but they were onto you and I felt you were in danger and let Agent Dawes know. I know you are unaware but Agent Dawes comes from agents way back and he is virtually untouchable. His family and in-laws could raise a considerable stink if needed and to an extent you have had that protection also. Agent Dawes let it be known early on that you were like a brother. However you through a big monkey wrench into their plans when Tanner would not talk and fall into the trap and get charged with something even if it was lying to the FBI. In their eyes you helped Tanner escape and they wanted you for that but I was not sure how much until Agent Burke make the mistake of copying me on an email and I knew they were going to try and take you out of the equation. I had presented Agent Burke with the idea of watching you on the whole file issue and he felt he could trust me and why not I was helping him set you up. When he came to me last week and said we might need to make this look like a robbery or something I accepted that for the agency it might look better then a protracted trial. He picked the night and I am assuming that it coincided with an attack on the Tanner household. I swear if I had been able to get any information to you I would have. I only pray no one was injured. As for the rest you know what I asked you to do and I am thankful you were able to. Several weeks ago I was told by a doctor that tests showed I had bone cancer and had very little chance of making it more then a few months. I doubt those doctors or test will show up but if they do now it will be but a foot note that my wife was spared the agony of watching me wither away. I can only say thank you and if there had been any other way please know I would have taken it. This way my death will have meaning beyond allowing me to escape the ravages that were to come but it will cast some light on this shadowy group.

You are a good Agent and a True Friend. Never forget that.

Solince

Agent Smith dropped his head and said a silent prayer for his lost friend. He closed the lid of the laptop and took a drink of the now lukewarm coffee and pulled out of the parking space and drove away towards Jerome Tanners residence.

JT sat in the recliner after talking with Sheriff Boland and being given a brief overview of what had happened at Agent Smiths house. Boland did not want to go into much detail he felt that was best left for Agent Smith but hit the high points. JT sat back and wondered if this was the big try for them. Do away with him and those that had helped him. It would be hard to get at the Sheriff but Agent Smith and the young man who was helping Jeanie were easy enough targets. He would have to speak with Jeanie later and make sure that she was taking precautions but he was fairly sure her dad was keeping an eye on her. Tim needed to know it was ok to come out here. JT hoped the young man would know that without being told but he wanted there to be no doubt. He picked up his cell and called Agent Smith. He answered on the second ring.

“JT hey. I...”

“Agent …. Tim head out this way you are more then welcome. We will get something squared away for you.” JT said.

Agent Smith was speechless for a brief moment and finally simply said “thanks I will be there shortly.”

The phone conversation was over and JT limped up the stairs and told Anne that Agent Smith might be with them a day or so. She looked back somewhat skeptically but looked into his eyes and knew that something had happened and this was not something to discuss now. She had been on the phoene already and a friend would be able to put some windows in today and fix the broken door. He was happy to do the work and although he was unaware he would be getting paid today. She took all sorts of pictures to show the insurance agent when and if they came out anytime soon. It was these little issues that people did not think of when things go bad she thought. She had called her agent and it went to a national number and then after entering her information told someone would call back. She had then called the home number of their agent and left a message on the answering machine. Dan and Nora were picking up the rubble and getting the drive way cleaned up so they could park one of the other cars closer. They had already feed the animals and checked on the water for them. They made sure the night time events had not cost them any of their livestock. The goats had seem to take it in stride but the sheep were defiantly more skittish today it seemed. JT walked over and grabbed a bowl and danced around his wife in order to grab the cereal from the shelf. They ended up face to face and he leaned in for a kiss. “I am sorry for all this but I will put and end to it.” he said as he pulled way She shook her head and he could see tears well up. He sat the bowl down and poured some cereal . Anne opened the fridge and grabbed the milk and poured some over the dry cheerios.

“you have to promise me that you will try and come back.”She said as she put the milk away her face turned from him. “you cannot go down there and die as some payback for all of this. You have to try and come back.”

a long minute of silence was broken when he swore. “I will do all I can to get back to you and the kids. I know that nothing I could have done would have stopped this and I am not the martyr type but if it takes my life I am willing to lay it down to stop this crazed Imam. He will die.” he scooped up a spoonful and ate the rest of the bowl in silence. The answer must have swayed her fears for she made no mention of it after that.

Dan had finished his breakfast with Beth Ann, her father and brother before heading back to the computer room. He had started to help her with the dishes before she shooed him away to go take care of the important stuff he needed to do. He leaned down and kissed her on the neck before going up the steps and back to work. Dan checked his email and one of his friends had cracked the email servers from the IDG and was in the process of downloading their entire email files. Dan smiled, I may not be the one to kills you but I will make sure everyone knows you damn well deserved it he thought. The program was almost complete and had found all but a few numbers and located them on the map. He now checked for the information he had looked up yesterday and found that the package that was sitting in a Detroit Michigan FedEx office waiting for a pickup. He had hacked into the system yesterday and had made the item canceled for delivery because of being mislabeled. He had the item labeled as miss-routed and had it repackaged. Once repackaged it was renamed and a new identification number was generated. In the end when someone came looking for that package is still sitting in the Detroit Michigan FedEx office but would never be found. He had his new package of hats from Austria sent to him in Phoenix. Dan Sat back and watch the workers stream in for the day as they whispered about the damaged the robbers had done to the front facade. He smiled and watched his program add the last few dots and then checked a few of them on a local phone database and was able to locate addresses. So now he had an address for three of the phone numbers local to Phoenix and he and Mr. Davis could verify if these people were who they hoped they would be. He knew they could pull up and the people could be blond and blue eyed he just hoped that something stood out that they were on the right track. He sent JT a text that they were going to look at the three numbers that were closets to him and check them out. He would send the report and through an email just in case. It was always good to have a backup he thought. Beth Ann and he brother could stay here while they went and checked out the numbers and found a suitable ring for his fiancee. He knew sending this as a text was not going to make JT or Jeanie for that matter happy. They could have told him not to if he had called so he decided to do it this way to forgo the unnecessary questions of his sanity. That could wait until later. He smiled as he typed the last of the note. He thought back to an old saying his grandad used to say “I would rather ask forgiveness then permission.” he laughed out loud and a few of the works looked over at him strangely before he nodded and left his phone and headed downstairs.

JT got the message and cursed at the crazy kid and went downstairs to call him and get the email. He called as he was descending the steps Anne looking at him like he might have been loosing it talking to no one as he got up from the table and headed towards the steps but then again she remembered he was that way when the kids were younger and it usually related to a DTM ( don't tell mom) issue. Of course he thought the phone went unanswered as he sat down and started typing on the keyboard.

Dan made his way downstairs and found the family about ready to open the shop up. He laid out his plan in some detail. With he and Mr. Davis going to check out the location and make other needed stops he smiled and then come back and let Jeanie and JT know what they found. The two siblings were not exactly happy with the idea but when their dad agreed with Dan it was hard to make a good argument against the excursion. They were not going there to get into a fight but just a little recon to see if they were on the right trail Dan explained holding Beth Ann’s hand and kissing it. Roger Davis and Dan walked out of the shop and climbed into an old suburban and headed over to the south side to find the south side address that was suppose to be a book shop. While up at his desk Dan's cell phone rang and rang.

JT swore under his breath that he was going to kick the young mans ass if he ever did meet him and he was sure Jeanie would feel the same. Of course he was way to proud to admit that it would be just like him or for that matter probably Jeanie to go check it out before telling anyone else or asking permission per se. JT called Jeanie’s number and after a few rings she answered with a cheerful voice. He explained about the text and the email that he had received and now he could not get in touch with Dan on his cell phone. Jeanie cursed and started talking about Dan and how she was going to be the one to kill him and after he just got engaged she remarked. JT put that in the back to question later what was happening with the young Dan even though it seemed his life at this second might be cut short. He smiled listening to the tirade on the other end while it sounded like she was trying to find another phone with which to call Roger Davis. She came back apologizing and telling JT her dad was calling Roger right now and they would get to the bottom of this while sounding a lot like a concerned mother JT noted with a smile. He could here her father he assumed in the background talking to Roger Davis.

“JT hold on a second I am going to talk with Dan.” She said quickly.

JT worried for Dans eardrums as he could here her side of the conversation.

What do you think you are doing, You almost got killed 24 hours ago and now you are trying again. What has gotten into you.,Yes I know we are all in it and have to do what we have to do, yes I know you are just trying to protect Beth Ann, Yes I know you want to help, Yes dad knows roger and he will keep and eye on you.

JT could hear in her voice that he was getting to her and explaining how this had to be done to make sure they were on the right trail a though he had considered of course only after calling Jeanie. She was finishing up.

You had better be careful, Do not take any chances , Call when you two get back to the gun store.

JT listened as she said her goodbys and hung up the other line. “I see the boy made a tad amount of sense it seems.”

“do not take up for him. This was and is a bad idea but yes it made sense to go check out his information and see if it was correct.” She said.

JT laughed a bit “He is doing what he can, nothing you or I would not do”
With an exasperated sign “Yeah I know it is just...”

“it is just that you want him to be safe” JT said finishing the sentence.

“exactly” She replied. “I guess we are past that time now. I can only hope he makes good decisions and comes out of them in one piece.”

“yep that is all we can do now. We can try and protect them but this is a big fight and we cannot control it all.” JT replied “ I assume he was going to call when he returned.”

“Yes. We will do a conference call when he gets back.” Jeanie confirmed before grumbling about killing him when she saw him.

