The Road to Round Mountain: The Betrayal by (29 page)

The Sheriff let out a huge exhale; I was wondering if he  sucked in the entire cigarette in one puff. “You know this is  far from over, I’m just wanting you to be aware and not be  surprised about anything that’s about to happen”. Gordon  went from enjoying his smoke to puffing nervously. Jennifer  squeezed my hand and gave me a look, “You’re going to  need to fill me in Billy, and I’ve never been this scared before. These people who are after you, do you know what they  want. I’m scared, but I’m more scared for you; I don’t want  anything to happen to you. If you hadn’t noticed, I’m rather  fond of you”. I must have started to blush as she smiled at me  while brushing the sides of my cheeks.

I filled her in as best I could. The Sheriff added some

components that I had forgotten. Gordon continued to puff  away nervously, giving an occasional nod. We must have been  there for a while as the sheriff’s wife came in with a tray of  sandwiches and a bag with an assortment of soft drinks. She  sat everything on one of the benches and waved her hand in

252

front of her mouth to indicate that she did not enjoy walking  into a smoke filled room. “Your exhaust would work better

if you turned it on”, She said as she left the shower area and  flicking on the switch to the exhaust.

Everyone must have been starving as the sandwiches  disappeared in a ravenous frenzy of activity. The shower  area had cleared up thanks to the Sheriff’s wife. Weariness  was obvious in everyone’s eyes as heads were starting to  droop after the monstrous feast. The Sheriff gave out the  plans for the rest of the night. All of his officers were taking four hour guard watches with two Deputy’s parked at  the front counter with assault rifles aimed at the front door.

The Sheriff would be a third sentry if needed and would nap when he thought he could.

We all had our sleeping assignments. There were two cots set up in his office for me and Gordon. We voted that  Jennifer gets the couch to which I received an extra kiss for that recommendation. There was a storage closet that actu-ally had another room next to it complete with a double bed and a dresser. I’m guessing the Sheriff had to spend plenty a night back there. The deputy’s would rack out in one of the empty cells. There were four to choose from and all were empty.

Once we returned to the Sheriff’s office two local Police

came in and the Sheriff gave them the basic information. He  couldn’t tell them everything of course, but just enough to  keep them interested in keeping their eye’s peeled for a forty  something brunette female with green eyes, and don’t try to  apprehend. They really perked up when is told them to shoot  first, don’t ask questions.

253

All of us were trying to get comfortable in our tempo-rary sleeping quarters. I cheated somewhat by sliding my cot next to the couch so I could be next to Jennifer. She leaned over to me and said, “Goodnight Billy”. “Goodnight  Jennifer”, I responded. “Could you do me one favor”, she asked? “Anything”, I replied. “Jennifer sounds so formal, how about you call me Jenny”? “You mean like in Forrest Gump”,  I snidely replied. “No silly, just Jenny, and that’s all I got to say about that”, she said in a pretty good Gump imitation.  We kissed for a bit until Gordon started making smooching noises. Jenny and I giggled and laid down in our respective make shift beds. We were all exhausted, but sleep did not

come easy.

254

45

there wAs A
 
knock on Boling’s hotel door. A series of  knocks consisting of two knocks followed by three and repeated once more. Boling slowly made her way to the door  and heard, “Quite an evening wouldn’t you say”? She recognized the voice and opened the door. The Director himself,  John Jacob Gable strolled in as this was just a social call. His  smile was unnerving to Boling, but she had a great poker face  and he would never know. She wasn’t sure how he found out

where she, the Seaside Inn was about thirty miles south of  Astoria and figured it to be a safe haven until tomorrow. She  motioned for him to have a seat. Before she could close the

door, three other large sized men came into the room and

surrounded the director at the chair he was seated at.

“To what do I owe the honor of this visit Director”,  Boling asked? The Director looked up at her with his phony  smile of comfort. She was paying more attention to the three  guys dressed in dark suits that were behind the Director. She  envisioned them as rejects from the latest Men in Black movie. Their sunglasses were a dead giveaway that they weren’t  here for a social visit. Boling was nervous but did not show  it. Wearing sunglasses at midnight was strange enough but  these three could be triplets, same size about 6 foot 2 short  dark hair and the same square jaw features on their face.

