“Yep. No construction equipment. Nothing going on here. At least, nothing good,” said Major jerking his head toward two men standing near the entrance.
The men walked slowly, calmly toward them. The two at the door appeared to be arguing and it was obvious that one of them was the mayor and one was the sheriff.
“You said this would be done soon,” said Mayor Carter.
“And it will be. Things have just taken a turn. Don’t sweat it. They still trust me and I’ll get us what we deserve.”
“And what would that be?” asked East. The two men were obviously startled, completely unaware that anyone was approaching them.
“You boys scared me,” said the sheriff.
“I bet we did,” said East. “Thought we’d figure out what was happening with the school but it doesn’t seem like there’s anything happening. No construction. No broken pipes. No electrical issues. So, my guess is that the two of you needed the kids away from this building.”
“I think you boys should go back to where you came from,” said the sheriff suddenly not so nice.
“Make me,” said Major.
Both men were much smaller than the four in front of them. Although the sheriff carried a weapon, he was relatively certain that so did these men.
“Listen boy, you should just go on your way. You stopped anyone from touching their land with that fancy contract you had put together. Time to leave,” said Mayor Carter.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said East. “In fact, we’re calling a town meeting.”
“You don’t have the authority!” screeched Carter.
Suddenly, Patrick was standing behind Carter, Wyatt behind the sheriff. Neither man moved, realizing there was a weapon at their backs. Major winked at them with a grin.
“I think my friends just gave me the authority.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
“What’s all this about, Ernie?” asked one of the farmers.
“I’m not sure. We were told to show up because they had some news for us.”
“Please take your seats,” said Chief. The sheriff and mayor were both seated at the head table, men behind them and beside them.
“What’s going on?” asked Pat.
“When the schools were suddenly closed today we wanted to check things out. Turns out, your mayor and sheriff are both involved in this little scheme.”
“I believe that about Carter but Jerry?” frowned Pat.
“We heard them talking about how this was supposed to all be wrapped up and it wasn’t. It seems your mayor and sheriff were playing good cop, bad cop. Pun intended,” frowned Major.
“Jerry, what the hell?” asked Ernie. “You were supposed to be on our side.”
“Do you have any fucking idea how much money I make? Do you?” he screamed. Patrick squeezed his shoulder, forcing him to stay seated and quiet down. “I make practically nothing. Nothing! I make sure your little brats are safe and sound, that your wives can walk through this town without being afraid. I do it all. Me!”
“That’s what you signed up for,” said Ernie. “You ran for office over and over again, knowing what this job was all about.”
“You’re all so stupid,” laughed Carter.
“Shut up, Carter!” yelled Jerry.
“Get over yourself, Jerry. They know. We should have left town when they showed up. We did what we could. It’s done. You think you’ve won but you haven’t. This is all so much bigger than you.”
“Why don’t you explain it to us?” said one of the men, now standing with his hands at his belt.
