The Palisades Golf Club was the finest eighteen-hole golf course in three counties. It offered high-end amenities for those willing to pay for them, and many did. One amenity offered was a private room in the clubhouse. One of which Edgerton Cain was now occupying, waiting for Mr. Sterling to arrive. He was still reeling from his meeting with the Masters' woman earlier. Never in all his years had he been spoken to like that by a woman. Admittedly, he was used to women throwing themselves at him and catering to his every carnal need. However, the tall, leggy blonde posed an insignificant problem for now in his pursuit of gaining more land around the town of Nowhere. He had spent sizeable sums of money to gain properties so he can further his goal of annexing the town. He still had a few more years left, according to his long-range plan, before he would have to do anything brazenly drastic to reach his end goal.

  In dealing with Miss Masters, he would have to change his tactics. He now realized he could not rely on who he was in the grandstanding of society; no, she was not interested in any of that. Edgerton would have to appeal to her differently. That is the reason he has Pennington trying to gather all the information he could on her. Edgerton would have to put some work into swaying Miss Masters, and he never backed down from a challenge.

  Edgerton turned his head, hearing a waiter ushering Mr. Sterling to the table. The Fixer was dressed fashionably in a black polo shirt tucked into khaki-colored slacks. As Sterling approached, Edgerton rose from his seat to greet the dark-haired man. "Mr. Sterling, I trust your trip here was pleasant," he greeted as he extended his hand as he indicated to the waiter to leave.

  Mr. Sterling met the handshake in a firm grip. "The flight was pleasant enough. Though it still surprises me that the town even has an airport," he replied, noticing that Mr. Cain had ordered him an iced tea in a tall glass with a metal straw already put into the drink. "Not to be rude, Mr. Cain, but you now have forty- five minutes to explain to me the details of your request," he said in his usual professional flat tone.

  Edgerton nodded. "Yes, well, I need you to take care of my mother, who arrives on Friday," he explained as he sat down. He pulled a folder from his expensive leather satchel and presented it to the Fixer. "In there, you will find my mother's itinerary for the next few days," he added.

  Sterling opened the folder and skimmed down the itinerary. She was in Los Angeles, which would offer several avenues of problem-solving. Hairdressers' appointments, a Botox appointment, a photoshoot, and various other places that were public. "I assume you would like the problem-solving method to be very public and newsworthy?" he asked before leaning his head down to sip the tea from the straw.

  "Yes, the more spectacular the better," Edgerton responded. "My mother wouldn't want to be outdone by my father's demise," he added with a slight chuckle.

  Mr. Sterling looked over the itinerary again, seeing the problem, was going to have a press conference on the runway at LAX before boarding her private jet. That would do nicely. "Is that all?" he asked Mr. Cain.

  "If you are going to accept the challenge, I believe we need to discuss the fee," Edgerton replied.

  "Two million," Mr. Sterling replied. "Half is to be transferred to my account within the next four hours. The other half within four hours after completion," he added as he took another drink of the tea without touching the glass. "Agreed?" he asked as he stood up and offered his hand.

  "Agreed," Edgerton stood up and shook the Fixer's hand.

  Mr. Sterling took the folder and looked at Mr. Cain. "Please make sure you dispose of the glass personally," he said as he turned and left.

  Edgerton picked up the glass and walked over to the service bar and poured the remaining tea into the sink, then he wrapped it and the metal straw in a linen napkin before retrieving his satchel and placing them in it. Then he left a hundred-dollar bill on the table as he left with a smile on his face.

