Shotgun Mine by Jim Heskett

Author:Jim Heskett [Heskett, Jim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Royal Arch Books
Published: 2020-12-21T16:00:00+00:00

24

Layne took a slow route around town and to the road leading to the mountain pass. He had seen more and more of the Disciples out and about, wandering town on foot and in cars. In cars, they traveled by twos, which meant one for driving and one for reconnaissance.

That fact alone told Layne they were organized. An enemy who was both trained and had a decentralized power structure made for a difficult challenge. This deadly snake had no head to sever.

Eventually, Layne drove up the road through the foothills until he reached the cabin. He waited until he felt sure no eyes were on it. This proved easy, since the cabin was surrounded by the lower part of the mountain on three sides. And there weren’t many good hiding spots nearby in the rocky foothills. Layne had explored this area for countless hours in his youth.

He watched his father appear and disappear in the windows, going about his morning routine. Since George was home and the surrounding grounds were barren, Layne decided this was the perfect time.

He waited ten more minutes. Ten more boring minutes, to be extra sure.

After enough time had passed, he approached the front door and considered knocking. Layne wore a ballistic vest and kept two 9mm Sig Sauer P320s in concealed holsters. While he normally liked large guns, he figured stealth was more important at the moment. Molly Waffles had recommended this pair specifically. They hadn’t been on the metal grate. She’d kept these guns under the register, and that told Layne they were special to her. He would have been a fool to refuse her suggestion.

He decided against the knock. And as he now opened the front door, George was sitting in his chair, listening to the news on the old radio.

“Where did you sleep last night?” George wheezed.

“None of your business. I’m not here to shoot the shit with you. I left a couple things in the back room that I need to get.”

George looked him up and down. “Are you in a parade or something? Why the vest?”

Layne crossed the room and kneeled to meet his father’s eyes. “You tell me, Dad. What’s going on in this town? Why are you working with these people? What did those two goons want with you last night?”

George’s lips shifted and bounced back and forth, as if gumming a piece of meat. “When you’re a kid, you think grownups have all the answers. Then, you see a grownup make a mistake; you see them act human…”

“Yeah, I remember that day. It’s probably the first time I saw you backhand mom in the yard, when you thought we weren’t looking.”

George winced. “I wish that day hadn’t happened, but it’s too late to fix it.”

“Yeah? What about Randall? What about me? Is it too late to fix how you beat on us, too?”

Layne now realized as he argued with his father, the pitch of his voice had risen, just like he’d sounded as a teenager. Standing here amid all these family triggers, Layne had regressed three decades.

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