“Not really, but it sounded mighty official, didn’t it? It’s the truth, too.”
Rockefeller gave the writ a quick read. “None of this makes any sense.”
“And we’ll look forward to you proving that in a Texas court of law.”
Rockefeller tore the writ in two. “This will never stand up.”
“You can fight it all the way to the Supreme Court, but you’ll have to go through Texas to do that—definitely something you may want to think twice about. You don’t have a lot of friends where I come from. I’ve heard told workmen you’ve fired and small businessmen you’ve ruined use your picture for target practice.” Steeldust Jack pushed himself to his feet, using the desk for support. “I’m here today to tell you that the moment your train comes to a stop in Austin, all the men you wronged, white and Indian, will be waiting. Sounds like a one-way trip to me.”
“You and the goddamn Texas Rangers are nothing more than historical artifacts, no different than dinosaur bones. You just don’t know it yet.”
“You’re the one who’ll soon be history, Mr. Rockefeller. I’m making it my mission to let the country know what kind of man you really are. A bully and a braggart who never waged a fight when he didn’t have his hired guns backing him up. You know what’s good for you, you’ll start keeping a lower profile, given I heard there’s a price on your head,” Steeldust Jack said, fitting his hat back on and hobbling for the door.
“You come here to collect it, Ranger?”
“No, sir. I’m the one who put up the cash.”
*
“John D. Rockefeller retired from Standard Oil the following year,” Caitlin finished, “and, according to legend, never set foot in the state of Texas again.”
Caitlin trained her gaze on Cort Wesley, Luke, and Dylan again. She noticed Captain Tepper standing in the back, not far from Jones and Guillermo Paz. She’d been a guest caller last week at a bingo game in the retirement community where Paz volunteered, and it was hard to say whether she felt any more gratified by this honor than by that one.
“But I guess I’m supposed to talk about the future,” Caitlin told the one hundred forty graduating seniors of the Village School and their families, along with hundreds more underclassmen and other invited guests. “The truth is, there was a time when I didn’t think about it a whole lot. Then some people came into my life who changed all that in me, and plenty more. All of you are going on to college—every single one, I’m told—and plenty of you are going to some of the very best ones, and from there to great careers. I hope you find yourself loving what you do as much as I do, but it won’t matter where you go if you don’t have the right people with you when you get there, ’cause that’s really what it’s all about.”
The cheers and applause were much louder this time. Caitlin nodded toward Cort Wesley and the boys as it died down.
“There’s mostly good in the world, but there’s bad, too. John D. Rockefeller didn’t set out to do bad, but he did plenty here in Texas, until Jack Strong stood up against him. Men like Steeldust Jack keep the bad down. They stand their ground against those fixed on doing harm to others. They do the right thing. I’m here talking to you today because people think I’m a hero, but I’m really not. The real heroes are that boy I mentioned earlier, who isn’t ashamed of who he is, and his older brother, who’s seen what true evil looks like, more times than I can count, and never let the sight change who he is. I hope you never see that sight, but I suspect you will. Don’t let it change you, because that’s how the bad wins and the good loses. You might not beat it, but don’t let it beat you, either.”
She let her gaze drift over the crowd again, refreshed and recharged by the energy and hope radiating from these young people who, for this day anyway, were in complete ownership of their lives.
“Because, the thing is, evil exists. It’s real and it’s out there,” she said, thinking of ISIS, both homegrown elements and otherwise.