Beck's Six

That early meeting had filled them with fight and fire and the energy and determination to follow through with their plan. Vern just had to make sure they kept all that spit and fire under control until they rolled out of there.

He was glad they were nearly through moving things around in the cave. In two days they’d start loading again, and he wanted to give his men a little rest before they pulled out for their critical mission.

Vern blew out a breath and looked around. He was happy with this location. Their first action had been in Cheyenne, so they’d wanted a convenient place to launch from. The Wind River Mountains had seemed ideal. They had picked this site for multiple reasons. For one, it was as isolated as they could get and had a concealed place to store their trucks and goods. For another, there wasn’t a human being within miles, the closest being at least one mountain over. With rare exceptions. Trees, mountains, rivers—but no people. They weren’t likely to run into anyone until they had the trucks back on the road. Exactly what they needed.

Until recently, anyway, but Vern was sure they’d deal with that.

They’d originally chosen this particular mountain for their headquarters because it had natural caves that were bigger than most and went deep into the sedimentary and morphic rock that made up the structures. When they’d discovered it by accident five years ago, they’d realized it was a perfect setup for what they needed—large caves for concealment and little traffic on the trails due to their dangerous twists and turns. Adding tracks for doors that they could set on rails to raise and lower in the largest cave had been a breeze. And piling boulders to hide the door and make it look like the face of that area was unbroken. Almost as if this place had been made for them.

During the past five years, he had led them through a lot of little events, each one successful in its own right. But they didn’t make the big splash they wanted. The one that would put the Loyalists in control of everything and change the face of the government running this country. He’d show the assholes what real patriots were and how they handled everything. This time, they’d be making one big bang. He smiled at the word. Bang was right. People would give them the respect they deserved after this, no doubt about it.

Now they were set for the big one, the event that would let people know who they were and give them the control they craved. They’d returned to the cave in twos and threes, bringing the trucks in at night when no one was around. He could feel the edge of excitement running through him.

Vern paused for a moment, wiping a few drops of sweat from his forehead with his forearm, and ran his gaze over the stacks of supplies in the cave. It ran deep enough that nothing could be seen from the outside, although who in the fuck would be walking around here looking anyway? Or could even find it, hidden as it was in the landscape. And there was plenty of room to pull the trucks in to reload them.

Every time he thought of what they were planning—had been planning for five years—his pulse accelerated slightly. When he’d first put the Loyalists together, their goals had been small ones, and they’d achieved each one. But small successes led to bigger ones, along with a thirst to do more. Vern had kept a tight leash on them as they planned and bided their time to what he was calling The Big Bang. And big it was definitely going to be.

They’d been focused on this one for what seemed forever, going over every detail, drawing minute maps, checking everything involved.

“We cannot afford to make a mistake,” was Vern’s constant mantra, and everyone knew he was right.

He had been working inside with his crew since early morning. There had been no traffic on the road, but he had lookouts who would warn him if anyone was approaching. Now he was taking a much-needed break, standing near the mouth of the cave, pausing to take a breath. He swallowed half a bottle of water in two gulps.

Stryker, his second in command, had decided to check the closest stretch of road to make sure no one was out there joyriding or coming anywhere near them. Like the people who were conducting some kind of activity on the mountain right next to them. That had been a rude surprise.

“I’m going for a little run, not too far. Just to check out what I can see. There hasn’t been anyone since the last ‘accident.’ I figure the park rangers have warned people to stay away from it, use other roads and trails, so I feel pretty confident we’re good. But someone from that mountain across from us might decide to take a little pleasure run, and you want to know if they do. As you always say, it never hurts to be extra careful.”

And that was the damn truth.

Vern waved him off and sat down on a large crate to rest for a few.

Now, Stryker came jogging down the road, frowning and shaking his head and causing Vern to frown at him.

“You won’t believe this,” Stryker said as he came to a stop.

Vern frowned. “Believe what?”

“You know that old campground on the next mountain? The one no one’s used in forever?” He pulled a bandana from his pocket and mopped his face. “The one we haven’t seen people on in five years? Not since we’ve been setting up here?”

“Yeah. Tourists go to the newer one way on the other side of the range. It has more amenities. No one’s been at the older one in, well, forever. What about it?”

“Well, that’s changed. Big-time.” Stryker blew out a breath. “It’s full of people. Lots of people. And they don’t look like they’re just picnicking and playing games, either. At least not the kind that we’d expect.”

“What?” Vern stared at him. This was not good news. “Are you shitting me? Like you said, no one’s used it in years.”

Stryker snorted. “Well, they’re using it now. A whole crowd of them.”

“What the hell are they doing there if they aren’t doing tourist stuff? Did you nose around?”

Stryker frowned. “Believe it or not, they look like they’re playing war games. You know, the way we used to train for missions when we were under Uncle Sam’s thumb. Damn.” He frowned. “We need to find out what the fuck is going on over there. Make sure it isn’t anyone who could interfere with what we’re doing.”

Vern frowned. “We should take the pickup and go for a little ride. Check it out. I’m telling you, you aren’t gonna like this one bit. I only saw these guys through the binoculars, but they don’t look very friendly.”

“You think they’re former military?” Vern asked. “Or cops, getting in some extra training? Or maybe this is what they do for fun on vacation? What’s your sense of it?”

Stryker shrugged. “Don’t know. But what I can tell you is there are women there, too. Only a few, but they’re keeping right up with the men. So that changes the complexion a little, right?”

“It does. I don’t know if they still book spaces online. Did you check to see if there’s a name for a person or organization who reserved the place?”

“Uh-huh, but there wasn’t any information. Just a name. Hank Patterson. I have no idea who the fuck he is. And I did a search on my phone while I was standing there, but you have no idea how many Hank Pattersons there are in this country.”

“Fuck.” Vern rubbed his jaw. “I don’t like this. The whole thing is giving me a funny feeling. Okay. Let’s see if we can check it out any further before we get our dicks in a twist. It could just be some idiots out playing games. Maybe a corporation, people thinking they’re big shots. They’ll probably get tired of it and be gone before long.”