  _______________________________________________________________________________

  Larissa held on to the dashboard and the door as they raced to the Yeager house. She looked at Jesalyn's determined face. It was a study in dichotomy, both attractive and fear-inducing at the same time. The twenty-three-year-old Latina could see exactly why Mitch was attracted to her because Larissa was. Though for Mitch it was more love than lust because he did not get to watch the woman almost fully strip down out of what she was wearing and into the camouflage pants with the form-fitting black tee she was currently wearing. When Mitch sprinted off to his house, Jes had her follow her to the bedroom where she entered one of the huge walk-in closets and unlocked a gun safe. From it, she handed Larissa the tactical shotgun that was in the backseat now, along with an AR-15 that was rigged like she was going to war. Along with a chest rig loaded for the shotgun and a plate carrier for Jesalyn to wear. Seeing Jesalyn quickly and efficiently strip down and just as quickly get dressed was more than likely to be the catalyst for some masturbation later. Jes' body was fit and toned enough to make most women jealous.

  Then she helped Larissa fit the chest rig to her body, which meant loosening a few straps on the rig. Jes slid into her plate carrier with practiced ease that even with helping her, they were both out the door in less than ten minutes. They hit the highway and were off just as Mitch was coming out of his home. Mitch had caught up with them minutes later with his sirens flashing from behind them.

  "The next right is Old Mountain Road. Take it and it's a half mile down the road to the left," Larissa stated, with anxiety in her voice.

  Jes nodded, knowing Larissa was burning a hole in the side of her head. The woman had not stopped looking at her since they got in the Jeep. "In the small pouch on your right is electronic ear protection. It slips into your ear and is Bluetooth-compatible. So put it on and sync it to your phone," Jes instructed with a little more authority than maybe was necessary.

  "Why pair it to my phone?' Larissa asked as she began the process.

  "Well, I assume you don't carry a department radio when off duty, so we need to communicate somehow," Jes replied.

  Larissa nodded her head. Thinking to herself, 'This woman knows her shit' as she assessed the ear pro by calling Pardo.

  "Hey Larissa., why are you calling me aren't you supposed to be on your way to the Yeager house?" Pardo questioned.

  "Almost there, Kev. Jes is driving. Just evaluating this ear protection she gave me," Larissa explained.

  "Who's, Jes?" Pardo questioned with anxiousness in his voice.

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  "The woman I told you about from yesterday over beer and wings at Howler's," Larissa explained.

  "WHAT?!!" Pardo shouted.

  "Hold on!" Jes yelled as she yanked the steering wheel to the right as she pulled her emergency brake and tapped the floor brake, drifting into her Jeep. At the very apex of the turn, she twirled the wheel and floored the gas, driving head-on forward without losing too much speed. "Woo! Yeah!!!" Jes exclaimed excitedly.

  "Woman!! Are you INSANE?!!!" Larissa screamed.

  "Probably," Jesalyn flashed a wicked grin as she quickly glanced at Larissa, who was holding onto anything she could for dear life. Then she glanced back and repeated the same move except to the left.

  "Oh, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!!!" Larissa cried out as Jes slammed on the brakes, the Jeep slid to a stop about twelve inches from the rear of Deputy Eugene Grimes' Jimmy.

  Jes undid her seatbelt and exited the Jeep with urgency and opened the backdoor to retrieve her gun belt which was outfitted with her Staccato. She fastened it about her waist with practiced fluidity, then fastened the thigh strap to her right leg. The while Larissa was composing herself; she grabbed her AR-15 chambered in 300 Blackout and slung it over her head and right arm before running through a function check. She looked through the one-by-six power scope and set the illuminated reticle to five, which was bright enough for the ambient lighting condition. Jesalyn turned it thirty-five degrees to the left to see that her offset RMR was functioning before she flipped off the safety and ejected the magazine out to check the ammo. Slamming the magazine back in the rifle, she pulled the charging handle back that brought the bolt carrier back, then pushed it forward, loading a round into the chamber and re-engaging the safety before checking that her suppressor was firmly seated. The entire process took less than two minutes which was long enough for Larissa to gain her composure, Mitch to pull up behind her, and Eugene to come around from front of his Jimmy with his gun pulled and aimed at Jes. "Whoa!" she exclaimed as her hands went up.

  "Eugene, stand down! This is the woman I told you was coming with us!" Mitch yelled as he quickly jumped out of his Jimmy.

