Dance or Die (White Oak - Mafia Series Book 3) (21 page)

“Then bring me with you, and I’ll explain the matter.”

“You’d come with me?”

“I’d like to.”

She threw herself on him, causing him to fall back on her bed. Climbing on top, she covered his face with kisses. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are my best friend for life.”

“Friend? I think we’ve gone beyond that.”

She nodded. “ILY2.”

His eyes sparkled with happiness, then he rolled her off him, stood and held out his hand. “Well send off your PowerPoint because it’s time for your shower lesson.”

Five of the guys were suiting up in black, non-reflective material tucked in dull black boots when Tess and Dan returned to the living room. They had headgear that looked to be out of a sci-fi movie. They also wore guns.

“Are we expecting trouble?” Tess stared up at Dan.

He raised his right eyebrow. “We don’t have a gate yet, so we aren’t going to take any chances. We’ll maintain surveillance through the entire night.”

She hugged him. “Thank you for being such a good protector of my woods.”

Tess noticed Ben loading up on ammunition. “You aren’t going to actually shoot anyone, are you?” she asked Ben.

He smiled. “We’ll clear it through Dan first.”

Dan kissed the back of her head. “I don’t anticipate anyone being shot, but ATV tires are fair game.”

“Absolutely!” she agreed. “Shoot any ATV you see.”

He handed Ben the EMP device. He’d requested night vision goggles with UV capabilities and the electro-magnetic pulse device be sent FedEx Same Day Delivery so he could teach the men how to use the equipment before their trial this weekend at Harpers Ferry. “If you are on level ground, use the EMP. Aim it in between the headlights. It will send out an intense electromagnetic pulse that will fry the electronics in the vehicle. It should bring the vehicle directly to a halt. First action: check on any people in the ATV. They should be fine unless they have a pacemaker. If that’s the case, get the person immediately to a hospital.”

“And if he aims too high?” Tess challenged.

“The ATV will continue to run amuck in your park.”

She stared at Ben. “Do not let ATVs damage my fragile soil.”

Soon the men disappeared into the night. Literally.

“I’m presuming they have night vision?”

“And UV.” He fingered her wet hair. “What can I fix you for dinner?”

“I want to cook for you,” she insisted.

Dan circled his arms around her. “But I want to cook for you.”

Malcolm chuckled. “How about I cook, and you two lovebirds cuddle on the couch?”

Dan’s cell phone beeped SOS.

He ran to his PC and sat down.

He lifted up a com unit. “Ben you’ve got three ATVs on the maintenance road.”

“Almost there,” Ben’s jagged voice spoke.

“Hit the lead vehicle with the EMP. Shoot the tires on the other two at the same time, or they’ll crash into the first one.”

Tess and Malcolm stood behind Dan’s chair and watched as he switched to the second and then the third camera shot.

So far the ATVs remained on the gravel. If they were stopped on it, there should be no damage. She gripped Dan’s shoulder. He patted her grip. “Easy tiger. I need that shoulder blade.”

She let go of him at once. “Where are the guys?”

“Probably setting up further down the road. Let’s just hope the ATVs don’t go off road before they meet the guys.” He split the screen and found the guys jogging up the road.

Dan had reached for his com unit when his men dropped and readied themselves. Ben bravely stood in the middle of the road and waited.

He waited until the ATV was within two hundred feet. “Park Rangers, stop at once,” he stated as he trigged the EMP. All three cars lost their lights and rolled to a halt. The camera showed five red-hot bodies climbing out of the ATV’s. Moments later the bodies fell on the ground and wiggled.

Ben’s voice came on the com unit. “Five bagged and waiting for pickup.”

“I’ll call Sheriff Cobbs,” Malcolm said and grabbed his cell phone.

Forfeiting dinner, they went down to the road. Tess had never worn night vision gear before. She yelped when she looked at the moon.

Dan playfully hit her butt. “Don’t do that.”

“How could the guys bear looking at the car lights?”

“Since I didn’t hear any screams of agonizing pain, I’ll presume they all listened to my lecture and went to UV or normal vision before the cars arrived.”

“Why didn’t I hear this lecture? Where was I?”

“Dragging your mini-me around.”

“Who?”

“The dark haired young woman that was going crazy over these woods.”

“Alice. She’s not a mini-me. She’s very much her own person. I liked her.”

“Not surprised.”

“I like you a whole bunch. Does that make you my mini-me too?”

“I’m not even close to being as optimistic and effervescent as you.” He stroked her hair. “But I hope all your fine qualities brush off on me.”

“What about my bad ones?” she asked, then yelped as she stumbled.

His arm snared her waist, keeping her vertical. “Keep your vision on the ground. If you want to look around, come to a halt.”

When they arrived, five angry young men were threatening to sue everybody. These woods were public property and they were the public.

She whispered to Dan, “What if they claim they didn’t see a ‘no trespassing’ sign and just turned down the road thinking the park was open?”

“They either went around the sign or over it. Let’s go see which.”

When they arrived at the entrance, a giant six-by-four-foot sign laid on the gravel with multiple tire tracks over it.

Tess relaxed once she read it.

NO TRESPASSING

STATE PARK UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Violators will be arrested and fined $2,000

NO UNAUTHORIZED VEHICLES

Violators will be arrested and vehicles will become the property of the State of Iowa.

Penalties will be strictly enforced.

No exceptions.

“Wow. I can’t believe anyone would enter with such a sign.”

“They’ll claim it had fallen down and they never saw it.”

“So do we have it on camera that they did see it?”

He placed his finger on her nose and she smiled. Just then Sheriff Cobbs arrived, lights blaring. Fortunately, Dan pulled off her night goggles before he arrived.

Cobbs stepped out of the pickup and studied the sign. “I like it. Any chance you can prove it wasn’t on the ground when they arrived?”