“So tell me if you can, how exactly our project found out  where your hostage was located. Was someone else told of

255

the situation and decided to share”? Boling never was a fan  of his condescending smile and replied, “No one else knew,  just me and Doug that was it”. “Pity that I don’t believe you.  I think you might have ulterior motives for our project that  might require my demise”, as he continued to smile. “So  what do you suggest as our next move”, as she tried to divert  the topic. He sat for a second, rubbed his chin and said, “You  see my dear, these locals already know about you; but us”, as  he spread his arms as is to encompass his three blind mice,  “they know not of us. So as far as our next move, well I can  sum it up in one word- Armageddon”!

Boling started to smile at his plan but her smile faltered  quickly as his three stooges all pulled out Glocks with silencers and each shot her with a single shot point blank. She took  one to the head and two through the heart. She hit the bed  dead. Her glassy eyes fixated at the ceiling. His three gunmen put away their weapons and the Director got up from  his chair and walked over to the bed and looked down at

Boling. “You needn’t worry about getting up early tomorrow, we’ve got this Agent Boling”, as all four of them left the ho-tel room and quietly closed the door.

256

46

the mornIng cAme
 
quietly enough. I woke up with  Jenny’s arm over me, and though it was a special comforting feeling, sleep came in short bursts as though my subconscious was trying to keep one eye open at all times.

Everyone took their turns taking showers and I had to  put up with Gordon’s ribbing about why I don’t join Jenny  in the shower. A great idea mind you but I wasn’t going to  give Gordon the satisfaction of trying to make me blush;  amateur. When Jenny came out of the shower she smile at  me, that’s when I noticed a small mouse had puffed up under  her left eye; the side of her face that was smacked by steroid  guy in the hut. I walked over to her and ran my hand over  the swollen area, “It’ll be fine Billy”, she reassured me, and “a  couple of days of extra makeup should do until it goes away”.  The thought of that ape hitting her was making me angry. I  smiled back at her hoping she wouldn’t see through me.

We gathered in the Sheriff’s office as two Deputies and  one Astoria Policeman were taking aim at the front door  with their assault rifles. The Sheriff’s wife had one of the

Deputies run to McDonalds to gather a couple of bags of  Biscuit sandwiches and drinks. The Sheriff was not pleased with her executive decision but still managed to woof down his sandwich in three bites; he was in a better mood after that and I’m sure his wife had that in her morning plan.

We heard the phone ring out front and the Sheriff wasn’t

257

too concerned with it since it wasn’t on his office phone. A  few moments later, Deputy Dave came lumbering in the office and handed the Sheriff a note. “That was Watkins over

at the Coast Guard base; he said he had some information  about a Frankie and Sully and some activity that they have  planned and that you would know about it”. “Thanks Dave,  have a Mcbisciut”. “Already had two but thanks anyway”.  The Sheriff shook his head and read over the note.

The Sheriff got up grabbed his hat and headed towards the office door, “I’ll be back in a few. Got to gas up the patrol car and pay Watkins a visit. Remember no one leaves here, and you Anne”, as he pointed to his wife, “if you have any thoughts about sending anyone out for food, just remember;  Subway delivers”, and smiled as he left. “God hates a smart-ass Walt, and what kind of sandwich do you want”? Too late;  I’m sure he heard the smartass part but that didn’t deter his momentum as he quickly exited the building.

We all smiled at her comment as she looked over at us,  “Well he is a smartass, and to make matters worse he knows it”. Me, Jenny and Gordon made our way to the showers for an after biscuit smoke and we remembered to turn on the

exhaust fan. A couple of puffs in to our dessert, Gordon’s  eye’s got wide, “What is it”, I inquired?