“I will wait for your call Jeanie” JT calmly said.

“yeah” she said distracted and ended the call.

He smiled and sat down in the recliner and looked over the news sites. Tim should be there anytime and then he could do some checking around the house. Just because he told the surviving attacker he would see the Imam in four days it did not mean the Imam would wait. He also needed to get another vehicle. His truck had been destroyed in the fight last night when that ass had thrown a grenade at him and now was a hulking piece of yard art until he could get it towed away. He picked up his cell and called a friend that had access to a fair amount of cars and trucks. He did a lot of horse trading he was fond of saying. The phone rang and rang on the other end and he was just about to hang up, wondering if something was wrong with his phone that no one was answering his calls. Hank Johnson answered the phone and they exchanged pleasantries. Hank had heard of the shootings at JT house and asked about everyone. JT followed the line that yeah the place got shot up and it looked like his truck had caught fire and exploded. Hank whistled on the other end and repeated “just caught fire and exploded I hate it when they do that.” JT knew that the gig was up but also knew that Hank was more having some fun then it would be an issue. JT explained that yeah it was to bad and he was looking for something to replace it with. Hank thought for a few minutes and told JT he had an old Jeep Grand Wagoneer that he might be willing to part with if the price was right. It was an older model 82 but it had a rebuilt tranny and eight cylinder engine with only about 2500 miles on the rebuild. JT asked some questions about other things that had been fixed and was defiantly interested in seeing it. The came the part JT was not particularly good at and that was haggling. He just wanted a price and one that he could afford and that was all but Hank always wanted to start to high and then finally come down to earth. So JT broached the subject of price and Hank sputtered and thought and said since he felt sorry for JT and the fact that his truck had caught on fire and then blowed all up he thought he could let him have it for 2500 if he wanted it. JT was temporarily silent as he wanted to make sure he had gotten the correct amount, the 2500 was a good price for that kind of vehicle and he had been willing to go as high as 3000 for it maybe 3500. JT said that was a fair price and he would drop by and look at it later today. Hank laughed that would be fine and hope none of JT other cars had any problems today because he did not have any other cars that would be a steal like that and said he looked forward to seeing him later in the day. Make sure you call first he said I would not want to be gone when the local hero showed up he said with a laugh and hung up the phone. JT closed the phone and smiled. He was an old coot but I guess he knew JT needed a car and just this once would not make him haggle. JT yelled up to Anne and asked her to come down and told her Hank had an Older Jeep Wagoneer he was willing to part with for 2500. She smiled and asked where he had started that price at and was surprised if no astounded that was the initial offer from Hank. She agreed it was a good deal and they had some savings and such they could pull it out of. She would call the bank and make sure. There had been word some of the banks were setting limits as to how much you could withdraw. It was mostly rumor around here so far but better safe then sorry. He told her that if there was not limit to go ahead and close the one savings account they used for Christmas and taxes with about 5000 dollars in it. There was no reason to think things were going to improve much before Christmas and that account mainly paid property taxes and they usually had 1500 or so for Christmas in it. They had enough at home to pay the taxes if needed at the first of next year and they would keep and eye on the money it would not get spent if not needed. It was discussed and she went upstairs to make the call while he sat in the chair and raised his leg up. The wound had stated to hurt some with him not elevating it for awhile. He could hear Anne speaking with the bank manager and making sure it was alright to close that account. Nope they were not closing all the accounts just that one they used for the taxes she explained and that seemed to make the conversation go better. She came back down and he said that was perfectly fine and he would help her when she got there. She rounded of Dan and Nora and headed out to Lowes to pick up the windows and the bank. She called downstairs and let him know that she and the kids were going to get parts the carpenter would need and that he should be there soon, she wanted to have what he needed so he could get right to work. With luck he could change out the three windows and the front door and have it done tonight she hoped.

“do the kids have...”JT called out.

“they are packing.” She called back before he could finish the question. -

JT knew he should stay sitting and leave the leg up but he had things to do. He got up out of the chair and went upstairs and headed to the back room where he had some of the ammunition and reloading supplies. After all the commotion he had taken the rossi ranch hand and laid it on the table to be cleaned. He grabbed a can of break free and a bottle of Hoppes #9 and some towels and walked out the back door and sat on the top step. He used one of the clean towels and wiped the debris from the rifle and then and shook that out and then added some break free. He worked the action and spayed a shot into the action and worked it back and forth several times and then wiped off the excess. He was sitting taking his time getting all the dirt and dust from the action and then wiped the barrel and the wood. He cursed slightly that he had forgotten a bore-snake when he had to get up and caused more pain to go shooting down the leg. Once retrieved he poured some Hoppes 9 on the bore-snake and pulled it through the barrel and then did it again before wiping the excess. He took the clean cloth and wiped down the gun from front to back and worked the action again a few times. He looked over towards the back path and saw the dog house and the food bowl and frowned. He laid the gun across his lap and his back against the door and closed his eyes.

Dan and Roger Davis had proceeded with their drive after the call from Jeanie. Roger had smiled and figured Dan had purposefully left his phone so as not to be caught before they were out the door. He knew Dan had gotten an earful from Jeanie but in the end he was right. This was the best and easiest way to check out the data they had. Dan had the knowledge and the data and now they had to see if putting them together they could find these people and stop them. They had driven for about 30 minutes and were getting close to the address when Dan had asked Mr. Davis to pull over and let him purchase a drop phone. One other reason he did not want to have his phone on him was to make sure he did not forget and use that to call the number if there were in a position to have a visual on the people who had the phones or at least the people they hoped had them. Roger Davis was not to sure about everything except Dan saying it was an untraceable way to make the call to the cell numbers they had. They passed the small jewelry store that Roger Davis pointed out and then up the street and then down two streets over and they found themselves in a row of small shops. They pulled across from the small bookstore that had a defiant middle-eastern look to it. Dan looked through the windows and could see several hookas sitting on various tables with men sitting around sipping from small cups. Roger Davis did not like being out in the open and opted to moved to a parking garage over one street from the Nargile Bookstore. They parked on the second floor and with some luck found a place that looked directly into the bookstore. Roger Davis put up a sun shade that had large holes in front of both the drive and passengers side seats and reached back under the back seat and took out a large pack and pulled out a set of sizable binoculars. Dan smiled and watched as Mr. Davis got a good view into the bookstore and handed them over to Dan. He looked for some time and did not make out anything that stirred his interests. Roger Davis took the binoculars back and looked at the building across from them. It looked to be a two story building. The downstairs was the bookstore hooka bar and the upstairs may have been some sort of living quarters. It was in a row of buildings like you would see in any town. The whole row had been made into shops and then the second floor looked like some type of living spaces. It was hard to tell if the second floor was separate or if the space below included the space on the second floor. He set the binocular sites on the second floor windows and watched. He could just make out movement someone it seemed walking back and forth. He watched and they paced. Dan sat quietly. He knew that Mr. Davis was looking for any indications that this was the right place. He had no way of knowing that Roger Davis had figured this for a drop house from the first moment. Two of the front shops were closed or possibly out of business and the other shops did not show any great amount of foot traffic. With it also being out of the way and this was the perfect place to be invisible. Roger Davis watched the shadow walking back and forth between the two windows and then.”Dan now call the number.”

Dan picked up the phone and quickly dialed the number. Not exactly sure what he would say if anyone actually answered. The phone rang and rang and then a deep male voice with a thick Arab accent answered. Dan at first was going to hang up the phone but thought better of it. “I am sorry to bother you sir but I am with the cable company and we have this number listed with a Nargile Bookstore and wanted to offer you faster internet.” The man somewhat acknowledged the call with a gruff hello and Dan just continued to pile it on “ we can offer 50 gig download and 20 upload with a guaranteed minimum and we can even throw in some online storage for your business.”

“No we are fine in that same gruff voice.”

“we can make it a better deal with television service.” Dan continued unfazed by the rejection.

“NO” and the line was dead.

Roger Davis had watched the whole thing and knew they had found the cell phone that Dan had tracked. He pitched the binoculars in the backseat and looked over to Dan. “good job” He started the Suburban and pulled out of the space and down the ramp and out into the sun from the darkness of the parking lot. “we need to get back and let Jeanie and JT know.”

“yeah but stop at that Jewelry store I want to get something there. I think if I go back empty handed it might not matter what we found I would get shot anyone” Dan said with a laugh.

“Dan that guys is not exactly cheap. No do not get me wrong you had better get my daughter something nice but well can you afford a ring now.” Roger Davis asked.

Dan smiled, “Mr. Davis you daughter is not going to live in poverty I promise you that. I know I was a radio jockey but I also had a company that did computer network and security on the side. I made a good living and I intend to make a good life for your daughter.”

They pulled up to the Jewelry store and walked in. Coming as no surprise to Dan at all the Jeweler new Roger Davis and came from behind the counter shake his hand. His accent was thick European maybe Germanic. Roger Davis explained what they were there for and introduced Dan. He shook the older mans hand and felt his other hand take him by the elbow and guide him to the engagement rings. Dan looked for a short time and then found a nice 1.5 carat that he liked with a pear shape. The jeweler fused that he had made an excellent choice and Roger Davis coughed when her heard the price-tag of 6800 dollars. Dan looked over at his future father in law and asked what size it was. It was sized perfectly. Dan then asked if the shop still took plastic and they did. So Dan pulled out his master card that his father had made him take out when he graduated college and paid for the ring. Roger Davis smiled and thanked his old friend and they walked out and got into the suburban and headed home. They had good news and now they could make plans.

