Freedom Earned. Ronald Price
“Well, all right, hon, but aren’t you staying home this evening?”
“Yes, I intended to but I may be going down to Lafayette. Carol has to pick up her car from the dealership. I told her I would take her down if she went, and if I’m not back when Marion calls, I want to make sure I can call him back later. Remember to get his number please. He should have his cell phone with him, and I don’t have his new number yet.”
“Okay, darling. I’ll get it for you, if he calls.”
With that, Diana called Carol.
*****
“Cal, turn off at the truck stop or whatever, okay? We need fuel and I have to call Di and let her know we’re on our way.”
“Count on me. I could use a pit stop myself.”
“If you’re getting tired, Cal, I can pick up on the driving,” Tork replied.
“Thanks, Tork, but I’m all okay. A cold cola would be great though.”
Cal continued thinking quietly and then said, “Tork, I’ve been thinking and I just can’t figure out why they were after me. There wasn’t enough moonlight to see anything. The car’s headlights only picked up the road, and I was too occupied with the engine to pay attention to anything else. Just why they came after me really bothers me. If they were drug runners, why didn’t they shoot?”
Tork shrugged his shoulders. “Don’t know, Cal, but if they wanted you dead, they had the chance to do it. I don’t think it was a drop, and if I were, there should have been some kind of activity going on, you know, plane, trucks, cars, or something. Cal, you didn’t see anything out there.”
“But they came on me fast and without lights on. Then they followed me all the way to the main road. I didn’t figure it.”
“Well, chances are they were using night-vision devices and could follow you all the way to the highway. Oncoming headlights would have blinded them if they continued after reaching the road. So they backed off. Too big a chance of having an accident. It gave you a little edge, but it looks like they caught up with you anyway. I suspect they got close enough to get your plate number. With help from friends, police, or whatever, they were able to track you. That’s why they caught you in Sausalito. Chances are, all they had to do was monitor your movements until the time was right to pick you up. That was when I stepped in at Mo’s Place. It looks to me like it’s a ‘government’ job and on a large scale. We’re going to be walking on those proverbial eggs before it’s all over. Just what have you done to piss off the government enough for them to chase you?”
Cal looked at Tork, a little bewildered, and said, “Tork, I’m sure you’re aware of what you’re doing, because I’m not.”
Tork replied, “Look, the very first thing we do is look for any unusual rocks, posts, or plants that are out of place. We find that and we find sensors. We find sensors and I’ll lay you odds it’s strictly a government operation. Could be you fell into a sting operation and they wanted you on ice until it’s over. If that’s the case, no problem. If it’s a top secret operation, we might have a real opportunity on our hands. Best we can do is to wait and see and hope.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. They could have just killed me at Mo’s, right?”
“Well, Cal, that’s what I thought.”
“Look, up ahead. Looks like a truck stop.”
Cal’s never-ending appetite and thirst were as good as the best GPS system in the country. Cal pulled into the truck stop and after moving around several big rigs found the gasoline pumps for the cars and cussed at the three bucks a gallon price tag plus the one fifty UN tax the president agreed on. Cal thought, What a guy! Yes, sir, what a guy.
Cal pulled up and stopped. He looked around and started to cuss. “Blasted attendants are never here when you want them.”
Tork looked up. “Cal, this is a self-service pump island. If you want gas, you pump it. I’ll meet you inside. I need to call Di. I’ll grab a booth for us. Come on in when you’re finished.”
Tork moved swiftly to the restaurant and asked the hostess for a quiet booth.
“Hello.” It was Di’s mom on the line.
“Mrs. Richmond, this is Tork. Is Di home?”
“No, Tork. She went into Lafayette with Carol to pick up Carol’s car. I suspect they went out to eat or maybe to a movie. I expected her back by now, but you know those girls.”
“Yeah, I know. Tell her I’ll call her later tonight when we check into a motel and get settled. Okay?”
“Okay, Tork. I’ll tell her. By the way, she needs your new cell number.”
Tork gave her the number, and she said goodbye and hung up. He then ordered two large Cokes from the hostess and waited for Cal. A few minutes later, Cal came in sat down. “Well, were fueled and ready to roll. Let’s eat.”
Tork and Cal resumed their trek. Cal picked up the driving, and Tork tried to figure out where they stood. He thought to himself, The men hunting Cal could have been ahead of him all the way. Could be when I stepped in, it threw them a curve. They hadn’t expected anyone else to enter the game. Could be they had gotten instructions or something else? Well, I’ll be ready for them. Yes, I’ll be ready for them.
Tork drifted into restless sleep. Everything were jumbled up in his mind, inconsistencies mixed with facts, men with guns that fired big bang flags, almost a nightmare. Suddenly Cal reached over and shook Tork, waking him out of a sound sleep. “Uh…who? Who? Who…what’s happened? Oh yeah, where we at, Cal?”
Coming out of his sleep and realizing they had stopped, Tork came up in his seat and looked around. They were in a restaurant parking lot. Cal had been driving for hours and was tired, ready to eat, and rest again.
“Let’s go eat. I’m starved.” With that, Cal opened his door and got out. “It’s only four miles to the turn off, Tork. We’re almost there.”
After a snack and coffee, Tork laid out his plan. “The way I see it, we need a base of operation where we can come and go and have access to a telephone. You were on your way back from Vegas when you turned off right? Okay, then we go back toward the Nevada border and retrace your way back. You look for anything that’s familiar so we can find the right turn off, okay?”
After their rest and meal, the mission was once again moving forward.
Cal took the wheel so he could recall anything he had seen the previous night. At the state line, they turned around and headed back and started looking for the right turn off. It was difficult trying to find a familiar place you had only seen once before, when suddenly Cal let out a cry, “That’s it, Tork! That’s it! Coming up on the right, the turn off, that’s it. I know it is.”
*****
Emory reached over and hit the landing gear switch, and the whining of the plane’s hydraulic motor could be heard and the gears started to lower. Emory was on his approach to the field, and no lights had come on. He had come in low dropping down and flying under cover of the local airport’s radar. As his onboard radar searched ahead of him, he cut his two outboard engines and was taking it in on the two inboard ones. Thank God they had modified these birds years ago and added the other two engines. It made the bird stronger, faster, and quieter when dropping two engines off line. Suddenly the darkness lit up ahead of him. The dazzling approach lights and then the runway lights were on.
Emory had to touch down quickly before they put out the lights. Seconds later, his wheels were on the ground. He gently brought the nosewheel down into contact with the runway. He started to brake with his engine thrusters and then his brakes. The plane rapidly slowed, and no sooner had he slowed when they turned the runway lights off.
He was in the dark; nothing but his instrument lights illuminated his panel with an eerie glow. Emory reached up and started