- Hard Fall (24 page)

"Get off it, Ramon." I barked it out. "I don't got the hankering to deal with idiots like you."

Ramon threw the first punch, caught me in the jaw. I staggered back, bumping into Kabe. Then I stepped in, got him back with a strong right to his nose. Thought I'd just show him I wouldn't lie down and take it. Stepped back and grabbed at his wrists as Ramon swung more. I managed to get my hand around the back of his neck. Pulled Ramon in so his head got stuck under my armpit. He kept going at my ribs, biting, kicking, punching.

I cocked back and slammed in three, maybe four times.

Rapid rabbit punches. Made him jerk each time. Then he twisted, broke free. Kicked me good and solid as he dropped back.

Ramon charged. I jumped in to meet him, arms open.

Catching him across the chest, I took us down to the pavement. The air slammed out of Ramon with a grunt. I reared up, pulled him sitting by his hair, smacked his face with my fist. Crack his chin with my knee.

215

Hard Fall

by James Buchanan

Bout that time it hit me, I was beating the stuffing out of Ramon Peistiwa in a store parking lot. Felt Kabe's hands yanking on the back of my shirt before I heard him begging,

"Joe, stop, come on." I pushed Ramon back. Got up. I wanted to spit on him. Even I, as mad as I was, couldn't do that.

Instead I walked away.

Heard the wail of sirens as I got into the truck. I might be able to beat it if I ran. Lord knew though, enough people seen it and a few of them probably knew me. I hugged my chest and shook with the ghosts of the fight.

"What are you doing?" Kabe hung on the open door and leaned in.

I looked up into the rearview mirror. A few people milled around. "Waiting." Didn't see Ramon nowhere.

"Waiting for what?"

I didn't right know. Well I knew the simple answer, "The cops." What the rest of it, what'd happened once they got here, that I didn't want to think on.

"Fuck," Kabe looked worried, like deep soul worried. "Joe, this'll blow my parole."

"You didn't have nothing to do with it, Kabe." I reached out, bumped his jaw with my fist and tried to smile. "You were trying to pull me off Ramon. I'll make sure they know that. I'll call Sheriff Simple for you. I won't let my problems wreck you. I promise."

"You could just leave."

"No, Kabe." I saw them coming up the street a ways. A black and white with the low profile light bar and
Police,
Cedar City
painted on the side. "They'll figure it out." I was a 216

Hard Fall

by James Buchanan

cop and I'd done wrong. Had to stay and take my lumps.

"Can't outrun shit like this. Sooner or later it catches up with you, so might as well deal with it head on."

"Well," he snorted, "Ramon already left."

"That's his problem, not mine." The unit swung into the lot and headed toward us. "Here they are." I slid out of the cab and shut the door. Didn't want to be near my rifle when they pulled up, there was stupid like I'd done and just right crazy.

"Time to take my lumps."

Kabe stood right next to me. I could feel him shaking or maybe that was me. "How far do you think Ramon'll get?" He asked as the officer in his dark uniform pushed up his aviator glasses and sauntered over.

I shrugged and stepped away from the truck a bit. "In an SUV with BLM plates, 'bout a mile, maybe two." Sparing a brief smile to offer Kabe a reassurance I didn't feel, I added,

"And everyone around here knows him, same as they know me. If they don't get him now, they'll just go to his house or his office and catch him there. You can run a long ways and not get any farther away from your problems 'round here."

Lordy, wasn't that the truth.

[Back to Table of Contents]

217

Hard Fall

by James Buchanan

Kabe caught the door on the third knock. Good thing,

'cause I didn't much wanna get out of bed. I'd crawled in, barely botherin' to kick off my boots, right after we'd got back to my place. Least the boys in Cedar City had been nice enough to me. Sped up the booking, citied me and released me on my own recognizance. Took all of maybe half an hour, but I had to go back in a few days and stand before the local Justice Court. Maybe I'd up and die before that came 'round.

Sheriff Simple's voice drifted up to haunt me. "Joe around?" Guess the day weren't gonna get much better.

I rolled over and glared at the ceiling listening to Kabe mumble out, "Yeah."

Somebody else was down there too ... three sets of boots shuffled about on my plank floors. "Hey, Sugar." Had to be Nadia and she must've been talking to Kabe, since I didn't figure she'd call Myron Simple,
Sugar.
"How y'all doing?"