JT sat on the back step for a while as his mind moved in and out of wakefulness. He was remembering the email Dan sent and the map that showed the locations of the cells that he had been able to track. The dots were all over the map sometimes with two or three in a close location. He then remembered there was a set of dots down near the border. There were four or five dots down in that location but most of the shootings and stuff had happened away from the border. The border violence had mainly been related to Mexican drug cartels but why would they have given drug cartels phones they could have gotten their own and exchanged numbers. Something had to make them have so many in one place. JT's mind worked it over and over as he focused on the dots. He woke with a start.

“JT hey it is me” Agent Smith said.

“ahhh sorry A Tim. I guess I drifted off.” JT stood up a good deal more stiff then he was when he sat down. He reached a hand out and shook Tims hand. “I am sorry to hear about your friend.”

Tim nodded and thanked JT. The two walked through the back door laying the ranch hand on the reloading table and walked into the living room. JT poured a shot of bourbon in two glasses and handed one to Tim. They sat down and Tim gave a full accounting what had happened and what Sheriff Boland had helped him do. He dropped his head as he took a drink and then opened up the laptop and pulled up the letter and let JT read it. He read the letter and looked over to Tim. “nothing much to say he did what he had to do and you did the same. Maybe his sacrifice will shed some light on the group inside the FBI. I can tell you one thing that is without a doubt you did spare him and his wife a great deal of pain and grief. It is a harsh way to die.”

Tim drank the remaining liquid and nodded his head. “yeah I know.”

“It will take some time and then it may take some more. It is not going to help that much that you know you did something that was needed or right or even noble but you have to find a way to come to grips with it and accept it.”JT explained and took the glasses and walked them over to the sink and sat them down. JT continued and told Tim about the program that Dan had made work and the map that he had sent JT. He also told him the crazy plan that Dan and his host Roger Davis had done going out and checking to see if they could verify one of the local cell numbers. They talked some more as JT tried to remember what he was thinking of on the back steps before Tim had brought him out of his nap. He had caught something important and needed to remember it. He asked Tim to come downstairs with him and take a look at the data. JT sat down in the recliner in front of the screens and Tim pulled up a chair. The screened filled with a map and the dots signifying the possible locations of terrorists. JT looked it over and considered all the locations. One stood out with five dots right around the Mexican border. This was the group that had bothered him but why. So many in one place and right at the border. They were not in the US. That was it. The Map showed Mexico and these dots were in Mexico. If this map was oriented correctly they were not here yet. Why would they be coming now. There had always been an escalation when they changed. He needed to talk to Dan and Jeanie. JT turned and explained what he had just figured out or considered or dreamed and explained it to Tim. Why were these guys coming in now and if they were what were they bringing that could be considered an escalation.

Tim looked back at JT and listened and considered. “they have already done so much what could the escalation be.” he asked.

JT was concerned and now wanted to talk to Dan more then ever.

Great chapter thank you.

good stuff, thanks

You write a lot of excitement, need more soon as you can. Thanks whtdragn.

Is it too soon to ask for a new chapter?
Are the three days up?
Has there been more developments in the run up to the showdown?
You write great stuff !!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeepcats3

Chapt 47

Chapter 47

Dan and Roger Davis made their way back to the gun shop without incident. Dan on bended knee asked Beth Ann to marry him and she accepted and was presented with the ring that fit perfectly. They kissed and hugged but Dan said he had to go he had news for the others and needed to get it to them as soon as possible. He walked up to the desk he used and wondered if maybe there was a place better suited for the discussion he was about to have. Roger Davis had walked up with him and noticed his hesitation and pointed to an old conference room to the side. Dan nodded and walked into the room and sat down in front of a large Panasonic conference speaker phone. He dialed Jeanie and spoke with her a second and then began to dial the number for JT.

JT and Tim had spent much of the last hour or so looking over the map Dan had sent and although they had some major concerns about the group down at the border the other groups for the most part looked fairly typical of a two or three man team for a location. Tim explained this made since so as not to draw attention and they could move around easily. Two men in a car could come and go and would not arouse suspicions to the extent maybe five or more would. The only other group that had a larger amount was the one up near Jeanie. That cell for lack of a better word and was probably a concise way of looking at these JT thought was a group of five men. It could be they had beefed up in that location to make a run at Jeanie or that could just be some hub that sends out the terrorists. Either way that location needed to be looked at closely. It was a mosque with a walled courtyard behind it if the Google earth could be believed. JT remembered that Jeanie had made some excursion to a mosque near her but would have to ask when they had their call if this was the same one. Anne had returned with the windows and a nice new door just about the same time the carpenter had arrived with his truck laden for work. The saws and hammers were making short work of pulling the old windows out and hopefully getting the new ones in place today. JT and Tim were looking over the map concentrating on it and startled when the phone rang. JT opened it and put the speaker on. Jeanie and Dan were on the other end with Jeanie's Dad and Roger Davis whom JT assumed was the man Dan was staying with down in Phoenix and had made the little trip out today that had caused so much concern. Dan had the floor for the most part explaining where they had went and what they had done. Roger Davis added that he had watched the cell phone conversation through the binoculars as Dan had spoken on the phone. He went on to explain they had watched the building for a short period of time so as not to be noticed and it looked like the apartments may have an entrance between two of the shops. He could only make out one man pacing but there could easily have been more. He also explained that the bookstore looked like it was maybe a gathering place and then they had the rooms or apartment upstairs. Jeanie and her Dad asked a few questions about the layout of the building and shop and is there anyway this could have been a one off but Roger Davis believed that this was a good hit. JT spoke up and asked Jeanie if she had seen the map and she had not at this point. Dan chirped in and said he could take care of that and ran to his desk quickly sending the map to Jeanie's cell. Everyone was quiet for a minute so Jeanie could get the email and pull it up. When she acknowledged that she was looking at it JT explained what he and Tim had been thinking about the cells and looking at he also made her aware that the cell that was near her had more people then the others.

“you know it could be a move on you and your family so you need to be careful.” JT warned.
“on a second issue was this the place you went to the other night and had your encounter.” JT asked as an after thought.

“yes we will need to be and yep that is the place I was at.” Jeanie said looking at her dad and mouthing if they could tell what the Sheriff had found she decided to relate the information as her dad shrugged his shoulders indifferently. “A friend in the Sheriffs office told me there were several men in the back area and they had various guns all legal mind you but they were well stocked.” she added.
JT was concerned but knew that Jeanie and her dad could take care of them selves but he was still worried. JT questioned Dan about the reliability of the map and if the coordinates were closer to their correct locations mainly looking for how accurate the data was or was not. Dan explained that the locations should be good to within a yard or so and the map represented just were the people where when he ran the data. JT then asked if those cells had any location data...addresses attached to them like some of the others had. Dan went on to explain that although some had addresses these located near the border did not. JT could tell Dan was not understanding the implications of the group down there.

JT sat for a second and gathered his thoughts as he decided how to proceed. “first off Dan excellent job and I think I speak for Jeanie in saying that you took a risk today that was dangerous but needed however if you risk yourself and Mr. Davis like that again Jeanie is going to shot you and you will never make that wedding... by the way congratulations...the reason I have been asking about the locations is that this group down there has Agent Smith and I very worried. We have been verifying as much as possible and this group is near a well known smuggling route. This group has also not made it into the US yet if the coordinates are as accurate as you say. What worries us is that anytime the terrorists have changed tactics they have tried to escalate them in some way and we wonder if this is something new they are trying to smuggle across the border. This could be some kind of Biological or Nuclear contingent that could be the final blow to the economy and maybe the US itself.”

Sharpe intakes of air could be heard on the line and JT let the information sink in. “I propose that we call the Ranger down in Texas and get him this information ask him if he can try and find these people and take them out. I know this may be difficult but I will ask if this is possible to do this very night. If they have something with them then we will know if not at least we stop them before they can get into the US and start something new. I also propose that we try and take out the group near Jeanie tonight. If it is a hub or a group waiting to attack then lets attack them first and take it out. If these two groups are what we think they are we will send information out across the US to people we can trust and have them attempt to verify and eliminate the threats.

“JT that is a serious set of plans and in a short period of time.” Trevor Reynolds responded.

“I know sir and frankly I am not the one to best be doing this but here I am and this is what we have. If Ranger Crockett can get to the area and see if he can make out anything on the other side of the border I think it needs to be taken down. I have a bad feeling this is something very bad. As for the group up your way it worries me that they may make an attack on you and try and silence your daughter.” JT explained.

“and will you be taking a group in your area?” Jeanie asked.

“No. I have already made plans to go to the compound in Lexington in four days. I am going to ask Agent Smith if he will accompany me and we are going to head your way to help with the people in the mosque.” JT said. Silence meet this statement from the other end. He had anticipated that. “I mean no disrespect I am sure that you would be able to take care of this issue yourselves but first off I would like to meet my other revolutionary partners and second I want the Imam to know that I will do whatever it takes to kill any and all his terrorists.”

“JT I Understand that you are angry and want vengeance or retribution but we cannot go off crazy and get other people killed.” Trevor said.

“You are completely correct and if I were in that mindset I would have to say I should not be involved and I hope that I would recognize this but this is not vengeance or retribution. I am not looking for either I am looking to do what I have sworn to a family friend that saved me this day and the promise I intent to make to the wife of the slain officer. I intend to kill as many of these people as I can. I hope that I will be welcomed in your group.” JT explained to Trevor and the others.

