Facing Rushmore by David Lozell Martin

Author:David Lozell Martin
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: 2005-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

19

JOHN BROWN DOG. Charlie had known it all along even if he hadn’t admitted it to himself. John Brown Dog stopped dancing, the flashlight making him squint. He wanted to know who was there.

“Charlie Hart.”

John Brown Dog’s expression lifted. “Listens to Indians.”

“I have to take you in.”

“Put that light off my face, Charlie.”

Hart kept both the flashlight and the pistol aimed at John Brown Dog. “I’m armed. I will shoot you if you don’t comply.”

“‘Comply’?” John Brown Dog cupped a hand above his eyes. “Are you really Listens to Indians? Or someone imitating his voice? Shine the light on your face; show me it’s you, Charlie.”

“It’s me.” Realizing he didn’t have cuffs with him, Hart was trying to figure out how to take the big Indian into custody.

“You must be a hero to your government, Charlie—being proven right about the arch.”

“Sometimes being right is the worst possible place to be.”

The Indian grunted his agreement. “What was that terrible noise carried by those helicopters?”

“A new technology.”

John Brown Dog smiled.

“Did it make you sick?” Hart asked.

“No, I was far enough away. But I don’t want to hear it again.”

“Me either. I met the grandfather.”

“Good! He began negotiations?”

“He said all state and national parks and forests had to be returned to the Indians if we wanted to stop the human race from dying out.”

“Charlie, it is good you said returned to the Indians. What do you think your government’s answer is going to be?”

“I think the government is going to put a world of hurt on Indians.”

“Nothing new.”

“Who are these allies I’m hearing about? The grandfather said the Indians are following your allies’ advice. Are they from another country?”

“The whore is one of them.”

“But who are they?”

John Brown Dog hesitated but finally said, “I just found out about them recently.”

“They’re terrorists, aren’t they?”

“If I told you, Charlie, it would blow your fucking technology-biased mind.”

“The people who will question you after I bring you in…it’s not going to be like the talks we had before.”

“I know, Charlie. I enjoyed our talks.”

“You won’t enjoy the next round. Let’s go.”

The big Indian stayed where he was.

“Will you walk back to the car with me and promise not to run off? I don’t want to shoot you. But I will.”

“Charlie, it’s too late.”

Hart got that feeling of someone watching him, someone nearby. He shined the flashlight all around.

“Put it off,” John Brown Dog told him, more of a warning than a demand.

Hart did.

The Indian said, “I brought them from the Badlands.”

“Who?”

“Can’t you sense what’s around us?”

Hart could, the hair on his arms and at the back of his neck stood on end, his mouth was dry, his heart a tom-tom.

He wondered what he’d do if he ordered John Brown Dog to accompany him to the car and the Indian refused. John was too big to drag or carry. And if it came to a wrestling match or fistfight…Hart didn’t want it to come to that. Not knowing how he should proceed and wanting to ease the tension, Hart asked, “What’s that around your neck?”

John Brown Dog was embarrassed, then amused.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.