The Crimson Fall (The Sons of Liberty Book 1) (22 page)

“Gene and his pilot flew in about the time I arrived,” Elizabeth said. “To the man’s credit, I wanted to stay in Chicago and get you well before we fled. Regardless, we moved you just out of the city to the doctor’s home, but we knew it was only a matter of time before Lukas found you. After two or three days we snuck you up to a town called Woodstock so that we could fly you out of a small airport. It was the plane ride that nearly killed you. I didn’t like it. None of us did. But Gene knew we had to go and Eric was the type of aviator that knew how to get us out and stay under the radar.”

“Who’s Eric?”

“About the best damn soldier I’ve ever known,” Gene said. “He’s out checking the perimeter right now; I’m sure the two of you will get along just fine when you meet.”

“It’s good to know we’ve got good men on our side,” Adam said.

“We’re going to need every good man we can find by the time we get started. Chicago had riots that damn near burned the city to the ground after the feds started turning homes upside down in an effort to find you. We’ve all had it rough, but getting you out of that prison. . . .” Gene paused and stared off into the distance, lost in thought. After a moment he looked to Adam and continued on. “Well we’ve all made sacrifices, haven’t we?”

“Adam,” Elizabeth said.” I will speak on everyone’s behalf that if ever a doubt about Gene Smith found its way into your mind before, you can throw it out now. The doctor here might have saved you, but the colonel saved everyone else. Including your family.”

Adam paused before sitting back up with a grunt, trying in vain to push their protests aside. “I . . .  I’m sorry,” he said and shook his head. “I should have been more discrete at Lukas’ home. I could have gone somewhere else and none of this would have happened.”

“If only we were all able to go back and correct all of our ‘should haves’ and ‘could haves,’ then I don’t think we would all be in this mess in the first place,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “What you found might just give us the proof we need to end this peacefully, and we will do everything we can to do just that. It’s a small chance, I’m not going to lie, but we can now hope for something other than all-out war. Yes Adam, war. I suppose it may come to that, as I have long feared, whether or not we can show the nation what we discovered. But look on the bright side; for all his riddles and cloak-and-dagger schemes, we have the advantage of knowing what he and his friends are planning to do before they try it.”

Gene shifted in his position against the wall. “With all due respect, Elizabeth, I believe we are already at war,” he said. “Most of the country just doesn’t know it yet. And make no mistake, people will die even if we succeed in stopping that bastard. Only difference is that those who die trying to stop him will knowingly give their lives for a purpose. We can never think that anyone who dies defending our freedom has died in vain. So many lives are snuffed out in an instant every day around the world for little or no cause. My point is, stopping Lukas Chambers and these . . . Patriarchs from reaching their goals is something worth fighting for and dying for. So don’t live wishing you had done things differently, Mr. Reinhart. What’s done is done and you have far too much left to do to dwell on the past.”

Adam sat for a while in silence, staring into oblivion as he thought about what they had said. Gene had spoken of corruption, deadly riots, and looming war as a present-day reality and not as a potential future. They had all voiced their opinions while they avoided disclosing the details of what had created them. Adam was ready to know what he had shed his blood for and he made up his mind that he would not remain in the dark anymore.

“I need to walk,” Adam said.

Sarah leaned forward as though to stop him. “Now Adam—”

“If what they say is true, then every moment I am not up trying to regain my strength is a moment I have wasted. I’m going to stretch my legs and one of you is going to get me whatever was on that thumb drive. You’re all beating around the bush and talking about something that I don’t know anything about. If war is coming or already here or whatever it is, I would like to know why.”

“It’s starting to sound like the warrior I see in you is ready for battle again,” Gene said with a grin. “You’re going to need that part of you. We’re all going to need that. Why don’t we let the man breathe some life back into his legs like he asked? I think he can manage the short walk down the hall.”

“Very well,” the doctor said as he turned to Sarah. “Just stay by him and make sure he doesn’t fall or do anything that might break open his stitches.”