Trevor and Jeanie looked towards each other and over at Gael. “ You will always be welcome, do you have plans to get up this way.”

“I am hoping that the Sheriff has a friend that might be able to get me that way. As soon as we decide if we are going to go with the call to Ranger Crockett then I will call the sheriff after that. I still need to go and give my condolences to the widow and will ask him then.” JT answered.

Roger Davis answered back from his group and Jeanie gave a thumbs up from her group. JT acknowledged the positive responses and thanked them. He said he would call the Ranger as soon as they were off the phone and then asked Mr. Davis if some of this friends down there could keep an eye on that safe house if that is what it was. Once they attacked the two groups tonight if that was possible it would be nice to know if they get word from somewhere and try and move. Mr. Davis said that he would be calling some friends to be staying over at the warehouse and would make sure the house was watched. He also explained that he was going to call the deputy that had helped the other day with Dan and see if he could offer assistance. Nothing much more needed to be said they had now embarked on a dangerous task some might even call treason and might mean that some of them would not be here at the end of this. They were all saying goodby and JT let them know he would get back with them as soon as he talked with the Ranger and he would let Jeanie know if he and Agent Smith were going to be able to make it to their location. The phones went silent and JT sat and thought for a moment. This was a terrible undertaking but one that had to be take on if there was to be any chance for the US to come out of this in some semblance as the country that he loved. He slapped Tim on the knee as he rose up out of the chair they walked up the steps and out towards the back. JT slipped the security six in it's holster on his hip and walked out the door.

“hey hun let me get that 2500 from you, Tim and I are going to go and get the truck and head over to the sheriffs office I want to go and pay my condolences to the widow of the slain officer.” JT said walking over to his wife as she was watching the two men replace the door.

She turned towards him and pulled out an envelope “I had it counted out for you.” she said smiling.

“thanks might have had to ask Tim to make sure I did not overpay Hank.” He laughed. Tim and I may be taking a quick trip to Minnesota.

She shot a worried look to her husband.

“I am just going to meet Jeanie.” he lied.

She knew that was not all but she accepted the lie and smiled while handing him the envelope and accepted the kiss to her cheek. She felt the warmth of his lips on her cheek and turned quickly so as not to let him see her shed a tear.

Tim and JT slid down into the small Honda CRV that his son drove for the most part and headed over to see the vehicle Hank was trying to sell.

As the pulled down the drive JT was pushing some buttons on the phone and almost ran off the gravel drive as they neared the main road. Tim reached up and clutched the bar above the door worried that maybe JT was a tad to distracted. JT glanced sideways and smiled.”Just hold on I am getting the blue-tooth working on the phone.” JT said. He worked the phone as they sat still and then closed it. “Call Ranger” JT said out loud. “ Dan has a blue-tooth hooked up in the car he said looking over to Tim.”

Tim nodded as they pulled onto 44 and headed to get JT a new vehicle. The phone rang several times and JT looked at his watch. It was still early and three time zone and many miles west it was even earlier.

Ranger Crockett grabbed the phone off the bedside table. He was already awake and had already had calls from various team leaders who were getting setup around the state. They had decided teams were the best thing to call the small groups of of six members. Two law enforcement or guard and the other four were civilian. It seemed to be working alright. There had already been another shootout on the highway in western Texas but the shooters were meet with return fire from a team that was in an SUV stuck in traffic. The four bad guys were killed with only two civilians injured. They had mapped out a strategy that drew and imaginary line across the state where the terrorist or cartels could try and cut them off and have them between the border and this skirmish line. It gave them someplace to start and JT and that FBI agent had given them an advantage. When things calmed down he would have to call and thank them. “yes this is Ranger Crockett.”

“Ranger Ranger this is JT and Agent Smith I hope I did not wake you and want to assure you I do not call this early on purpose.” he laughed.

“No JT actually I have been awake for some time. There is not rest of the wicked as they say. I have been working on teams that are employing your theory and frankly we have had some successes. I was just thinking I would have to call and thank you guys.” The ranger said.

“Ranger I think I speak for Agent Smith as well whatever help we have given is our pleasure. We only wish we could do more or have done more sooner.” JT said with a touch of sadness to his voice. A few seconds pause as JT considered what he now had to ask the Ranger and if he would sound completely crazy. “Ranger my home was attacked earlier today my family escaped unharmed. The family dog actually saved me and was killed. A deputy was killed as they made their way to my house.” he could hear the rangers breathing and the intake of air as he explained the scenario. The rangers condolences and a thank you back and forth made the conversation complete for the retelling of the attack. “ ranger we found something... a list of numbers and Jeanie's friend was able to locate these using GPS. They are phones and we believe that there are phones the terrorists are using. We have verified that they appear to be in the hands of people that could be terrorists. We have also found something disturbing. Most of the groups of these people are in the US but there is a group near the border that appears to be near and ready to cross. It holds at least six people with cells numbers on the list. One of the largest groups on the map. Agent Smith and I fear this may be an escalation and if that is so we fear it may be biological or nuclear in nature. We have no Intel for this but we think if they have escalated each time they have changed then this would make sense. Maybe it is just a gut feeling but this is very worrisome.” before the ranger could start asking a lot of questions JT needed to get this all out in the open. “ I have spoken with Jeanie and her father about this and we would like you to take a group there and if they are what we think...we want you to kill them.” The line was silent. JT was worried maybe he had dropped the call and had to call back and go through all of that again either that or the Ranger had hung up and thought he was a true lunatic.

“JT I will do whatever I can to protect this country and the state of Texas but you must know that the path you are asking me to take is serious. If we do this and it comes down the wrong way people are going to come at you from all directions. The terrorists are already coming for you but if this is just people with cells phones and it goes down bad the government will swoop down and drop you in a dark hole and throw away the key. There will be no place to run or hide. Agent Smith I assume you are there also. It will be no different for you.”

“I am aware of that and accept that as a price that may have to be paid.” Agent Smith said.

The ranger continued. “good I wanted to make sure you understood what was at stake when I agreed to help you. I will cover you as much as I can and will take the fall if needed but this is dangerous but from what you tell me I agree that we need to know what this group is and why they are crossing now when the attacks are ongoing. It does seem odd unless they have something new to bring to the table. I agree. I think I will get a team of fifteen or so men together and we will go ask them.”

“Ranger you have done so much and I thank you but is there any possibility this could happen tonight? Agent Smith and I are going to be headed up to Jeanie' place and check out what looks to be another larger cell... Maybe a safe house. We intent to make it less safe.” JT stated.

“yes it can happen tonight. I will make it happen.” the ranger said. “I need to go to start making calls.”

JT stopped the Ranger for a few more moments and let him know about the program Dan had written and that if he could find a good technical guy he would send the program and the map so they could work out some way to track the numbers while they were in the field. The ranger was impressed and said to send it all he had some excellent tech nerds and he would give it to they. They helped him when he needed stuff for the field and he was sure they could come up with something hand held that would allow them to track the numbers so if they moved they could follow. The chatted back and forth for a few more minutes and decided that they we send texts from this point mainly to say where and when. The Ranger said they could just try some short hand since they new the main topics and see if that worked. If there were any questions with a text they could always call. It might seem a little cloak and dagger but it would save playing phone tag with all the plans and calls that had to be made and a short time to get this all set up. The two ended their conversation as JT and Tim arrived at the car lot for lack of a more proper term for a mans house that had at least ten cars with sales signs in the windows. Agent Smith smiled and wondered how much trouble this gentlemen had with the local ordinances group. He was sure they had been out once or twice even this far out they still made their presence felt.

Hank Johnson was sitting on his front porch as JT pulled up and got out of the car with another younger looking man.

“what happened to the call... I could have been in there watching a porno and not wanting to be disturbed.” Hank yelled form the front porch.

JT dropped his head and wondered why the old man always seemed to like to give him such a hard time. “yeah sorry about that this is Agent Smith with the FBI, a friend of mine.” He said as he waved a hand in Tim’s direction.

“Well hell why not bring the DEA and make me have to hid my stash of weed” he yelled laughing as he got up from the seat and walked down the three steps of the front porch. The older small house sat back off the road and was nothing special just a box house and a large yard filled with cars. JT and Tim approached the older man and each shook hands in turn.

“Agent Smith is not on duty right now so you are probably safe.” JT said as he shook the old mans hand.

“nice to meet you Agent man.” Hank said shaking Tim’s hand. “come one over here and look at this beauty.” he said as he released Tim’s hands and waved the two over to the old Jeep.

JT looked it over and took the keys from Hank and started it up. The engine sounded good and the transmission engaged smoothly as he pulled it forward and back. He new the old man did not sell junk but this was a very nice Wagoneer and he liked the way it sat. At Hanks prodding JT took it for a ride around the block leaving the two men chatting as he pulled away and looked in the rear view mirror. He liked the way it drove and was happy with the feel. He was not big on buying quickly but he needed to get a new vehicle and this one was about as good as he was going to get right now. He pulled back in and the two men were just where he had left them.

“it dives nice Hank is that twenty five hundred still good.” JT asked feeling that Hank might have got him hear and then maybe tried to get him to go a few hundred more.

“yeah I am not going to make you haggle today that will do fine. Let me go in and get the papers.” Hank said as he walked up the stairs and into the house.