“It just hit me, The Sheriff never said anything to Mr.  Watkins about what the Four Horsemen were up to”. “Okay,  I’ll give you that one, so what is the problem”……. We both  stared at each other for a second when Jenny added, “I’m not  following, why does that matter”? “If the Sheriff didn’t tell  Mr. Watkins, then how did Mr. Watkins know to tell the  Deputy that he would know”, I asked? Gordon followed with,

258

“Because that wasn’t Mr. Watkins who called the Sheriff’s

office”. Jenny still confused asked, “Then who called”? “The  same people who kidnapped you”, I replied. Gordon and I  looked at each other and both shouted, “It’s a trap”.

We ran back to the Sheriff’s office, where his wife, Anne  was cleaning up our little Mcmess. “Mrs. Sheriff, I mean  Pasco, You need to call the Sheriff right now, he’s walking into a set up from the people that kidnapped Jenny”.  “What on earth are saying Billy”? “The phone call, that  wasn’t Watkins on the phone, and the Sheriff didn’t tell  him anything about the guys at the base; plus the last time  Mr. Watkins called, he called the Sheriff’s office phone; he  wouldn’t have called out front”. The worry in Anne’s face  was evident as she hurried to the phone frantically punching in numbers. Jenny came into the office, “I asked the  Deputies to try and raise him on the radio as well”. I ran  over and planted a big kiss on Jenny as I told her and Anne,  “You need to stay here, as long as the Deputies are locked  and loaded you should be okay; we’ll be back”.

As Gordon and I were heading for the door Anne said,  “Billy please bring Walt back to me”, and Jenny added, “And  you bring yourself back to me”. I ran over and kissed her  again, “I will”, I hope, I wasn’t sure what good I was going  to do against pro’s. Anne stopped us again, “What if I drive  you over there”? “Can’t do it, their probably watching the  jailhouse as we speak; you’re safer here”. Gordon grabbed at  my arm and we hauled ass out the Back door.

“What now”, Gordon asked? “It should take the Sheriff  about five minutes to fill up, so we need to haul some balls.  Gordon do you know the quickest way to the base”? He

259

nodded and took off running as I followed him as best I  could. Gordon took off across the field behind the jailhouse  and veered left onto Macaw Drive. Good call, that’s almost  a straight shot down the road to Marine Drive and the base  across it. My foot was killing me but I was able to keep pace  with Gordon which surprised me. I had to think. How many  people would Boling bring to the party to come and get me?  Instinct told me at least four, if not more. But what was I  going to do once I got there. I would need to be more than  careful, with plenty of focus.

We got to Marine Drive in maybe five or six minutes. We  didn’t even bother to check on traffic and kept on running  across the street. Crap, the Sheriff’s car was already there.

Gordon checked his watch, only to remember that it  stopped working a few days ago. “Ten minutes I figure”,  Gordon exclaimed. He could be right but it didn’t matter as  an empty patrol car was mocking us by its absence of a driver.  We got close to the Rec. Hall and I had to stop Gordon,  “What don’t we want to go in”? “Yeah”, I said in a hurried  breath, “But we need to check things out first”. Damn I was  out of breath. Gordon wasn’t even breathing hard; Alien.

I put my focus on the Rec. hall and asked Gordon to  watch for any movement from the other two buildings. He  did just that, and upon reflection he figured that it was a  good idea not to go rushing in there with our pants down,  so to speak. After a moment I could start to make out a  number of bodies that were in the Rec. Hall; unfortunately  none of them seem to be moving. Not good, not, good, keep  focusing. Where Mr. Watkins office would be I saw a very  large man with his head down on the desk, “The Sheriff’s

260

in there”, I barely eeked out an audible but Gordon’s Vulcan  hearing understood.

I couldn’t see any other movement in the building but  there were restrooms and two storage areas and of course the  infamous time out room. I motioned at Gordon to follow

me as we slowly made our way to the front door. “Did you  spot anything”, I asked Gordon in a whisper? He shook his  head no as we were at the door. The door was cracked open  a few inches and there as deafening blanket of silence surrounding the room. I slowly pushed open the door hoping  that it would not squeak and give us up for fresh target practice. We both inched our way into the Rec. hall and bodies  were everywhere. It seemed that the only places there wasn’t  any bodies was pools of blood too numerous to count. Mr.  Watkins was on the floor behind the couch that faced the