“Elizabeth had one of the larger
Stonewall
devices installed at a handful of properties over the past year, including this one,” Gene said. “It’ll shield us from any satellites sweeping for facial recognition, but there’s no telling if someone out for an afternoon hike is going to wander onto the premises and recognize the most wanted man in America. Best you not venture much past the veranda until we get things together.”

“I find it quite ironic,” Elizabeth said passively as she stared out the window at the countryside, “that we built all these high walls of security to protect the people of the United States over the past thirty years without ever realizing just how quickly they could be turned against us. Drones, spy satellites, federal agents with no one to watch over them; we gave them their power so they might protect us in return. Now, they’re using that very power to hunt down whoever threatens their authority, which wasn’t theirs to begin with. If electing Lukas Chambers was a mistake, then I suppose our willingness to sacrifice liberty for a sense of security was indeed a tragedy.” She looked over at Adam with red, sad eyes and a forced smile. “But enough of that already. I presume we can trust Sarah to look after her husband. Mr. Smith will fetch the documents and meet you shortly. As for me I think I might have myself a nice cup of tea and do what old ladies such as myself do best: lay my head down and dream of finer places and lovely faces.”

As soon as Elizabeth, Gene, and the doctor left the room Sarah pulled the covers back to help Adam dress. Adam looked down and surveyed his ghastly wounds. He could tell his leg had been through quite the ordeal and he began to wonder if he would even be able to walk yet. Bruises that dotted his body had now turned to a yellowish-green, slowly fading away even though they remained tender to the touch. What had once been lean muscle had already begun to wither and he looked forward to the day he could begin the process of rebuilding them. He looked up at Sarah and she quickly looked away—turning around to grab his clothes before looking back at Adam with tearful eyes that tried hard to avoid his attentive gaze.

“I’m going to be alright,” Adam said.

She met his gaze and her lower lip began to quiver.

“Are you? Can you promise me that? Because it’s going to get bad, Adam. Really bad. I don’t think they’ll just come for you. Camping at that lake, not knowing what had happened to you or if someone was going to sneak up on us in the middle of the night . . . it was a nightmare, Adam. I just . . . I only want my babies safe. I want you safe. I just pray to God for this to be over.”

Adam leaned forward and planted a long kiss on his wife. He loved her so much that his heart ached worse than the wounds that riddled him. He couldn’t bear to see her cry. Eventually, she pulled back and wrapped her arms around him, embracing him as she wept softly. A few more moments passed and then Adam sat back and looked into his wife’s wet, beautiful eyes. “I love you Sarah,” he said. “I will do everything I can to stop anything from happening to us. You have my word.”

“I know you say that, but Gene wasn’t kidding,” she said. “I think he’s right. I think we are at war and the country just doesn’t know it yet. But whether from us or him, they’ll find out soon enough what’s coming.”

“Because of what I stole?” he asked.

She sat back, wiping away her tears.

“They don’t want me to talk about what you found until you see it yourself. ‘Let him go into it with a clean slate’ is what they said. We all read it without knowing any details beforehand and they figured it’s the best way for you as well. I say ‘we’
but in reality it was all
her
idea. I don’t see the point in it all, and as much as I like her, I think Elizabeth is one for dramatic presentation. And you know how much I like that,” Sarah said with a laugh. “She insisted you read it with a fresh set of eyes. What I will say is for all Lukas’ conniving and planning, he was quite the idiot to hang on to what you found.”

“Then let’s hope he continues to help us with his stupidity,” Adam said with a grin.

Once he was dressed, Sarah helped him swing his legs over the side of the bed slowly. He grabbed her by the shoulders, took a deep breath, and together they stood up. A dull throb slowly rose through his body but Adam welcomed it. Pain only made way for new strength, and he hoped his health would begin to return with each small, tender step. Sarah handed him a cane and the two began to shuffle their way across the room.