“looks nice Tim said. I am surprised he was selling it this used to be his sons car. I guess he got something else.” Tim said as he looked the truck over.

JT sighed. He now realized why the jeep was in such good shape. “ naw Tim he did not get anything else he died a few years back in Irag. He fixed this up for when he came back.”

Hank Johnson came back with the signed title and got JT to sign it and he did his needed notary seal to make it all legal. It was not really proper for him to be the notary and the seller but he liked to screw with them people in Frankfort as much as he could. JT handed him the envelope and he tucked it in his breast pocket.

“you sure that is enough for this car it is very nice.” JT asked.

“you trying to talk yourself out of money. I gave you a price now scoot I have my afternoon soaps to watch. Just hope no more of your cars just blows up.” he said with a laugh as he walked back up and sat down in the chair on the porch.

JT climbed in and drove away. He pulled even with Tim and asked if he would head back to the house and check around to see if there was anything they could do to make it as secure as possible for the next few days. He also explained what to send down to the ranger and asked if Tim would mind getting on his email so that information could be down to the ranger as soon as possible. JT needed to handle this by himself. He was going to go and ask the sheriff if he knew someone with a plane that could fly them today and to go see the young deputies widow.

Ranger Crockett made a quick call to the Governors liaison and explained the situation and asked for cover if this was not what they thought it might be. He explained mostly where all this came from, he knew that if this went down badly they would pin it on him and anyone else they could. He explained it came from the same source that had warned them of the attacks and the possible collusion of the terrorists and the cartel. He heard the man curse in the background when he said there is the consideration that this might be some escalation and that could be in the biological or nuclear realm. That would give them some cover. If there was any thought that this could be some kind of an escalation with biological or nuclear elements then it would be prudent to take a look and if need be to check it out, with force if the need arose. The Ranger explained his idea of the fifteen or twenty man team all law enforcement or guard and getting across from the location on the map they had and using the night vision to check out who might be lurking on the other side. The liaison gave his blessing and they ended the conversation with a promise from the ranger he would call and give an update before the headed out. He had already checked and the location was about three hours away. Now he had to call and put his team together and he needed someone special. He needed someone that could be helpful no matter if they found a biological or nuclear weapon. He remembered someone that had worked with the guard a few times. She was some professor at the University of Texas. He started making calls surely someone would remember her name and then he could find her and see if she had the credentials to do what he needed if they ran into anything bad. He called one of the majors he had worked with before and knew was a solid soldier and asked him to find five or six men that could be trusted and ready in several hours. He was making calls as fast as he could look up members and call them. No one had remembered the engineer and he looked up the number for the University at Austin and called until someone actually knew the woman he was talking about. Major Dawn Wise was a double major in nuclear and biological engineering and carried a PhD in both. She was part of the national guard which might pose some problem for the task he was about to ask her to do. Although the Governor had called up all guards she might feel more beholden to the federals then the local groups. When he had finally convinced the secretary in the Engineering office that he was not a stalker and was a Ranger and yes he did need to get in touch with her right away she finally relented and gave him a local number where she could probably be reached in San Antonio apparently she lived down there and was at the university during the school week. That seemed a tad odd but whatever. He called the local number and a cherry voice answer the phone. “ I need to speak with Major Dawn Wise please.”

“This is Dawn may I ask who is calling.” She said quickly catching the ranger off guard.

“Oh I am Ranger Crockett and I was...”

“excellent I was wondering when you guys were going to get off your asses and call some of us ancillary staff up. You know you guys are not the only ones that can shot a gun.” She said with a twinge of anger and maybe frustration in her voice.

“ Ahhh Doctor … Major... I am not exactly sure what you are talking about I need to ask you about helping me with a somewhat special mission I have been tasked with tonight.” he replied sounding none to sure about how this whole conversation was going.

“you called my brother up last week to man a team I assumed that maybe you needed me for the same thing and it was about time.” She asked not understanding what was going on now.

“OK please let me explain we have a situation down at the border near San Ygnacio. We have been informed there is a group down there that may be attached to these attacks and there is some worry they may have something with them that could be a ….problem” he said not sure how much he was willing to share at this point in time. “what I need is someone that if we encounter a weapon that we are unfamiliar with we have someone that can assist. With your abilities in both fields I had remebered you from a conference a few years back on homeland security and had a wide breath of knowledge and that is what I need now. The team is being kept as small as possible to make sure this does not get out of hand if this is just smugglers.” he explained and hoped he had covered enough to answer most of her questions.

“Oh” She genuinely sounded surprised. “ well yes I would be happy to help. I am in San Antonio at the family ranch.” She gave him the address and he looked it up.

“excellent I will be there in about forty five minutes to pick you up. Do you have all the equipment that you would need if we do find something.” The Ranger added.

“yes I will be ready, I assume dark BDU and my side arm. I also have AR match grade. I will bring it also.” She said sounding like she was putting together some outfit for work.

“that will be just fine I do not intend to let you get shot at.” He said.

“yeah well I found out awhile back that people who were shooting do not always aim for the people who were shooting back. I take no chances. If someone shoots at me I am shooting back.” She said

“well then I will see you in about an hour. Until then.” The Ranger hung up the phone.

That did not go at all like he had anticipated. He sat down in front of his laptop and typed her name in and looked up what he could find out about her. She had no arrest record and no marriage certificate. He looked back at family and friends. She had mentioned a brother and he found him in the Texas guard. He was a captain with a wife and two kids. Something was odd her brother had a different last name but she was never married. He keep digging and looking around although he was not really sure what he was looking for. She seemed like an accomplished woman but there were few ranches in San Antonio and they were from old families but her name did not raise any flags. He tried another way and looked up the address and then he understood. She came from one of the founding families of Texas. They were here before the state was. He laughed to himself but still was not sure about her name. He might never find that one out or at least it was not any of his business. Some of his concerns were now laid to rest but he still wanted to play the information close to the vest. He was not going to take a chance with her alliances if she turned out to be looking for some way to advance her career. He jumped in the truck and headed towards the address and his meeting with Major Wise.

JT arrived at the sheriffs office and walked in looking for Sheriff Boland. One of the deputies behind the counter recognized him and asked him to come around the counter and lead him back to the Sheriff's Office. He saw the sheriff in a small room as he passed with a young women in it. She looked like she had been crying and her hair was disheveled and he stopped and stared. The deputy noticing that he had lost his charge stopped and looked around and saw him stopped in front of the conference room.

“that is Josh's widow, he was the... he was the deputy they killed.” The deputy said quietly looking into the room standing beside JT.

JT took a step and placed his hand on the door knob and twisted it. He walked through the door and closed it quietly and looked down at the young woman. His eyes teared up and he could feel his cheeks become wet. His knees felt weak like they had never felt before. He went down to one knee and reached for her hand. She was a tiny woman maybe only 5'2 and his hand engulfed hers as she reached for him. “ I am so sorry” he said his voice cracking with anguish. “I wish... I wish there was some way.”

“Shhhhh” she said as she stroked his hair from his wet cheek. “I know that you never wanted this and that it was brought to your door but you have to understand that he was doing what he loved and he would not have chosen to have been any place else but where he was.” She said her voice soft and even. “he was so proud of you and what you had done. His only regret would be that he will not be here to fight with you.”

“I swear he will be with me forever.” JT said as he held her hand. He leaned in close to her ear. “I will do all I can to kill them all and stop this I promise you.”

“I know you will she whispered but you must do one thing for me and for him you must live. It must not be a suicide mission. They need you and the people need you. You have fought back and they need you. They need to see that you can fight for what is right and for what this country stands for. That is the promise that you must make to me.” She said as she pulled him away and looked deep into his eyes. “that is the promise I ask of you. That is the honor you pay to my husband.”

“ I promise I will do all I can to honor that request.” JT said staring into her eyes.

“you have made that promise to me on the honor of my husband I expect you to do all you can to fulfill that obligation.” She said as he leaned down and kissed his cheek. She stood up and shook hands with the sheriff and reached down and touched the side of JT's head as she walked by. “Sheriff thank you for all you have done. I will be in touch with the arrangements.” She walked out the door and around the corner towards the entrance.

JT wiped his face and stood up turning around towards Sheriff Boland. The two men looked at each other and then walked over towards the sheriffs office. “Sheriff I need to ask a favor. Do you know anyone that has a small plane that can take Tim and I up to meet with Jeanie and her crew.” He went on to explain the whole find on one of the terrorists and what Dan had been able to work up out in Phoenix. He told him how Dan and Roger Davis had went and scoped out one location and it seemed to bare out the cell phones were attached to the terrorists. He went into what they saw with the location down near the border and how that group had not crossed and Ranger Crockett was going to go pay them a visit thus bringing it back full circle to asking the sheriff if he knew someone that could fly them up and back.

Sheriff Boland waved JT to the seat in front of his desk and made a few quick calls before finding the person he was looking for. The sheriff bantered back and forth before getting down to the reason for the call and asking if the person could make a trip on such short notice. The sheriff laughed and said it could even them on some old score but the person still owed him for the other time and that seemed to have something to do with a naked woman and a squad car and not getting arrested. The sheriff laughed and said that he would get a call but that he should be ready to go soon after the call so it would be better to be ready now then later and hung up the phone.

“I am not sure I agree with this but it does need to be checked out. This guy is good and he will get you there and back in one piece.” The sheriff said smiling.

