Valley of Vengeance by Horton Franklin

Author:Horton, Franklin [Horton, Franklin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Science Fiction
Amazon: B071ZZDKRM
Goodreads: 35341484
Publisher: Horsemen Of The Apocalypse
Published: 2017-06-28T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter 24

The Valley

Jim couldn’t see everything the figure was doing but heard the rattling of the rusty gate chain and knew the man was trying to unhook it. He didn’t want to let that happen.

“Don’t fucking move!”

The man jumped, startled at the voice from the darkness, but he obeyed the command. He dropped the chain he was working on, straightened, and turned toward the voice in the darkness. Jim knew his position was probably illuminated by the ambient light from the headlights but hoped that he didn’t present enough of a target to take a shot at.

“I’m Deputy Barnes,” the man said. “I’m here on police business.”

“What kind of police business?”

“That’s none of your concern,” Barnes replied.

“Everything that happens beyond that gate is my concern,” Jim countered.

“You sure you want to be on the wrong side of the law?”

Jim had the short barrel of his pump shotgun leveled at the man over the top of a log. His head was low. He was pretty sure he could drop the man before he could draw his weapon but he wasn’t so sure about the rest of those men. He had to cycle the pump, which would require him to move the weapon between shots.

“Which side of the law are you on?” Jim asked. “Are you on the side that’s out there working to keep the peace or are you on the side that took over a shopping center and turned it into a private fort?”

“Again, I’m not sure that’s any of your fucking business,” Barnes said.

“If you’ve got police business here, get the sheriff on the radio and let me speak with him,” Jim requested. “I’m sure he can clear this up for us.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Barnes replied.

“You coming through that gate isn’t happening either,” Jim said.

“I’m tired of this bullshit,” Barnes muttered. “MEN! Roll out!”

The doors to the UTVs opened up and his men clambered out.

“You going to shoot all of us?” Barnes asked. “One man?”

With a flicker of red light a red laser beam formed a dot on Barnes’s chest. Another red slash cut through the night and a dot landed on another deputy’s chest. The men shifted uncomfortably. Another laser flickered from the darkness, playing across the cluster of deputies. Then suddenly there were three more.

Jim was running the numbers in his own head. He knew Lloyd and Buddy weren’t the laser type. Who else was out there? The deputies were talking among themselves, clearly not comfortable with how this was going. They hadn’t anticipated these odds.

“Maybe we should just call this a draw,” Jim said. “You guys go on back home before somebody gets hurt.”

“You’ve crossed a line,” Barnes said. “Ain’t no backing up from it now. I see you outside of this valley, you’re a dead man.”

“You speaking as a deputy?” Jim asked.

“Take it however you like. We’re not done, though.”

“I expect we’re not,” Jim said. “Now go on home.”

The grumbling deputies climbed back into their UTVs, slammed the doors, and awkwardly negotiated turns on the muddy road.

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