“So you want to give me a date when I’ll see you again? Like, maybe, before I leave for college? That gives you a year.”
He laughed. “Soon, I hope, honey.”
“You keep saying soon. Dad. What’s going on? You’re sounding a little strange.”
“I just wanted to hear your voice. That’s all.”
“I think you just have this dad antennae, to catch me doing something I shouldn’t be.”
“Yeah, kind of a police thing, I guess. We all—”
The power suddenly shut off. Outside, the house went dark. People started yelling. “Power’s down!” “What’s goin’ on?” “Chuck!”
This was it, he figured. “Jess, I gotta go.”
“What’s happening there, Dad? I hear a lot of shouting …”
“I just wanted to say I love you, Jessie. Don’t be worried, doll. I’ll see you soon.”
He hung up. He placed the phone on the ledge, rolled himself underneath the window, grabbed his rifle, and looked out. Two vehicles were coming up through the fields, their lights out, barely visible. He could make out four to five of them in them through the sight, with automatic weapons and even night goggles. Two of Watkins’s neighbors scampered around, ducking behind a wall of hay bales from the barn. Murmurs and whispers spread around like wildfire. These were farmers, cattle raisers, not soldiers. Everyone was scared.
Hauck kept cover behind the third-story window and looked through the sight.
Below him, Watkins ran into the barn with his shotgun. “You see ’em?”
“I see them,” Hauck confirmed. “There’s at least four in the fields. Tell your friends not to do anything foolish; don’t start a war. You know the police chief, Riddick?”
“Thirty years. But we don’t see eye to eye on much.”
“Well, this might be a good time to give him a call.”
He looked back outside and saw an SUV coming down the road. It was black, almost blending in in the darkness, its headlights shining. This car they wanted everyone to see. It came to a stop around fifty yards from the house. Hauck trained in on it. The rear door opened and someone got out. Fatigue jacket. High forehead. Under a military-style baseball cap. Balding on top. Hauck had seen him before. The guy from Alpha. The one who told him Robertson wasn’t around much. McKay.
One of the two who Dani said was at the river.
He stood behind the open car door, presumably for cover; it was probably bulletproof. “I’m Randy McKay,” he called out. “From Alpha. Some of you here know me. And what we’ve done for you. And the town. And you know why we’re here, right …? We just want one man. Just to talk with him, that’s all. There doesn’t need to be any bloodshed. We can all just put away these guns.”
Below Hauck, whispers shot back and forth amid the ranks.
“Anyway, I’ve got good news. Truth is, you’ve all already won. I just spoke with Wendell Moss, head of operations for RMM. He’s agreed to negotiate all water rights for farmers in Templeton in exchange for dropping the lawsuit. He guarantees full access to whatever reserves they have. For your fields. For anyone who needs it. They’re even prepared to talk about restitution for lost crop yields over the past six months. That’s up and beyond anything you could have hoped for. It’s a win-win, don’t you agree? No reason that a single drop of blood should be shed here. Just hand over who we came for, and we’ll be gone. And you’ll all be back in business.”
There were murmurs up and down. Hauck heard, “That’s a damn good deal. We’re back in business.” “That’s a whole lot better than we could’ve ever gotten on our own …” “Chuck, do you hear what they said, we’ve won.”
“What’d the police say?” Hauck called down to Watkins, who was standing behind the door.
“Said all their cars were a little busy right now.” The farmer spat, as if disgusted.
Hauck wasn’t surprised. “Kind of a waste of thirty years, no …?”
Watkins chuckled. “And a helluva lot of taxes.”
“Mr. Watkins …” McKay shouted. “You can step out while we talk. Don’t be worried.”
“No worries at all,” Watkins shouted back. “But if you don’t mind, I’ll wait for you.”
McKay remained behind the car door. “Congratulations, you’ve won a helluva victory for your friends here,” he said loudly. “Without a drop of blood spilled. What do you say?”
Watkins came out from around the barn. He went over and ducked behind the large combine that was set up below. “Not a single drop of blood …?”
“That’s a promise. We’ll be gone in five minutes once we have what we want. You have my assurance on that. And what I’m proposing has no conditions. All you have to do is get back in your cars and leave. You’re all witness to it. All we ask is one thing.”
“Hauck …” the farmer said back.
“That’s right. He’s not one of you anyway.” McKay came out from behind the open door and seemed to be speaking to everyone. “He’s only come here to stir up trouble. Look at you all now. Huddled here. You’re not with your wives and children. You’re readying for a fight. He’s not gonna be here once this all quiets down. He’s gonna leave and you’ll be high and dry.
“But we’ll be here. To make sure your fields have all the water and irrigation they need. Even before it gets allocated to our own wells. So which is it? Him? And a fight. A fight you can’t possibly win. Or this deal. The very deal you’ve sought for the past two years. Even better …”
“C’mon, Chuck.” Hauck heard murmurs below. “We can’t pass this up.”
“We’ve won, Chuck. We have to listen to him.”