“that is all I need. We have to find out if we are on the right track and this is the best way I can think of doing it. I just pray it works.” JT said.
“so do I. Best of luck” The sheriff said as he reached out and shook JT's hand. “call when no matter what time when this is over tonight and you know anything.”

“I will do that as soon as we are through and then when I hear word from the Texas group.” JT said standing up and heading for the exit. There were plans to be made. He needed to get back home and talk with Tim and plan what was going to happen during the next 18 hours.

What a picture you've painted with words!!!!
I've got the Kleenex out!!!!
Thanks so much for this chapter!!!!

Jeepcats3

hhhooooooo aaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



WAB

thanks for a great chapter

More please!!
Matt

Man alive you brought tears to my eyes. Great chapter thank you.

Another great chapter and an excellent story.

Ready for the next Chapter, Please!

Jeepcats3

Jeepcats 3 said:

Ready for the next Chapter, Please!

Jeepcats3

Click to expand...

I second that motion!

Rabbit said:

I second that motion!

Click to expand...

I 3rd it.

we really do ned more, it's like and addiction and we need a fix

*sigh*

nothing yet!




WAB

I feel like someone that needs a fix lol a story chapter fix.

MOar Please!

Jeepcats3

Its nerve wracking!!!!!!!
Whats happening with JT going up to Jeanies?
Has JT developed his plan for the Inman?
What's happening down on the Border?
Is the Ranger going to make it?
Lots of questions!!!!!!!!!!!
Wonderful story!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MOar Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeepcats3

Jeepcats 3 said:

Its nerve wracking!!!!!!!
Whats happening with JT going up to Jeanies?
Has JT developed his plan for the Inman?
What's happening down on the Border?
Is the Ranger going to make it?
Lots of questions!!!!!!!!!!!
Wonderful story!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MOar Please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jeepcats3

Click to expand...

For sure.

I dont know if Cliff can hang on much longer.His fingers are turning blue.
Matt

goinpostal said:

I dont know if Cliff can hang on much longer.His fingers are turning blue.
Matt

Click to expand...

And his fingernails are breaking off.

chapt 48

sorry all taking a certification test for work and had to put alot of time in to study until I take it in may. Hope you like.

Chapter 48

Agent Smith arrived back at the Tanner home and began to look around the house and get an idea of what needed to be done especially if he and JT were actually going to head up to do this raid with the group in Minnesota. It would be nice if they could install some lights but that was more of a long term thing then something that could be done now. It might honestly be best if Dan or Nora or both stayed up tonight and did a watch. Just watching down the road and if anything seemed out of the ordinary to call the Sheriff. Nora came walking out of the back door as he was coming around to go into the house.

“Hey... your dad asked me to look around and make sure it was going to be secure for the night.” Tim said stuttering some as he looked into her eyes.

“good I think Dan or I are going to stay up all night to just be on the safe side. I am sure it will make mom feel better and besides I want to know my dad is alright after whatever is going on up north with you two.” She said.

“your dad will be fine he is a smart guy and he seems to have that zone of invincibility surrounding him right now. It will be ok.” He said as he reached out and touched his right finger to hers and they intertwined them.

She looked down and then back up to his face. “yes he is but now something is very different, he is enraged and I cannot explain it better then that. He will do all he can to kill anyone that has been involved in this. Whatever he says to the widow and whatever you might think of him, killing the deputy and chaos were out of bounds and he will make them pay or die trying. It is hard to explain but if they were fighting that is one thing. If Dan or I had been killed he would be angry but the deputy was just trying to protect us and well Dad has always felt animals were somewhat innocent. It is going to bother him that the big white mutt he saved from the pound died just footsteps from him at a mans hand that came here to kill him. That will have a heavy price to pay and he will extract it.”

Tim was silent for some a minute or so taking in all that Nora had said. JT seemed very calm but he had a determination now that might be more then he understood. He was however past questioning JT or his actions... in for a penny in for a pound...That is what he had said and now that is what he was going to follow through. If it meant walking into that compound in Lexington just the two of them he was willing to do that. Maybe this had went to far when they came here to attack JT and his family but it had certainly gone to far with agent Solience there was no turning back now. He was committed. They walked around the house and checked the progress of the carpenters. Nora asked her mom if she wanted some lunch and offered to go in and make some food for everyone . Tim said he did not expect JT to be very long and they should make something for him also. Tim and Nora walked into the house hand in hand and went to work making something for everyone. Nora called out to Dan in the back room where he was cleaning the guns from last night letting him know there would be food soon.

His head still hurt from the staples they had placed in his scalp but he wanted to clean the 30-30 and the K31 just in case. His dad had cleaned the ranch hand and was still carrying the Security Six. He found the parts to the Springfield that had been shot and it was beyond repair. He doubted his father would even worry about it. The nailing and banging on the house was doing nothing for his headache. Nora yelled she was going to be making some lunch with Tim and that sounded like the best news he had this morning.

“yeah I am almost done, lunch sounds great.” Dan answered back.
JT drove up the driveway just as Tim and Nora were finishing the lunch dishes. He climbed down out of the Wagoneer and looked over the work the guys were doing to the windows and doors and it was looking like they were going to be done or close to it before he and Tim had to leave. He looked down at his watch. The sheriff said it would take about 3 hours to fly there so they needed to be in the air by 3 pm. He wanted some time to sit with Jeanie and her father a go over whatever plans they needed to make for tonight. He was going to take the Spring field XDM and them maybe the Security Six. He was not sure how he felt about all of this. No matter how he sliced it or looked at it he had asked the ranger to go and kill people. They were probably terrorists but this was something new and it had hit him as he drove from the meeting with the Sheriff. He supposed somewhere he should feel bad or have some remorse about it all but it was not there. Things were somehow different now after the killing of the last terrorist. He felt and inner rage burning that he could not fully explain. They had killed his beloved dog and the deputy protecting he and his family but it went beyond that. They had attacked him again and again and now something in him was different. He had never before been that gungho warrior who longed for battle and glory. It was not his make up but now he could not see himself anywhere but exactly where he was right now. He was at home preparing for battle and he was sending people to do battle in his name. JT walked in the house and was greeted by Tim and Nora as she asked if he wanted a sandwich. He said that sounded good and he and Tim walked downstairs. He looked back over his shoulder and noticed their hands parted ways slowly with a longing final touch. Tim and JT made their way down the steps and Tim took a seat across from JT recliner, the proverbial throne of the man cave. Tim smiled as the thought came to his mind. He was drawn out of the thought by JT voice.

“Tim let get this out of the way, it seems my daughter likes you and you seem to like her and I think you are a good honest man. I expect you to treat her right but I am not going to ask you to back off.” JT said matter-of-factly.

Tim was caught off guard and did not know what to say. Yes he had planned on speaking with JT about this but maybe not at this point but maybe now was as good a time as any it seem they had now embarked on a dangerous part of this journey together and anything could happen. He realized that even tho up until this point he had not allowed it to intruded on his mind. “yes JT I do like and have feelings for Nora. I was going to talk with you about it but honestly no time recently has seemed like a good time.”

“I do understand. There has been a great deal of problems that we have went through over the last weeks and months. It seems like the world is spinning a lot faster now and we are trying to hold on. It struck me as odd as I pulled up that in a very real sense I have asked a man to go commit murder and in no small part to do so in my name. In some way I think I should have some feeling about this but other then a feeling of relief I cannot say I feel anything.” JT said looking towards the agent sitting across from him. “maybe it was the unknown that I hated before last night. The idea that I was not sure if and when they would come at me and now that question has been answered and they have come and we have survived. Now I no longer intend to give them anymore chances at that. In a real sense I have made a decision or maybe a realization that they will not stop unless stopped and now we you and I have embarked on a path to do just that.”

“It is not hard to understand. Indecision; can be a fatal mistake. They came for you and you killed them and now you will be the attacker. I know you may not like to think of it this way but in the mall you were the predator they were the poachers you attacked and killed them in your domain. Maybe in some way that is your true self. I mean no disrespect to what you did before this happened but maybe when forces aline you are the predator....the warrior.” Tim lowered his head and let his words sink in. he did not want to insult or anger JT but he had meet people before like him before. People were drawn to them. He thought about Harold in DC, he was one of them he was a man of action he was a warrior.

JT sat in his recliner and reflected on the words Agent Smith had said. Maybe he was right maybe all the things he had done in his life had lead him to this point. “I take no insult form your words Tim. Maybe you are correct because I have chosen that path of the predator now and I feel very comfortable in that role.” Tim looked up and the men looked into each others eyes.

Nora walked down the steps as the conversation lagged. “ hey I made you a bologna and cheese sandwich.” She said as she looked over towards Tim and then back to her dad. She saw the looks in their eyes and she sensed a profound talk had just been interrupted. “ I am sorry dad I did...”

“nothing to be sorry for pumpkin I was just letting Agent Smith here know it was alright to ask you out sometime, well as long as he wanted to and if he treated you right.” JT interrupted with a smirk.

Nora immediately turned several shades of red before squealing “DAD”

“well if you do not want to go out with him you can just say so.” her dad said with a sly smile.

“I did not say that” She came back “ it is just that well...”

“well sorry Tim I guess you are out of luck old boy sorry.” JT said now almost unable to keep from laughing.

Nora handed her father the sandwich and calmly stated. “ I did not say I didn't want to go out with Tim but I am not sure I needed my father to help me out with this area.”

Tim who had sat in the corner and enjoyed the antics decided even against his better judgment to speak up. “I know it may sound old fashion Nora but I would have asked your dad if it was alright to ask you out.” He said catching her eyes and smiling.

