Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 106839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106839 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“Not only that”—we all turn and notice that Ryan has walked up next to us—“we’ve got the whole place lit up with cameras, Jim Bob. Shit, we got our own satellites in low orbit. Fifteen of them. We’re an elite security company. Do you really think that we didn’t fortify our headquarters the first day we got here? This isn’t gonna be no Waco. If they attack us, they attack everyone. Because we’ll turn this thing into a first-person shooter game and blast it all over the internet so quick, their heads will spin.” Ryan lets out a breath because he kinda got himself worked up there for a moment. “It’s not gonna be no Waco and we’re not getting burned alive or shot to hell. If there’s one thing I know to be true about this operation, this is it.”
Jim Bob looks at Collin again. He lets out a breath, but then he nods. “All right then, son.” He claps Collin on the shoulder. “Let’s get this party started.”
Collin reaches into his pocket, pulls out his phone, and hands it to me. “You’re up, Amon. Make me proud.”
I nod, take the phone, and then step outside the church where every single male resident of Disciple, West Virginia, is standing, waiting on orders. They are all armed.
As are the Edge soldiers. And hey, I’m not disparaging the ability of a West Virginia hillbilly to scare the shit out of a person, but these here men of ours are downright bone-chillin’ frightful all dressed up in their body armor and packin’ heat to the hilt.
One hundred and eight men against the US government.
Let’s fuckin’ go.
I press Charlie Beaufort’s contact on Collin Creed’s phone and put it on speaker. Charlie picks up first ring. “Collin Creed, my favorite son of a gun. How you doin’ this lovely evening?”
“It’s not Collin.”
There’s a long moment of silence on the other end of this line, but I let it hang there like unripe fruit. Finally, Charlie blows out a breath. “Amon, I thought I told you we were done talking.”
“You did. At least you said you were. But I’m not quite done yet, Charlie. You see, when people steal kids out of Disciple, that act comes with consequences. And I am calling you as a courtesy to let you know those consequences are forthcomin’ unless I get my way.”
Charlie scoffs here, but doesn’t say nothing.
“Now I get it, Charlie. You’re a big, important bureaucrat and I’m nothing but a footnote in the history of your long and illustrious career. And I know that your first inclination is gonna be to end this call. But I’m tellin’ ya, Charlie, you’d better not do that.”
“Or what?” He’s angry now. And if he were in this room with us, his whole forehead would be crinkled up and his eyes would be beady.
I hand the phone to Nash. “Hey, Charlie, Nash here. Welp, here’s the deal, buddy. Ya see, that man you sent out to inspect shit? Well, I don’t think he found much but he did raise a few red flags around here. Which got us curious about what he was checking on out at that old mine.”
“Nash, I’m telling ya, you had better—”
“Charlie,” Nash interrupts him, “before you go threatening me, you’d better think long and hard about what I did for you all those years. It’s been a while, so I’ll give ya a minute.” Nash pauses here. Gives me a wink.
“Where’s Collin?”
Collin takes the phone from Nash. “I’m right here, Charlie.”
“You’re gonna allow this to happen? You’re just gonna let these boys of yours talk to me this way?”
“See, Charlie, you always did figure that I was in charge here. But I’m not. We’re partners. And if Amon wants his boy back, and if Nash wants to do a little sleuthin’ on some outdated computers we found in a steel-clad room down in the old mine… well, there’s not much I can do about that except join in the fun.”
“You’re makin’ a mistake here, Collin.”
“I might be. But I’d just like to remind you that it’s one-zero in my favor.”
“What? What’s that mean?”
“That last man who came into Disciple trying to fuck around and take a child…” Collin scoffs. “Well, let’s just say he found out, didn’t he?”
“Did you just threaten me?”
“I don’t think so. Unless it was you who took Cross Harlow. And if it was, then… yeah. I just threatened you.”
He hands the phone to me while Charlie is chewing on this last bit. “Here’s what’s gonna happen, Charlie. You’re gonna get on the horn and whoever runs your satellites, you’re gonna tell them to take a little picture of our compound here. You’re gonna see a bunch of men standing outside our church. This picture is just so you know that we’re not fucking about and if you try anything stupid, we’re gonna have ourselves a war. Because you see, the people of Disciple, West Virginia, won’t be tolerating no kidnappin’. And they are all here to make that point clear. And the men of Edge Security are flying the Edge logo like it’s a goddamn medieval banner. We have come packin’ heat and if you don’t have Cross Harlow down in that little underground maze the US government has been hiding for the last hundred years, standing outside door number—” I forgot the door number, so I look at Ryan.