wants to know something,” Michelle said as Nancy walked in. Putting an armload of stuff on the counter, she sat down at the table and looked over at Michelle, grinning.
“Your husband is like the total bomb. Palmer will answer any question you ask.”
“Shit, I have a calf latch on me, I’ll tell you all my secrets and any on anyone I know,” Gerald mumbled.
“Is he finished playing and putting them in chairs?” Michelle laughed.
Nodding as she fixed her plate, Nancy said, “Yes, he said he had to grab some things.”
The others nodded, and Nelson walked in a few seconds later. He sat a notebook down on the table as he got in his seat. “We need to make a trip in the next hour,” he said, grabbing his fork. When everyone started talking, he raised his hand. “We’ll wait till the kids are done eating then talk.”
When the kids were done, they left for the living room as Nelson stood up. “We need to hit a church in Winona that they are using to hold people they pick up who refuse to leave. That’s what this group does; they mark sites, and then a group comes out and either kills or moves the family. They really don’t care which,” Nelson said, opening the notebook. “I have the layout, and there are nine deputies and one more Homeland agent there.”
“Just how are we going to take out a location that is held by ten armed guards?” Bernard asked.
“Easy: Matt and I are going to pose as agents and get inside. We find the other agent, grab him, and kill the deputies. Gerald and Michelle will keep the outside covered. The people around here have been cowed down. It seems they let out how the sheriff was killed. His wife, daughter, and granddaughter were raped in front of him for a day. Then, they had their throats cut, splashing their blood over the sheriff’s face.”
Slamming his fist on the table, Bernard jumped up. “Ginger was five years old!”
“Yeah, Palmer told me how old the granddaughter was. He has pictures on his phone to show people who don’t cooperate.”
“I’m fucking coming with you,” Bernard growled and no one said anything about his language.
“Me too,” Nellie snapped, jumping up.
Holding up his hands, Nelson shook his head. “I want you two to think about that. Winona is almost empty of people, but there are still some there, and most of those are marching to the government’s drumbeat. If they see you, they will know where we are. Nobody knows about the rest of us.”
Breathing heavily and wanting to hurt something, Bernard nodded as he sat down. “That argument will only work so many times.”
“Hey, I would love to have you bring your wood chipper, but I really don’t want our hideout compromised,” Nelson said, looking around the table.
“So we hit the church, and you think that will bring the heat off of the Scooby Gang that drove up here?” Gerald asked.
“Hell no,” Nelson scoffed.
Nancy turned to her brother. “I programmed the car’s GPS to say they were on the other side of the county when they disappeared.”
Smiling, Gerald turned to Nelson. “So we ready to go?”
“Almost,” Nelson said and pulled out a map as he turned to Bernard. “Bernard, I want the most back way you can think of to get here. I don’t care if we take deer trails as long as we can drive the Bronco and a trailer on it. I still have some questions to ask the boys when I get back, but can you do that?”
“Southeast side of Eminence, sure, but you’ll have to cross several roads,” Bernard said, studying the map.
“What’s there?” Michelle asked.
“A safe house.” Nelson grinned.
Clearing her throat, Nancy said, “Not exactly. It’s an operational command and supply for the group operating in this area. Homeland divided up the states in blocks. This area has a thirty-man platoon of military contractors that are used as the strike force. That is where they operate from.”
“So what’s so special about it that we have to travel to Eminence