“ well then since it has been worked out maybe you would like to come upstairs and talk to me about taking me out sometime.” She said.

Tim Stood up and walked over to Nora and gave her a kiss on the cheek. She managed to turn another shade of red. “I would love to but I need to speak with your father before we head out to catch the plane to Minnesota. We will have that talk soon I promise.” he said.

She held his hand for a moment and looked over to her father and turned walking up the steps. JT picked up the sandwich and took a healthy bite and sat back. Tim came closer and pulled up one of the moveable seats. Agent Smith started to explain that with the letter Agent Solience had left him was a memory stick and that he had looked it over quickly and it contained all sorts of information about the Attorney general and his connection with the IDG and even a connection that the FBI perused and had pretty much nailed down before he became the AG that he had a secret meetings with wings of several terrorists groups. There was talk he brokered a deal and may have been a conspirator in the groups that are doing these attacks. It looks like he may have even hatched the plan unbeknownst to the President as some sort of false flag to disarm the populace. Tim went on and explained who ever had written these reports had included pictures of the Attorney General meeting with a group in Egypt a year before he was nominated. It went on to describe these FBI agents that work as some kind of liaison but really are working for the IDG and have cover from the Department of Justice to take care of any problems or people that might look to closely at the IDG or their money. It appears a reporter was killed in an apparent accidental shooting at an FBI standoff. He was digging into the money trail of the IDG and these compounds and was working a standoff and the guys inside start shooting and then everyone starts shooting and low and behold he get shot in the head by a stray bullet from someone with a pistol inside the residence. It was billed as a tragic accident. JT had finished eating as Tim had ended his update and fished into his pocket for the memory stick.

“we need to send that data to Dan and let him have it just in case. I will have him clean it of any leads back to Agent Solience.” JT said reaching for the stick.

Tim shook his head in agreement. It would be better to have a copy and maybe a copy that could be released if the worst were to happen on their little excursion tonight.

JT scooted in to the computer and called Dan on the phone quickly. They made a quick greeting and Dan made a three way call to Jeanie. When everyone was on the line JT explained the information that Tim had been given and what he wanted Dan to do with it. He wanted no mention of Agent Solience in the data but he wanted it to be able to be released to the public quickly. No one asked about the eradication of the agents name if it even appeared in the data and took it that it was necessary. Trevor spoke up and said that if it had all the information that they said then they should release it right before the UN allowed the Venezuelan ambassador to speak for the Attorney General and the Director of the FBI. The US had objected and threatened but they had finally given them a date for his speech. It could possible do the most damage then. Dan piped in and said that one of his friends from Asia had cracked the email database and had some pretty interesting emails. The date was the same day JT intended to go down and meet the Imam in Lexington. They had it scheduled for 3 pm. He planned on being on-site at the compound at sunup. He had no intention of letting breath fresh air any longer. JT informed the groups that they had transportation to a small airport outside of Bloomfield and would be there around 6pm if that worked for her and the group. They said someone would be there and they looked forward to the meeting. Gael hearing this made a call in the background and spoke in quick Hebrew to someone on the other end. Jeanie was pretty sure she knew what he was calling about and smiled a wicked inward smile.

“JT we look forward to yours and Agents Smiths arrival.” Jeanie said before everyone got began to say there farewells. JT acknowledged he was also looking forward to meeting everyone and prayed that all went well tonight. Everyone finished and the line was dead.

“Tim what had you thought about bringing tonight in the way of a gun.” JT asked.

“I only have access to the service pistol right now I am sure I can get something if I need to."Tim said as JT remembered his present that was on his hip.

“No I do not think that is a good idea.” JT said as he considered loaning Tim one of the revolvers he had and although he was sure Tim could shoot any of them he worried this was not a time to go off in some new direction when the shots might count tonight. Then it came to him. “hey go find Nora and have that little talk and I am going to go speak with my wife for a few minutes before we leave. Ask Nora to lend you her Springfield XDM.”

“that will work I have actually shot them several times, beside I might want to talk to her now while she is still talking to me.” Tim said smiling and getting up and walking up the stairs.
JT walked up close after Tim and walked outside and found Anne watching the guys put the last window in place. The door was finished and look excellent. JT walked over reaching out and took her hand and pulled her into a hug. He could feel her hands on his back holding him tight. He reached down and with a playful grabbed her butt with his right hand. She squealed and nipped his neck. He whispered in her ear. “we are going to go but I promise we are coming back tonight or early tomorrow. We will be careful.”

“I know she said but I worry and who knows what you all are getting into.” She said her voice cracking some.

“Not anywhere near as much as the Ranger in Texas.” He said as he could feel wetness on his neck. “ If not us who. This has to be done. This has to have some finality and this is the start of that end.”

She shivered with his words. He was right of course but this could all end so badly. She thought. She shook her head and kissed his neck and then moved so her lips found his and she kissed him. This would not be over until the Imam was dead and she knew it but she kissed him now and held him tight.

He held her close and kissed her back. He knew the fear she had. It was the same fear he had felt the day of the confrontation at feeder supply. She worried for her family if anything went wrong. He knew her mom and dad would make sure she and the kids were safe but it was not the same. He knew that. Their lips parted and they looked into each others eyes. Nothing else need be said. He pulled away slowly they hands finally parting and he turned towards the house and began to yell out for Tim. Before he could start the front door opened and Agent Smith and Nora walked out hand in hand . He was now carrying the Springfield on his hip. Anne looked somewhat surprised and turned towards JT as if to ask him a question. He looked at her and said in a slightly louder voice then needed. “maybe they have the date thing worked out I told Tim he could ask her out.” JT said before sliding into the seat of the old Wagoneer smiling that boyish smile.

Nora let out a huge sigh as her mother smiled. Tim walked to the old Jeep and Nora stood beside her mother as they watched the jeep turn and then head down the drive. She knew they were headed to Bowman field and then on to a small airport near Jeanie’s dads house. She said a silent prayer for God to bring her husband and his new friends back to their loved ones safely as she squeezed her daughters hand.

JT and Tim took about 40 minutes to drive over to the small airport on the eastern side of Louisville . JT asked for Jim Davis and was pointed towards a hanger off to the side of the run way. They walked over and found an older man going over a twin engine plane. He smiled and walked down the stairs leading up to the door on the side of the plane and extended his hand.

“JT I have to say it is nice to meet you. Even under these circumstances. You have made my old heat feel good this last little while since you swatted those shits at the mall.” he said smiling.

“ I just played my part but thank you. Please let me introduce you to Agent Tim Smith with the FBI.” JT said waving his hand toward Tim. Jim reached over and shook the agents hand. “If there were to ever be a question I hope that you could forget at least for awhile that Agent Smith was here. If anything goes wrong I am hoping I can give him enough time to vanish.” JT said looking over at Tim.

The old man smiled and rubbed his fingers across a shaggy chin. “well the way the sheriff tells it you two never left town and were with him all night playing cards.” the old man said with a laugh “ lets get going gentlemen I hear you have things to do this night.” he smiled

They all climbed into the plane. JT and Tim found seats not far back from the pilot and Jim sat down and grabbed a set of head gear. He started the engines and watched as a young man pulled the blocks away from the planes wheels. The silver plane taxied out on the runway and the two men could hear the engines rev up. After a moment of sitting still and Jim talking with the tower the plane headed down the run way and slowly lifted off the ground. Jim shouted back there were pillows under the seats and told the two men they could rest it would take about 3 hours. JT grabbed the pillow and leaned his head back and closed his eyes and dozed off and on dreaming of a Tiger stalking its prey.

Ranger Crockett pulled up to and through the gates of the large home. He drove down the quarter mile drive way and entered the circular drive and parked in front of the house. He had to say not much intimidated him but this had his stomach churning. He rang the door bell half expecting to be greeted by some maid or butler but Dr. Wise opened the door and he remembered her immediately. She was a striking women with piercing blue eyes. She had an athletic build with long blond hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was wearing black BDU with what looked like a 45 carried in a drop leg holster. She reminded him of that character Laura Croft.

“Ranger … a little help grab those case please” She said with a very pronounced Texas twang.

“No problem he said” recovering and reaching over and grabbing the two cases one obviously a gun case for her AR he would surmise. He was hoping the other was for testing equipment.

While he stored the equipment in the suburban she climbed into the passenger seat. He opened the drivers door and climbed in turning the wheel and heading back out the long driveway. He headed back out and towards town the other team members had already called and they were going to meet up at a location close to the border town. They would use a small unofficial rest area for truckers that was about a 100 yards off the main highway. It would take them about two or three hours depending on traffic to get there. If they got there by 3 or 4 in the afternoon that would give them time to prep make some general plans if they found this group. Then it would be his call even if they had to cross over into Mexico he had orders to not let this group get into Texas with any possible WMD. He was going over in his mind what else needed to be done. The main team was assembled and they had a good tech guy one of the lieutenants knew and had worked with before. He said he was about as nerdy as they come but could handle a gun with the best of them. He did not catch the doctors initial questions.

“ I am sorry Dr. Wise, I was going over a check list of what needed to still happen for this little excursion. I did not catch your question.” He said sounding truly sorry he had ignored her.

“ I do understand, however I was asking if you could give me some more information about this little excursion as you call it. I checked with some close friends lets say and they know nothing of this.” She said

Ranger Crockett sighed out loud. She had let the cat out of the bag. Who all would know about this in a few hours would they be met with Mexican military or possibly American soldiers.

