B.B.U.S.A. (Buying Back the United States of America) (31 page)

“Glad you made it, David. I was beginning to worry.” Leo greeted his friend.

“I came as soon as I could. I wasn’t sure by what you meant when you told me to take the scenic route, so I drove through Mt. Home, Fairfield, Ketchum, Sun Valley, then on to Stanley and here. I hope that was what you wanted.”

“Oh, that’s fine. You’re here and safe. I was just hoping that you would not be followed. Do you remember my good buddy Doug?”

“Yes I do, he was at your Christmas party last year. How are you?” The two men shook hands.

David turned to Leo and said, “I brought a little food, some cases of pop you had in the garage and two guns. I didn’t know what all you needed, and didn’t dare take too much time deciding.”

“Whatever you brought with you will be fine. I think we have about all we need anyway, so whatever you brought will just be extra supplies to make our stay more enjoyable. Did you bring all the files?”

“Yes, the files are in a box in the back seat of the Bravada.”

“Good job.” Leo then noticed the side of David’s mostly-bald head. “Are those marks on your head and the stitches in your ear from the visit you had the other night?”

“Yep.”

“Gosh, David, I’m so sorry. They will pay.”

“Don’t keep grudges on my account,” David counseled. “Life is too short to go around seeking revenge.”

“Well, David, it seems ironic that we are camping or hiding out in the old stone cabin. Are you planning to stay with us or do you have other plans? You can leave if you want and take the vehicle and go where ever you feel you want to go.”

“I’m torn between staying and just driving off to who-knows-where.” David was always totally honest.

“It’s entirely up to you. I don’t think there will be any safe place for me and my family until they have been stopped. You probably don’t know this yet, but Natasha, our office manager, was killed in that fire at our office. I talked to Sarah before I called you last night and my Mom’s business has been blown up in Africa by the same organization and my family barely escaped with their lives.”

“Are they okay?” David’s eyes got round in astonishment. He simply couldn’t believe the whole situation was as serious as Leo and Sarah had been telling him. At first it had sounded too much like a fairytale story, or like they’d been watching too many late night movies.

“Yes, they managed to get away and are in the process of heading back to Boise, but some people weren’t so lucky and one man was killed and several went to the hospital. I have to break that code and end this mess real soon.”

“Well then, I guess it’s decided. I’ll stay till it’s over. What makes you think they’ll ever come looking for you here?” David was dubious.

“Because… I practically drew them a map. I left a note on Grandma’s front door telling her where we are. They can’t miss it. They had to know where to come but we needed a little time first to break that code.”

“Well, what makes you think they’ll go to Challis and to Elsie’s house? Will she be safe if they come around there?” David’s hands were wind milling in his excitement and concern.

“It’s ok, David, my grandmother is fine, and on a cruise to Alaska for two weeks. A guy that used to live with us for over a year is now working for the B.B.U.S.A. and he tipped me off that they were heading to Challis today. They will probably get to Challis by noon and read the message. They’ll get directions and head this way. I suspect they’ll be here by evening. We’re hoping to be able to break the password on the flash drive with the files that you brought. With that proof we can go to the cops and the press. If we break it before they show up, we’ll all pack up and head for Boise and protection. If we can’t break it in time we will take them on here at the cabin. We have hunting rifles and handguns. They will most likely only be carrying side arms and have no idea that we are prepared for them. We should definitely have the advantage this time.”

“I don’t want any part of the guns, Leo. I’ll help load, or whatever, but I won’t shoot anybody.” David was adamant.

Doug spoke up. “Don’t worry, David; I am pretty sure we can handle that end.”

Bob did not hear the recording of Leo’s call to David until the next morning. By then, he figured it would be too late to poke around at Leo’s house. He couldn’t believe that no matter how much progress they seemed to make, Leo remained one obnoxious step ahead of them. Leo wanted to meet David out by the stone house he wanted to rebuild? That could be anywhere. He didn’t even have hopes of catching Leo in Challis now.

That morning Ervin looked worse than the night before. His mouth was swollen and bruised and if it weren’t for all the pain pills he would have been in severe pain. The doctor at the emergency room had to pull what was left of Ervin’s two front teeth, and now, whenever he spoke, he made some strange whistling sounds. Every time he said a word with an “s” in it, the whistle came out. Ervin was conscious of the noise and unusually quiet. Florin never talked much anyway and the two men did not communicate with each other at all.

In light of the latest information regarding Leo, Bob no longer had a concrete plan. He wasn’t even certain that Leo was still in Challis; it sounded like he was leaving for that damn stone house somewhere. Most likely his Grandmother or someone in Challis would know where he went. Doug had family there, too, so the best bet was to head for Challis. They drove in Bob’s minivan. They had to finish this business quickly; however, he did not have high hopes of catching Leo anytime soon.

It was midafternoon before they pulled into Challis. Since they had the address to the house, it was easy to find. Florin noticed the note on the door and commented about it.

They drove around the opposite block in order to keep their distance and to try to remain unnoticed. The house looked deserted, and that wasn’t encouraging. Bob pulled his binoculars out of the glove compartment and squinted trying to make out the letters on the note. The distance was too great and the letters were too small. He would have to send someone directly to the door to read it. He didn’t want to be seen hanging around the house during the day. That was the trouble with small towns; everybody knew everybody else and they all watched out for each other. Some old biddy nearby would probably notice a stranger going to the door of their neighbor’s house and call the Sheriff.

Bob decided to wait and approach the house after dark. They drove back down the main street, turned left at the intersection, and then pulled into a motel called the Northgate Inn. After getting rooms, they drove to the Y-Inn café for dinner. They would visit the two story Victorian house after dark.

