Jake had already jammed the accelerator to the floor.  The Bronco roared to life and lurched towards the parked cruisers.  He aimed for the point where the two back bumpers met in the center of the road.  Sasha still had the hand of the first officer in her vice-like jaws.  He screamed and pleaded for mercy as he was half-dragged alongside them.  Jake boomed a command in Czech and Sasha released her grip just as they reached the cruisers.  The momentum carried the man forward and he collided with a crunch into the rear door of the left vehicle.

Kate wrapped her arms around Sasha to save her from being slung forward.  The light-weight rear-ends of the cruisers bounced forward as the Bronco’s winch connected with them.  The sound of metal scraping and ripping was all they could hear.  As they tore through the road block, Kate handed Geram his rifle. He leaned out of his window and aimed at the cruisers.  Geram connected several well-aimed shots with their tires and hoods.  Satisfied with his work, he eased his back into the SUV.

Jake and Geram stared at the road behind them through the mangled, side-view mirrors. Kate rubbed Sasha and whispered soothingly to her.  As the adrenaline high they had experienced began to recede, they felt exhausted and anxious.  Kate was the first to speak.

“Were those really deputies?”

“Impossible.” Geram replied.

Jake concurred, “Geram’s right, their first victims were probably the owners of those cruisers.  If they were deputies, they’ve fallen a long way from grace.”

“Are they – dead?” She asked.

“I know mine is.  I must’ve hit him a half-dozen times in the torso at point-blank range.”

“Mine may not be dead, but he’s probably down for the night,” Jake replied, “I think Sasha hit an artery, and I watched him hit the cruiser pretty hard.”

“Yeah, your guy is in a world of hurt to say the least.  By the way, Jake, have I told you how awesome your dog is?”

Jake smiled, “That’s my girl.”

Kate interrupted, “Guys, we’ve got to get off this road until daylight.  This is too dangerous.”

“You’re right; let’s see if we can find somewhere safe to stop for the night.”

***

Jake’s radio finally barked to life with Geram’s voice.

“All clear; doesn’t look like anyone’s been here for months.  Bring the Bronco ‘round back; there’s a barn we can park it in.”

Jake cranked the SUV and eased it up to the abandoned plantation home.  The majestic, white house was nearly a mile off the road.  It was surrounded by pastureland.

Jake warily followed the gravel drive as it meandered through the clearing.  The long driveway was enveloped by a canopy of live oaks, the only trees within sight except for the far woods line.  They drove out from under the oaks and onto a narrow dam that separated two large ponds.

As the Bronco’s headlights illuminated the massive home, Kate exclaimed, “Wow, it’s beautiful.  I wonder why it’s abandoned.”

“The people who lived here probably found this place to be a target after things got bad.”

“Will we be safe?”

“I think so.  The place has most likely been stripped of anything of value long ago.  Besides, we’ll all take turns on watch throughout the night.  The open fields and our night-vision will make it pretty difficult for anyone to surprise us.”

The home sat atop a knoll that was dotted with magnolia and dogwood trees.  It was towering, with white columns along a wide, wrap-around porch.  The columns continued up to the second-floor balcony that also extended out from all sides.  Not far from the manor was a smaller, pool house that was still large enough for the average family.  As they passed the elegant, concrete fountain in front of the home, Jake pushed open the double doors and stepped out of the house.  He jogged ahead and directed them to the barn.

As they climbed out of the Bronco, Geram walked up behind them and exclaimed, “I checked all of the buildings; no one here but us.”

“Great,” Jake said, “This’ll be perfect for the night.”

“I think so to.  You’ve got to see this place; it’s amazing.”

As Geram stepped through the front doors to give Jake and Kate the grand tour, he declared, “Welcome to la casa de Geram.”

They were overwhelmed by the immensity of their surroundings.  The scale of everything was striking.  Jake guessed that the ceilings in the foyer and parlor were at least twenty feet high.  An entire wall in the parlor was a single plate mirror, which created the illusion of an even greater space.  He grinned when he considered the chains that the chandeliers hung from could probably be used to tow a vehicle.

They followed the spiral staircase up to the second floor and decided that they would stay there for the night.  They could easily walk the perimeter of the mansion from the safety of the balcony, and also have a commanding view of their surroundings.  After a night of misfortune, it appeared they had finally found a short respite.

Kate easily found a bedroom that suited her, and was asleep within several minutes.  She was exhausted from the long day and the even longer night.  After a short stroll around the perimeter, Jake and Geram settled into a pair of rocking chairs that faced the distant highway.  They gazed out over the ponds that flanked the gravel driveway.  The brothers enjoyed the quiet company of each other and listened to lily pad troubadours serenade the night.

Geram spoke first.  “Jake, I’m sorry about earlier. I guess Kate was right, I was stressed and maybe even looking for a fight.”

“Forget it, you were never known for your tact anyway.  I wouldn’t mind continuing the talk again sometime. That is an important discussion.  Often times we don’t know where we stand until we have to defend our beliefs.”

“I don’t want you to think that I’m devoid of compassion for other people.”

“I’m your brother; I know that’s not you.  It’s been a long night though, we’ll finish that later.  You know, I never got a chance to hear how you got back to us.  I know you were in south Texas, but how did you make it two states over when we can’t even get out of our own town without a fight?”

“It’s kind of a long story.”

Jake smiled, “I’ve nowhere to be.”

Geram smirked and remarked, “You were warned.”  He leaned back in the chair, stretched, and then began, “Barrett, the squad leader for the guardsmen on South Padre, was a former SEAL, so we were very lucky in that respect.  The man exhibited enough restraint to communicate with us immediately after we tried to kill his entire squad. I couldn’t have done that.  I was impressed by him from the moment we met.

After he learned we were SEALs as well, I think he genuinely believed we’d been set up.  It probably didn’t hurt that we were feeling some unadulterated fury about our mission at that point.  He escorted us back to their station on the island for individual debriefings, or perhaps you could say interrogations.”

Jake interrupted, “You’re certain none of your team knew about the mission?”

“Absolutely, without a doubt, I am certain.  I know the character of those men, there is no way they would’ve knowingly killed an American citizen, much less a fellow soldier.”

“Who do you think did know?”

“I don’t know how high that goes, probably wherever the intelligence originated.”

“Probably.  Okay, continue.”

“So after the debriefings, we were basically free men.  They kept an eye on us and didn’t let us wander far, but we weren’t locked up.  Barrett and our squad leader got real close. I think they saw a lot in each other they could relate to.

After several days, a ship filled with supplies for the island showed up.  We were given the option of staying or being stow-aways for the trip back to Pascagoula.”