Page 36 of Barry

“Barry?” Andrew’s voice from the front of the barn had him leaning over the stall door. “In here.” Seeing who was with Andrew, he put down the curry brush, then gave Buddy his last carrot and stroked him down the neck. “See you tomorrow, Bud.”

He stepped out of the stall and offered Roman his hand. “Good to see you again. I think?” He looked at Andrew, who was tightlipped and appeared to be pissed.

Roman shook his hand and looked around. “Is anyone else here?”

“Gary and Dolan just went to the bunkhouse. I take extra time with him.” Barry nodded toward his horse.

“Good.” Roman leaned against the stall wall. “I’ve been doing some digging. I didn’t like that Jackson Gill could disappear so easily, so I had one of our computer experts take a look. They’re a hell of a lot better than I am, but because this wasn’t a case we were working on, I had to wait until they had time and could run down the information.”

“Okay. Thanks for that.” Barry knew the guy didn’t have to take the case further than he’d already gone for them.

“No problem. Let’s just say I hate leaving problems out in the wind. I’m a neat and tidy type of person.” The guy chuckled at his own joke. “Jackson Gill’s last digital marker was in South Sioux City, Nebraska.”

“Which puts him in our neck of the woods.” Andrew nodded.

The realization that Fish’s brother could be the one causing all that shit was a weight off his shoulders and simultaneously a huge worry. “What kind of skills does he have?”

“That’s a damn good question.” Andrew looked at Roman.

“He was trained in the same way you were. Escape, evasion, cover, concealment. He isn’t a sniper by any means. The only thing he had trouble with during trainingwas shooting the M4. He barely qualified each time he had to fire.”

“Which is probably why he didn’t kill you or Tegan when he was shooting at you from that knoll,” Andrew added.

“Well, I’m thankful he’s a terrible shot, but how do we go about smoking this guy out?”

“Barry’s right. Neither of us is safe until he’s found, charged, and put away.”

“That’s going to be the tough one. Right now, all we have is speculation, and local law enforcement doesn’t have the manpower to scour the thousands of acres surrounding Hollister,” Roman acknowledged.

There was no doubt about that. Barry looked past Roman to the vast horizon visible from the barn door. “So, we’re back to ground zero.”

“Not necessarily.” Roman smiled. “I can gather some equipment, cameras that detect motion and heat. We can surround the ranch house, the bunkhouse, and any other structure you’re concerned about. We’d have immediate alarm capabilities that would funnel to whoever you wanted to respond. It isn’t perfect, but it is protection.” Roman stood away from the stall wall. “And if this guy has been living off the land since all these things started to happen, he’s lean. No matter how good you are, the elements take a toll. He’s going to need to restock.”

“All the small ranchers are on guard; I don’t think the man has gone south enough to be on Marshall’s property.”

Roman chuckled. “He hasn’t. If he does, he won’t know what hit him.”

“How’s that?” Barry asked.

Roman looked at him for a long moment. “Guardian Security has a … presence on the ranch.”

“Oh.” Barry blinked and then looked at Andrew. “The men that come through the town?”

Andrew nodded. “The ones everyone welcomes and no one talks about? Yeah.”

“Huh.” Barry shrugged. “Guess I was too far inside my own head to worry about people passing through.” He turned to Roman. “My girlfriend and mom’s houses. Can you monitor them? Mom is right in the middle of town, but Kathy is out on the edge of town. I’ve been staying away because I didn’t want to draw anyone to her location.”

“Yeah, sure. We can hook them both up with all the bells and whistles. I’ve been given a blank check for equipment. Manpower is something we can’t provide at the moment. Someone’s working on that, though.” Roman spread his hands. “I wish we could do more.”

“Man, I’ll sleep a lot easier knowing his family and my women are safe.” That weight seemed to get lighter and lighter as he talked to Roman. “And you’ve done more than anyone has, so for that, you have my eternal gratitude. I’m not Guardian, but if you ever need anything from me, I’m there for you, man.” He extended his hand and gripped Roman’s in a tight squeeze.

“Whatever it takes, my friend. I’ll get that equipment and some techies here to set it up. Figure two days, max, before it all arrives. I’ll give you a call when I’m heading up here to get things installed.”

“Thank you.” Andrew shook Roman’s hand, too. “Never thought I’d have a need to call you in on something, but this is just …”

“Unusual, to say the least.” Roman nodded. “Believe it or not, unusual is my specialty, and I know enough people who like to have all the answers that we figure it out.”

“I’ll walk you back to your vehicle,” Andrew said, and they headed out of the barn after one last handshake from Barry.

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