Regular old party I was having and I'd didn't invite none of

'em.

"Okay." He answered. I was already out of bed and hunting for where I shoved my boots when Kabe called up the stairs, "Joe, the Sheriff and Ranger Slokum are here."

Stamping into my boots on the way down the stairs, I saw

'em all. Kabe, well, he was my Kabe, still in my flannel and his painted on jeans. Ranger Slokum wore full uniform.

Sheriff Simple was an elected official, he didn't have a real 218

Hard Fall

by James Buchanan

uniform, but he had dressed for hunting, as we said it: sidearm, badge and black cowboy hat.

"Heard about this morning." Myron called up to me as I thundered down the steps. "Don't look like you came out of it clean."

"The black eye," I shrugged, "or the citation for disturbing the peace?"

That got me a snort from Nadia. "Both." Nobody'd taken a seat yet, I didn't extend the offer. Figured it wasn't much of a social call, what with everyone in their finest. Although why the Sheriff had drug Nadia along to chew my butt, I couldn't fathom.

When I hit the ground floor, Myron took off his hat and spun it through his hands. He looked at me, then Kabe, then back to me. "Why, Joe, did you go and pick a fight with Ramon-Fucking-Piestewa?"

"Joe didn't pick a fight with him." Kabe sputtered it out.

My glare shushed the boy. He muttered something none of the rest of us was privy to and stalked over into the kitchen, flipped a chair around and dropped into it. Guess I wasn't the only one 'round here sulking. I propped my butt on the back of the couch. Not all that contrite, I offered, "Sorta stumbled up on it I guess." I was too darn busy feeling sorry for myself to actually be sorry about anything.

"Yeah, well, I got an earful from the chief over in Cedar City a couple hours ago." Sheriff Simple settled the hat back on his head. He was being official after all, gave him the right to keep it on indoors. "Says you were cooperative with them.

Ramon pretty much blamed it all on you," a nasty smile tried 219

Hard Fall

by James Buchanan

to twist up his mouth, "once they caught him." Somehow I figured Ramon was in a lot more hot water than me. "Most of the witnesses though, they say you were trying to walk away when he threw the first punch. Can't say, Joe, that this'll make things much easier for you." As he shoved his hands in his pockets, he shook his head. It all seemed like he was sorta sad. "On top of everything else right now, I'll do what I can do. Well," he huffed out, "I didn't come over here to bust your chops. We'll save that for later."

If it weren't that, what else could it be? I wasn't so down that it'd killed my curiosity. "So why did you come?"

"Ranger Slokum and I are on our way over to the canyon."

Nadia, hearing her name, turned from where she studied the prints on my wall. Other than Jesus on the Mount, the rest were landscapes painted by my uncle and none of 'em qualified as high art. "Got our arrest warrant last night. Called the guy on Circuit and he signed off. But since Gunter's on the park's property we had to do a bit of faxing back and forth to Salt Lake, dot the i's and cross the t's and get the Feds' okay to take him on NPS land." Now he smiled. Sheriff Simple's smile was known to make grown men piss themselves. "You're on suspension." He stated the obvious.

"Can't be there, least not officially."

"I know." I appreciated though, him coming by and letting me know that they were gonna pick Gunter up.

"Thought maybe," he sniffed and cast a sideways glance at Ranger Slokum, "since it was all your doing, you might want to just ride along with me."

220

Hard Fall

by James Buchanan

"Just to observe." Nadia smiled. Hers was open and honest and all the scarier for it, 'cause I sensed the bobcat tasting blood underneath. "Huh, Sugar?"

First thing in a bit that pricked my interest. I ran my hand across my head and nodded. "I'd like to see him go down."

"Okay." Clapping his hands together, Myron added, "You ride with me."

Nadia looked over at Kabe. "Coming too, Sugar?"

"If its okay," he shifted in his chair, "and if Joe wants me to."

"Might as well." Kabe ought to have the chance to see what he'd put in motion. "You can keep me out of trouble."

"Sounds like a plan." Myron headed to the door. "Why don't the boy ride with Ranger Slokum, if that's acceptable? I want to talk with Joe a bit."