“calm yourself Ranger Crockett the people I called are all friends of mine and would not betray that trust for love nor money. Besides they know that my bad side is not the place to be.” She said looking over towards the ranger.

He could understand that. This lady was nothing like what she showed on the outside.

“I assume you are going on some tip but this must be some good inside information because no one knows about it. I am guessing you did not tell me because you have not figured me out yet. Let me know when I go off track.” She said with a slight lilt in her voice. “let me see a PhD from some wealthy family with all sorts of connection and she has worked for some of the bigger government agencies in the country... EPA, DOJ, DOD. You are having a hard time figuring out my priorities. Is she a liberal a conservative? Where does her loyalty lay? That sound about right for what you are worried about.”

“You told me to let you know when you went off track mam. I will do that. No disrespect but there are people that have risked and are risking a lot and I will protect them as much as I can.” The Ranger said looking over into her blue eyes. He turned back to the road and the added. “ I needed a damn good scientist that could cover both the biological/chemical issue as well as tell me if I had something nuclear. You fit the bill but I have to tell you I only know you from your work and nothing more. If you want to bow out because I will not go into a great deal of detail until the time is closer I am sorry but this excursion will proceed to whatever end it has.”

“No insult I like a man that knows how to keep his mouth shut. To many babble on about the damnedest things. Like I heard recently of this cocky Texas Ranger that went into a border patrol office and pulled a 45 colt on the team leader because he had not released border agents to help a ranger under fire. Yeah he talked a lot about being ready next time and arresting that Ranger.” She said looking straight ahead never looking over to Ranger Crockett.

“Yeah we Rangers do tend to be a cocky bunch it seems. I blame it on the whole Walker Television show.” He said in a dead serious tone. He did not look over towards her but he could feel her smile and the mood lightened some. Somehow he felt that she was on his side. If he could get a clean grasp of what side that was other then against the terrorists and he guessed that was good enough for now.

They road in silence for about 45 minutes when she unbuckled her seat belt and turned around in the seat and reached into the back seat. She grabbed one of the smaller back and unzipped a small compartment. Ranger Crockett looked back in the read view mirror and then looked over his right shoulder she was still leaning over the seat and her backside was directly in his sight. He smiled until he looked in the mirror again and was caught. She smiled and he diverted his eyes as she moved back to her seat. She offered him a power-bar which he declined.

“now do not get all silent on me ranger it cannot be the first time you have gotten caught checking out a woman’s derriere.” She said laughing.

“yeah well sorry about that. I guess it just comes natural.” He said slowly.

“good glad to hear it. Since you seemed to like the view maybe you will help keep me from getting it shot off.” She laughed.

“I already told you my plan is for you to be back behind all the shooting. I need you to verify if we get something … bad. You will be safe.”

“good my brother should be down there when we arrive and he will take it personally if I get killed.” She said.
“What do you mean your brother I did not call him up.” he asked immediately worried more.

“nope but you called his commander and he is that persons right hand.” she said calmly.

He knew now who she was talking about a well built man. Maybe 6'2 with a muscular build and boyish face but he was a good solider by all accounts. “yeah I know him. I was unaware he was your brother.”

“let me see if I can put your mind more at ease Ranger. Heard some chattering about some shootout in Louisville not much being said about it tho. I am going to guess that they went after that Tanner fella again and they did not do so well. If they killed him it would be on every liberal outlet from east to west telling how fighting back was for the military and such. I did see the news about an FBI agent shot and something about some group inside the FBI that caused it. My father new the lady radio show host father and I actually went to school for a short time with the guy that used to do their technical board work. I found it odd since he had a degree from MIT. It is kind of a small world Ranger and well daddies little girl listens a lot.” She said smiling.

“if you got all that from listening I need to listen to what you listen to more.” he said. “ you seem very well informed or at least a good guesser.”

“no not really guessing per se but some abstract thinking. The same day we have a shooting on a major highway there is talk about Mexico and their gangs maybe trying to cut off part of the US. Luck. Nope I think someone gave you that. Now a raid to a border town with a small squad and a scientist that can check all possible dangers. You want to keep it quiet as you can until you have to. Why so I ask myself. If the knowledge it government then you know the bad guys already know what you do so it has to be personal. That could only come from someone who has had interaction with the terrorists in the last 24 hours or so. That leads me to Tanner. Why would this guy call a ranger for a second time and what would cause a ranger to get a squad together to go...oh what would we call this investigate or liquidate some bad guys that might have something new to bring to the terrorist table.”

She was good he thought. He hoped she was just thinking out of the box because she was right on.

“so let me try this on for size Tanner found something. It was something good but he knows he cannot trust all the FBI so he has to send out scouts. There has to be something else tho you could do the scouting alone. Something has him or those he is associated with scared. Something about this group that we are going to visit. A hunch. What does he know about them. He could get satellite images but that is tricky even for someone who has Dan's ability.”

Ranger Crockett began to wonder if this lady had actually been in on the calls that were made earlier.

“something about this group has you and them spooked and we are here taking a drive and hoping later tonight you are wrong.”

He had never prayed for anyone being more wrong then right now. He hoped all he would find were just bad guy terrorists with guns.

“I wonder” She continued “are we the only little team tonight. Is there more then this little party heading out to look for bad guys. Ahhh that's it we are scouting for something later. We are checking out if your information is good. I bet there is at least one other team but still this one is special. He would not have called you for something that a group of good old boys could do and not put you in a bad situation besides you would have checked this out with the Governors office. They have to be backing this with the firepower you are taking. So how did I do Ranger.” She finally.

Ranger Crockett sat in silence for the longest minutes of his life. If he told her what happened if she was some sort of liberal phoney and tried to tell people. It just did not feel right. He brother was a good soldier she seemed genuine. Lastly did he have the right to admit so much about JT and the others without them knowing about it. One more consideration was she was going into a fire fight and he hated to lie to people if they were putting their lives on the line.

“do you have a cell phone.” He asked.

“yeah right here do you need to use it.” She asked as she handed it to him.

He took the phone and quickly unpinned the battery then lowered the window and threw the battery out as she looked on in shock.

“I am sorry but there are people lives at stake here but I believe you have a right to know since you are in this now. Yeah they found something. A big list of 10 digit numbers.

Phone numbers she thought. Cell phones. It all started to make so much sense.

“Right again Dan was able to do something with them and find there locations. Right on again with the two teams. We are going in and one up with Jeanie and her dad. A small group has verified the numbers do trace to bad guys already. Yes this group is something special. Why are they on the border? If they are terrorists why wait unless they have something new to add something special are they waiting for the right time and place or maybe word from someone. All these things we need to know and we do not right now. I hope JT and his friend are wrong but I believe they are right. Call it a hunch a guess or just it seems this guy has something that works and I am going with it right now. I hope I can call him tomorrow and tell him it was just a bunch of Mexicans with cells phones that were provided by the terrorist group. I hope you can stay in the truck and never get out and I can take you to dinner as a thank you for coming. That is what I hope. You are here because hope only gets you so far and then reality kicks you in the nuts and you stand up and realize what you believe is very very far away from what you hope. You called it again on this also being scouting trips. If these turn out to be bad guys then the list will be sent to people not like me that can do what is needed. There have been people effected by these terrorists and some have fought back. Maybe they will again.” He said hoping he gave her all the details she wanted but enough to give him some time to make calls if she turns out different then he hoped.

“ you can take me out to dinner either way. I understand about the cell phone but you do owe me a battery. You had better hope I do not have to call an ambulance for you tonight.” She said with a lightness in her voice.

He smiled and drove on. They reached their turnoff about and 2 hours later and pulled up with the 3 other suburbans. He and the Doctor got out and joined the group. She immediately went over and hugged her brother and then came back to Ranger Crockett's side. The ranger laid out the mission they were going to get as close as possible to the border and would keep watch on anything moving on the opposite side. If they had confirmation on a group Ranger Crockett would make the call if they move in and engaged whether the group is on the Mexican or American side of things. Everyone was clear with the rules. The ranger went on to explain what they were worried about. He did not go into a great deal of detail but enough that the men would take this seriously. He looked into their eyes and knew they understood the gravity of the situation. They still had a few hours before night fall. He did not want anyone heading into the small town near the border just in case that tipped there hand. He told the men to get some rest they would be moving out at sundown. Ranger Crockett and Dawn Wise went back to the suburban and reclined the seats with the doors open letting the breeze circulate the warm air. They sat in silence for awhile. The ranger felt himself begin to drift off.

“ I want to thank you for trusting me as it were.” She said.

Her voice caught him off guard “ I am to. I hope I do not regret it.”

“you won't.” She said turning look over to him.

He looked over into those blue eyes. I hope not he thought. “can I get one of those power bars now.”

She smiled and reached over in the back seat. “ Sure” she said smiling.

He took the bar and silently sat and ate and waited and hoped.

Sweet!
Good Luck with your test!
Thanks for the chapter.

Jeepcats 3

Thank you for a great addition, good luck on all the studying.

great chapter, worth the wait, but need more soonest ,good luck with the test

that was great!!!!! I hope we dont have to wait as long for the next chapter. Good job!!!


WAB

Thank you for another good chapter Whtdrgn.
I hope you do well on your cert test.
Matt

Boy!, That next chapter should be a dooozy!!!!!!!!! LOL!!!



WAB