Sarah opened the door and they walked down a hallway and into a massive chamber. Adam looked around and quickly decided that the house was much larger than the size of the room he had been kept in suggested. To his left sat a kitchen with polished granite countertops, which displayed little proof that anyone had been living there. In a narrow alcove, just beyond the pantry, there was thick wooden door that Sarah said led to an attached carport wide enough for three vehicles. He walked into the sprawling living room; tall windows to the rear looked out on the Montana Mountains. The place eerily reminded him of his parents’ home on the ranch outside of Durango, or at least a version of their humble abode that had to be five times larger. Sarah led the way through the room and outside to a covered sitting area that occupied a corner of the back deck above a walkout basement. Only Max and David were there to greet Adam—Rick, Judi, and the kids had laid down for an afternoon nap before he had awakened. He envisioned their bright and excited faces when they saw him awake; that joyful thought of hugs and kisses caused his pain to flee for the briefest moments.

The shaded veranda provided an unobstructed view of the lake Elizabeth had mentioned. Sarah helped him into a cushioned chair and to Adam’s delight the smell of pine needles and highland water quickly filled his nostrils. The low-lying mountains covered with evergreens encircled the long body of water. Though the mountains were small compared to the jagged peaks of southern Colorado, the familiar sights and aromas of the surrounding countryside made him feel a bit more at home.

Adam and Sarah hadn’t been seated long when Gene Smith walked out holding a thin leather folder.

Sarah looked up at the colonel and back at Adam. “I’m going to make us some coffee and get you something to eat. I’ll be right back.” She stood up and walked back into the living room. After she closed the door behind her, Gene spoke.

“You’ve got a wife that truly loves you. She nearly never left your side since we got here. Figures that you’d finally wake after we convinced her to get a few hours of sleep.”

“Gene,” Adam started, “I’m sorry I messed things up.”

“Don’t be sorry. You did what you had to do like any soldier would have, and there was no one else who could have filled your boots. I’m just glad you’re alive.”

“What happened to you in Chicago?” Adam asked.

Gene stood there, staring at Adam wordlessly for a few moments.

“Where to begin?” Gene sat down in the matching chair next to Adam. “They weren’t fooled when David got you out of the house. Even with the rain washing away evidence of their sins, there was enough of your blood on the streets for anyone to know you couldn’t have gone far without help. Within two days they were searching every nearby home as if the Fourth Amendment didn’t matter.”

“The men I killed. Who were they?”

“John Fresnel, two other agents and some shady cop who’s being passed off as a hero. Make no mistake, every one of them traded their souls for Lukas Chambers. Damn fools if you ask me. I doubt they threw themselves into battle for more than a year’s worth of wages. Probably would have been murdered alongside you once they were finished. All but John, I reckon. I’ll say this, I don’t know how you did it but you gave them hell, son. I know it’s tough—killing men like that. Trust me, I know all too well. But as a man, you did what you had to.”

“You said the whole country is looking for me. How did they spin it?”

“Oh, they resorted to their usual lies,” Gene said. “They said you are a member of some right-wing hate group and that you were looking to send a message. They said you murdered four good Americans in cold blood and abducted Senator Malcovich for your own sinister reasons.”

Adam laughed. “So I’m a terrorist now?”

“Oh you’re quite the celebrity. They actually put a bounty on your head for anyone that helps turn you in.”

“And how much does Lukas figure I’m worth?” Adam asked.

“Twenty-five million dollars, believe it or not. But don’t you worry, that pretty wife of yours persuaded us all that you’re worth much more than twenty-five million. I figure I’ll hold out until it’s at least double that.” Gene laughed and Adam sported a smile of his own. “All jokes aside, everyone here knows what he’s planning and we’re all in this together.”

“Good to know,” Adam said. “You never told me what really happened in Chicago.”

“Rob Bruger’s theory was proven true—that’s what happened,” Gene said. “The son of a bitch knew it all along.”