Page 43 of Battle Mountain

“That’s because it is,” Tuck-Smith said. “He’s been working toward this for years, and he’s recruited enough like-minded followers to maybe make it happen. You’ve talked to C. W. Reese—you know how Axel operates. I’ve talked with a few more people like Reese who were approached by Soledad. People like you two: military background, lone wolves, men who feel betrayed by their government, disaffected…”

“I’m not sure that describesus,” Geronimo said with a huff. “Speaking for myself, I mean.”

Nate remained silent.

“Anyway,” she said. “What I don’t know is how many people have fallen for his bullshit and have joined up with him. Or what exactly he plans to do.”

“Where will it happen?” Geronimo asked.

“Here,” she said, jabbing her index finger into the desktop. “Either in Wyoming or northern Colorado. All of his movements in the past few months have been in the region. There are so many targets of national importance here when you think about it: oil fields, refineries, power plants, our nuclear arsenal—they’re all here. All of his activities over the last few years have been designed to raise money and support for a big attack.”

“If this is true,” Geronimo said, “shouldn’t you go to the authorities?”

Nate rolled his eyes as Tuck-Smith said, “I think if I told the FBI why I’ve been doing this, they’d just look at my history and call me a crackpot. They’re too busy going after ranchers, so-called insurrectionists, antiabortion activists, parents who speak at school board meetings, and traditional Catholics these days. Plus, although I know there are good ones out there, I don’t know which agents I can trust or how to find them.”

“I understand,” Nate said, to Geronimo’s obvious annoyance.

“What about local law enforcement?” Geronimo asked her.

Tuck-Smith pursed her lips and said, “That’s a mixed bag. Some are good, some are awful. A few would probably sign up with Axel. But since I don’t know yet what jurisdiction Axel plans to operate in, how can I notify the locals?”

“What got you interested in Axel Soledad in the first place?” Geronimo asked her.

She looked at Nate and said, “You asked me if he was my clientand I said he wasn’t. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t want to be. Like I said, I’m pretty well known for fighting the feds and representing clients they consider marginal or even traitorous. I think Axel figured I’d fit right in. He thought I might be able to keep him out of jail until he could pull the trigger on his big plans. I played along for a couple of meetings, but the more I learned about Axel, the less I wanted to be his attorney—even if there were a few points he made that I agreed with.

“That’s when I first heard your name,” she said to Nate. “And that’s the first time I heard of Geronimo Jones.”

Nate leaned forward, intrigued.

“He considers you two his enemies,” she said. “You are impediments to him and his plan. When he talked about you two—especially Mr. Romanowski—it was the one time I saw the crazy, irrational part of his personality on display. He wants you out of the way, and he’ll do anything to make that happen. Axel hinted to me that friends of his keep track of your movements and your families and they’re just waiting for the word to take action.”

Nate and Geronimo exchanged a long look.

“Every man has a weakness,” Tuck-Smith said. “Axel’s is that he thinks he’s smarter than everyone else. I found that if you flatter him, he can’t help but brag about himself. It’s classic hubris. He told me this when he was sure I’d be his counsel, so what I’m revealing to you is not privileged information.”

“How did he take it when you told him you wouldn’t take him on as a client?” Geronimo asked.

As a response, she patted the .357 Magnum and said, “That’s the reason I got this. Axel has a way of getting rid of people whoare a threat to him. I think he just hasn’t gotten around to me yet. And it’s why Joann gets so jumpy when people we don’t know just show up.”

“It’s settled, then,” Nate said. “Axel will be history soon. Though, that was pretty much the case before we showed up here.”

Geronimo agreed.

“We’re out of time,” Tuck-Smith announced. “I’ve got a big board meeting on the docket. There’s a new sagebrush rebellion brewing, and a real effort to take back our land from the federal agencies who run roughshod over us. I’m their legal counsel. I need to be present at this meeting because we’re suing the feds and I’m writing the lawsuit.”

“One more thing,” Geronimo said. “How do we find Axel’s location?”

“What’s your cell phone number?” she asked. As she did, one of the buttons of her phone lit up and Joann Delaney announced over the intercom that the board meeting had been called to order and that they were waiting for her to join it.

Geronimo recited his number. It had a Colorado area code.

Tuck-Smith snatched up her phone and sent a contact record. Geronimo’s phone pinged.

“Russ and Jolene Anthony are clients of mine on another matter,” Tuck-Smith said. “When I met with them a few days ago, they were worried about their daughter, Allison. They talked about her like she’d been recruited into some kind of cult, and she’s been gone for a few weeks now. Then they described the man she ran off with. They said he was ex-military, a master falconer like yourselves, and very charismatic. They also said that his legs are useless and he gets around on crutches.”

“Soledad,” Geronimo said.

“You’re the one who shot him,” Tuck-Smith said to him. “Why didn’t you finish him off?”

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