Page 96 of One In Vermillion

“Tell them you were cleaning your gun while jacking off.”

George was eyeing everyone in a way that made even me a little nervous. He had the shotgun almost level and his finger was inside the trigger guard. I’m not a fan of shotguns except for exactly this type of scenario. Close range. George’s gun could make a mess of people at this distance. Pete knew it too.

“You don’t listen well,” Pete said to me. “This place is off-limits. Private property.”

“You’re right,” I said. “It is off-limits. For you and your shitbirds.”

Pete grinned. “I see you’re still driving around with your teddy bear. Do you curl up with it at night, Cooper?”

George spoke up. “I’m tired of you degenerates running your drug smuggling through my town.”

Pete laughed. “It was easy enough when you were chief and Cleve ran things in Burney. You had no clue, did you?” He spread his arms, indicating the development. “This is temporary. Was temporary, I should say. I’m starting to like it here. We might take a couple of these houses. Set up shop permanently.”

I knew that was a bluff. They weren’t going to sit in the middle of an upscale development. But they could easily find a place in Over-the-Hill to set up shop. Which made me realize there was something I missed and needed to check on. If I was still breathing after this.

“No,” I said.

Pete laughed. “Right. You and the washed-up ex-chief are running us out of town, is that it?”

“Well, I tried being reasonable.” I raised my left hand. “Now comes unreasonable.”

Pete frowned at me, and I said, “Look down.”

A bright red dot was centered over Pete’s heart. Both of his Wolves quickly checked themselves and the one to Pete’s right also had a laser designator on him.

“You’re facing me and the future mayor of Burney and two of my friends,” I said. “Ranger snipers. I’m telling you to get the fuck out of here and never come back.” I pointed at Pete’s chest. “Fifty caliber Barrett. It’ll put a quarter-sized hole in you and keep on going without noticing, but you will.” I looked at the third Wolf. “The shotgun will make a mess of you. Plus, Ranger snipers are fast. They’ll shift target before you even know your buddies are dead. I’ve seen them get a second shot off before the first even hit. The bullet gets here before the sound of the gun going after.”

“Fuck you,” Pete said. He looked past me, into the distance, trying to gauge where the shooters were. Evaluating the tactical situation.

“And I’ve got more of my friends coming to town. Another day and Burney will be like Camp Darby. Rangers everywhere. I don’t think your Marine Raider buddies are going to show up for a drug-dealing scumbag. And your Wolves won’t last an hour against Rangers. But I’m giving you a chance to get going now. Peacefully. Burney isn’t the place for you. Not now. Not ever.”

Pete had been looking at the red dot, obviously in deep thought pondering his mortality. He looked up and he wasn’t smiling. I heard the rumble of engines and the two yahoos pulling guard duty rumbled up behind us. They aimed their ARs at George and me.

“Odds are in my favor,” Pete said.

“Your side’s favor,” I corrected. “You, yourself, have no odds other than dying. You’re not faster than a speeding bullet, OneTree. Take your drugs and go elsewhere.”

Pete’s eyes shifted to the van.

George saw it too. “You have drugs here? You are fucking ballsy. A van full of drugs. I bet there’s money in there for Cash Porter, isn’t there?”

“We have a business to run.” Pete shrugged. “We own a nice piece of this development already. We’ll own more.”

“No,” I said. “You’ll be dead.”

“Do you have illegal weapons in there?” George asked.

“Enough to clear Burney out,” Pete said.

He looked me in the eyes, thinking hard. I was counting on him being a realist. Rain would say that was an assumption and we all know what they do to you. He gestured and the two Wolves behind us lowered their weapons. “You win. For now, Cooper.”

Before I could say anything, George issued orders. “To show good faith and to make sure our snipers don’t get twitchy,” he said, “how about we all put our guns on the ground. We wouldn’t want any accidents now that we’ve got an agreement.”

“A temporary one,” Pete said.

I suspected he was just trying to save face. But it didn’t matter. I didn’t know what George was up to, but I was all for not shooting and I knew Liz would second me on that. I carefully pulled my forty-five out of the holster, keeping the muzzle down and put it on the ground. George did the same as the Wolves disarmed.

As I straightened, I smiled. “See? Everyone’s happy.”

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