“Cameras show them getting out, reading the sign, then knocking the sign to the ground, and jumping on it before getting back in their ATVs and driving over it.”

“All right. Are you really going to take their ATVs?”

“They don’t work anymore, but I suppose the state can sell them for scrap metal or to a person who can fix things.”

Sheriff Cobbs grimaced. “My boys didn’t tear them apart, did they?”

“No. But I authorized them to use an EMP device and it fried the electronics of all three.”

“Electro Magnetic Pulse? Like a nuclear weapon?”

“Smaller and without the whole negative radiation bit. I honestly hadn’t expected it to take out all three of them. I had authorized the men to shoot the tires of the back two, but once they saw the headlights go out, they didn’t fire a single shot.”

The sheriff’s frown deepened. “Dan…did you clear this with higher ups? Because I assure you, the destruction of those ATVs is going to make the news. And people will either love you or hate you on this one.”

“I did. Given the importance of this site, the governor approved it personally.”

“Word of advice?”

“Sure.”

“Let one of the boys leak the video of them knocking down the sign to the press.” He then looked at Tess. “And you should be ready to give a statement tomorrow about the fragility of the soil and the beauty of these woods and the damage ATVs could do to it.”

He then sighed. “And you need a gate.”

“It’ll be here tomorrow.”

“You’ll be besieged with ATVs trying to find a way in.”

Dan nodded. “We’ve placed wood barriers on most spots and we’ll be ready for the two places we’ve left open.”

The sheriff looked at Tess. “You really want to declare a war on ATV owners?”

“No. I just want to protect these woods and turn it into the finest state park in the country.”

He patted her cheek. “Make sure you state that tomorrow.”

He climbed into his truck. “Want a ride?”

Tess and Dan climbed in and drove down the maintenance road.

“I can’t believe how fast you got this road done,” Cobbs said.

“Best grounds crew in the world,” Tess replied.

When they arrived at the three ATVs bunched together and got out, the young men started yelling that they wanted to sue.

As the sheriff shined his flashlight onto the boys, Tess realized she knew one of them. “Hey, I interviewed you today.”

The boy buried his face between his knees. “That wasn’t me.”

When Cobbs yanked him to his feet, he reached into the boy’s pocket and pulled out his wallet. “Brandon Culp.”

Tess slammed the palms of her hands against his chest. “The fine and loss of your ATV are the least of your worries. If I have my way, you’ll need a new major.”

“Shit! I’m sorry Miss Campbell. I didn’t want to come here. These guys made me.”

“Bullshit!” Another guy yelled. “This was your fucking idea.” The other guys jumped on that and agreed it had been. “So keep his and give us our ATVs back.”

“You read the sign. No exceptions.”

“Sheriff Cobbs, please! My dad is going to kill me,” a blond-haired boy pleaded.

“Sorry Jess, but you chose the wrong place to trespass. They gave you fair warning.”

“We didn’t see the sign. It was on the road,” Brandon said.

“They have video footage.”

“Shit, shit, shit!” Jess cried.

Another guy got excited. “Wait. They can’t use that video. We didn’t give our permission.”

“That’s right,” Brandon insisted.

Cobbs shook his head. “You can try that angle, but no one has ever won that argument against a security camera.”

He put all five in the back, securing them to the ring in the center.

He returned to Tess. “You should let your boss know about this immediately.”

Dan looked up. “Talking to him now.”

Cobbs nodded once and climbed into his truck, turned around, and headed off. 

Tess was about to ask Dan why he’d called Tom instead of letting her make the call, only he pulled her to him and adjusted the phone so she could hear as well.

“Cobbs suggested leaking the video showing the kids knew damn well what they were doing. Also, the apparent leader of the group had interviewed with Tess today, giving him an inside view.”

Tess leaned in. “He didn’t see the mounds. I’d already decided he was worthless.”

“Tom, we need to get back to the cabin now. Can we call you back from there?” Dan asked.

He hung up and rubbed her back. “Don’t stress out. Publicity of our ‘no tolerance’ policy will be a good thing.”

Her thoughts went back to Brandon, the jerk whom had interviewed for a job and then returned to destroy the park that very night.

“You talk to Tom first. I have to call Julia and complain about one of her students. I am really pissed. I toured him about and he brings his buddies back at night to destroy the place.”

“Go get ‘em, tiger. Send a message.”

She went straight to her room and called Julia. “Project’s due tomorrow, no exceptions,” the woman said when she answered the phone.

“Julia, this is Tess.”

“Oh God, Tess, sorry. I’ve had eighteen students call so far asking for an extension on a project they’ve had two months to do.”

“Well, first, let me give you some good news. Tom is going to put you on his list.”

“And the decision is yours?”

“I will discuss each candidate with Tom, but ultimately, the decision is mine.”

“Thank you.”

She sounded so heartfelt that Tess worried she’d misunderstood and thought she’d gotten the job.

“Don’t thank me yet,” she warned. “I’ve just gotten you into the process.”

“That’s all I needed…and a rational fair-minded boss looking for someone with the skills to actually do the job.”

“Now, to some not-so-good news. After Alice, I had two other kids show up for interviews. One got mad and stormed off without giving me his name.”

“That was probably Thorton Richard the Third. We call him King Richard.”

“I have a terrific staff thus far, and I need you to filter out jerks from the people sent on interviews.”

“Sorry, I wasn’t involved in who got sent. Dr. Castile went straight to the Dean and he selected some of our best and those with parents who are substantial donors to our university.”

“Would Brandon Culp be one of the latter?”

“He would.”

“Well, then you should know that after being toured about my park, he returned with four of his buddies, ignored the ‘no trespassing’ warning, and they entered on three ATVs.”