"Fine by me." She fished her keys from off her belt. "Come on, Sugar, you can tell me your life's story on the way."

Kabe looked at me like he needed permission or something. Could be he just didn't want me to have to suffer the sheriff on my own. Still, I was big enough I didn't need protecting from my own boss, "Get." I ordered him off. "I'll be fine. See you in like thirty." Watched him sulk over to the Ranger's pickup; Kabe acted like a puppy who'd been scolded.

I clambered into Sheriff Simple's car. We pulled out, hit the road right behind the NPS truck. Didn't say nothing for a while, as nothing seemed right to say. Finally, I asked it. "So, sir, what'd you need to talk to me about?"

Simple stared out at the road. Late sun and summer weather, Lord it was beautiful up here. He kinda glanced at 221

Hard Fall

by James Buchanan

me and offered another one of his scary as all get out smiles.

"You done good work on this one."

Not much more to do than take the complement. "Thank you, sir."

"Should be able to use this to keep you on," his finger tapped the wheel with a lot more agitation than his voice held. "But you know it ain't gonna be easy, Joe."

Easy and I didn't really have much to say to each other these days. I shrugged and watched the world go by past the window. "Figured it wouldn't."

"Up until this morning, I thought I had it figured out." He pushed his hat back a bit. "Week off, without pay, reprimand in your file and drop you a grade in pay." A good few minutes passed before he blew out his breath long and hard. "Now I got a whole 'nother hornets' nest to sort through. Don't want you to lose your POST, but you got to know you might with that fight."

Lord, if they pulled my Peace Officer Standards and Training certification I couldn't even work corrections no more. I swallowed, "I know."

"It goes good for you that you tried to walk away." It hit me that this might be the corrective counseling session that the Sheriff had to put me through. Sounded like it. If that was so, then maybe we weren't talking me losing more time. "And you took it just far enough to back Ramon down. And thank Sweet Jesus neither of you boys was stupid enough to rack a shell ... although I hear tell that a few people thought that's what Ramon was heading for when they heard the police coming and he ran off." To be shot in the back by Ramon 222

Hard Fall

by James Buchanan

Piestewa, that would have been low. I sure didn't have that much hate for him. Simple growled out the next question,

"What did you do to piss him off like that?"

"He had a thing for a gal. That gal had a thing for me." Not that I'd known it before Ramon'd come after me. Still, that's what he'd said.

"You two was fighting over a girl?" The Sheriff sounded like the White House was about to be painted chartreuse.

"Didn't say that, sir." Stamping down the laugh I didn't think would be appreciated, I explained to the best I could figure. "I guess he thought he was defending her honor or something by coming after me, since I pretty much turned her down." I stared out the widow some more. The rocks started turning the bright red giving Red Rock its name. "Just not in so many words."

"'Cause of that boy?"

"Yep."

"Well all right then." He snorted a couple times as he thought it through. We pushed on closer to Bryce. I wasn't certain which campground Gunter was at, but the Ranger would know. A few more miles passed under the wheels before the Sheriff spoke again. "Diamond's got the cruiser." I guess we were finished, at least for now, with my talking to.

"She and Jess'll take him with a couple of the Rangers."

"Lot of people for one skinny, German guy."

"Got to transfer him." Simple spared me a glare and then returned his attention to the road. "Park Rangers will serve the warrant and then we'll transfer custody at the edge of NPS territory."

223

Hard Fall

by James Buchanan

We pulled through the park gates just behind Nadia's truck and turned south past the Visitors' Center, heading for Sunset Campground. Knew that was it, as there were only two real campgrounds at Bryce ... for North Campground we would have headed the other direction. First to pull in behind us was Diamond and Jess in the cruiser. They'd been stationed in the big visitor's parking. We met up with the other Ranger a little after we turned onto the loop road. Nadia Slokum pulled up next to the NPS patrol car idling near the campground host station.

I'm sure we made a sight for the tourists to write home about. Four law enforcement vehicles cruising through, heading for loop C. Ponderosa pine and a little bit of scrub was broken by cleared areas. Tents peeked through here and there. Not a whole lot of privacy from your neighbor. About halfway 'round the loop, Nadia pulled over and so did we. The other cars moved a little farther along. No way for any vehicle to get by any of us.