Doug and Leo worked on the password inside the tent. Leo explained all the transactions to Doug, desperately seeking some clue to the password, while David stood guard. At least, he was supposed to be watching for the enemy. When Leo left the tent at one point to go relieve himself, he found David stabilizing one of the old stone walls. He had several other rocks neatly stacked outside of the building. Leo asked him what he thought he was doing. David had responded that he might as well make use of the time. He was beginning to organize his dreams of rebuilding the cabin with or without the State’s permission. Leo laughed, not at David, but at the situation. Despite their current condition and position, David was still preparing to give something back to society.

He had been so frustrated with all of the state bureaucracy that he had once volunteered to build the cabin all by himself without any assistance. Still, the State said that they could not approve the project until their Archaeologist and State Historian gave their approval. Besides, the project would have to be supervised by State employees and follow every regulation for exact duplication. They could not afford to oversee such a project at that time.

David got the same response year after year, yet he was still determined to rebuild it one way or another. He told Leo that the very least he could do was mark the rocks, remove the portion of the wall that was bound to collapse in the next year, and attempt to stabilize the rest of the existing structure. He assured him that he was still keeping an eye out for visitors. Leo agreed with David that they would see and hear any vehicles approaching the town site of Custer long before they became a threat.

By dark the temperature had dropped considerably, and David moved inside the tent with Doug and Leo, who were still frantically trying to break the password. He began inquiring about the password and the transactions. At first Leo did not have the patience to go over everything a second time with David, but Doug urged him to go over it a hundred times if necessary until something clicked. Doug reasoned that the more they went over the documents and the more people who were thinking about the password, the better chance they would have of accidentally stumbling on to it. Finally, Leo relented and began explaining the transactions to him.

David listened attentively, and then asked how many transactions were done in partnership with Tim Bance.

“There were eight transactions with Tim.”

He was trying to understand, “Then the answer has to lie within one or perhaps a combination of all of them.”

Another twenty minutes passed with no success, and Leo became concerned about the light emanating from the tent. If Bob should trace them to Custer in the middle of the night, he would surely see the light on the hill and come over to investigate. David and Doug continued to work on the password while Leo hung dark clothing around the two windows of the tent to lessen the amount of escaping light.

Leo went outside to breathe in some fresh crisp mountain air, and he stood in the dark for a while, waiting for his eyes to adjust. He had forgotten how dark it really was in the mountains when you were away from all artificial light sources. His thoughts remained with Tim Bance and the files. Tim’s words echoed through his head “The password will only make sense to you and Sarah.” What in the world had Tim meant by that statement? They were inches away from breaking the password and the answer had to be here, in those files.

A low whine sounded off in the distance. He tried to place the familiar noise as it he became louder and deeper. Finally, it dawned on him that it was the low roar of a vehicle’s engine. He unzipped the tent and hollered at them to turn off all lights.

He quickly grabbed both the semi-auto .22 rifle and the .30-30, and then placed the pump shotgun just inside the tent as a back-up if needed. Doug closed the laptop computer and David turned off the battery operated lantern. The tent became pitch dark and blended into the night. Doug used the small keychain flashlight and met Leo outside the tent with his loaded .30-06 rifle. “Where are they?” he asked softly.

Just then, a streak of light pierced the darkness as the vehicle came around the last bend below the old mill. Both men instinctively dropped to their knees and peered over the top of the stone wall. “You know our scopes will be pretty useless at night?”

“Dang, you’re right.” He looked through the scopes of both guns and could not see well enough to use them effectively. “My .22 has open sights under the scope; I’ll have to use it.”

Doug said, “My rifle has no other sights!”

The vehicle slowed its pace as it came around the final bend. “It’s a truck,” David said as he joined them.

“Doug, how good are you with a pistol?” Leo asked.

“Better than I’d be with a rifle without sights.”

“Then ditch the rifle, buddy, and get your pistol ready.” He handed the rifle to David, who was not eager to accept it. “Please put it in the tent, David,” he asked.

David nodded reluctantly and placed the rifle on a sleeping bag. To their surprise, the truck did not stop next to the old Pfeiffer building but kept on driving. “Do you reckon they didn’t see our vehicles?” David inquired.

“I’m not sure; perhaps they’re just being cautious.” The three men felt the tension in the air. They were almost holding their breaths in anticipation of what was to come. Leo didn’t know about the other two, but he could definitely feel the adrenaline coursing through his body. Paint gunning was vastly different from the real thing. Though the sport was extremely stimulating and exciting, and the paint balls hurt when they hit, it was nothing like the feeling he had holding a gun with live ammunition while contemplating the possibility of taking another man’s life, or perhaps losing his own.

The red brake lights flashed on and the truck came to a stop in front of the gift shop across the street from the old museum. Doug opened his mouth and let out a faint whisper of surprise. “Oh shit!”

“Yep, this might be it buddy.”

“I can’t see them well from here, can you?”

“No, those trees by the park benches are blocking my view.”

Two doors opened on the truck. Light brightened the front porch of the gift shop as it streamed out of the cab, and slowly faded until it was completely extinguished. The engine was still running and the red from the park lights cast an eerie glow behind the truck. Leo had seen shadows and could hear distant conversation. He knew that there were two or more men.

“Doug, you stay here with David, I’m going to have to take a closer look. In the dark it would be nearly impossible to spot them until they were virtually on top of us. I’m going to sneak down to the Pfeiffer house and see what’s happening before they are able to make too much progress in our direction. Quick, give me your key chain with its miniature flashlight. When I’m ready to come back, I’ll flash the light twice so that you don’t mistake me for one of them and end up shooting me, okay?”