  Larissa, who had retrieved the shotgun, looked over the hood of the Jeep and in perfect timing with Eugene shouted, "Woman, your Insane!"

  It impressed Mitch who had been trying to keep pace with her the whole time at her driving skill but had to defuse the situation said. "Next time, Masters, could you possibly keep it under a hundred miles an hour," he said rounding around her from behind to face her. Mitch was trying not to smile, but he winked at her anyway in approval.

  "I'd salute you and say yes, Sir, but I might get shot," Jes smirked with her hands still in the air because Eugene still looked like he was catching up with the situation. It was only when Mitch had placed himself between him and her that the deputy lowered his gun before he put it back in his holster.

  Mitch turned to face Eugene. The tall, broad man was in his early fifties with gray hair neatly cut short hair with a matching well-groomed mustache and beard. "Deputy Eugene Grimes, this is Jesalyn Masters, a deputized citizen here to help," Mitch introduced the pair to each other.

  Eugene visibly exhaled the tension from his chest and approached Jesalyn with his hand out. "Impressive driving. Ya scared the hell outta me," he said.

  Jes met his handshake, which was strong, and noticed the faded American Traditional style eagle, anchor, and globe Marine Corps tattoo on his inner forearm. "Well, if Sheriff Ranger Bob here actually led the way, we still be halfway here," she said with a joking tone as she pointed at Mitch with her left thumb as he was standing next to her. "Ooh rah!" she added.

  Eugene replied, "Ooh rah! Glad to have a fellow Marine with us."

  "I hate to interrupt this crayon-eating session, but what is the situation, Eugene?" Mitch said, a hint of annoyance in his voice.

  Eugene Looked at Mitch with a troubled look on his face. "I only got here five minutes ago. Knocked on the door, but no answer. I yelled for Eileen but got no answer. I hope she didn't go out there to check on Jim," he relayed the information quickly as he pointed toward the tree line.

  Jes walked over to in front of all the vehicles and looked where Eugene had pointed. It was about 250 yards to the tree line. She raised her rifle to look through the scope as she zoomed the first focal plane, optic to maximum magnification to survey it. Moving left to right slowly, she came upon the sight of trampled foliage. "I have a visual on the possible ingress point," she relayed in a professional tone.

  Mitch walked over to Jes as he pulled his monocular out of a pouch on his plate carrier. He surveyed the tree line and saw the same thing Jes did. "Confirmed. That is the ingress point. BZ Masters," he confirmed. "Ideas on formation?" Mitch asked. While it has impressed him with her so far, he needed to know where her head was. Yes, she had skills, but they were more attuned to police tactics and from his estimation room clearing. Recon in a forest, though similar in thought process, is fraught with perils from multiple angles all at once.

  Jes looked at the entire group, evaluating them all. Two Marines with combat skills, an airborne ranger with combat coupled with recon skills, and a deputy with hardly any usable knowledge, save she was willing to learn. "You take the point, Eugene, Larissa, and then me," Jes offered her take.

  Larissa, who had composed herself, listened intently to their conversation next to Eugene and asked, "Jes you're a badass why put yourself in the back?" she asked.

  Jes looked at Larissa, then back to Mitch. "Explain it to her," he said. Jes looked back at Larissa. "The Sheriff was an Airborne Ranger. They trained Mitch for recon. It suited this situation to his strengths. You three are all kitted out with shotguns. I know your kit because it's mine. You're running one-ounce rifled slugs, so your range is longer than theirs because most likely they're running double aught buckshot. I'm running 300 Blackout in this AR. Even with a suppressor I have the longest range out to four hundred yards. You're running a chest rig so your light and mobile, you can easily pivot to each flank quickly," Jes explained then looked at Mitch, "I miss anything?" she queried as she put in her Bluetooth ear protection.

  Mitch looked at Eugene for a second, who nodded his head in approval. He looked at Larissa. "The only thing she missed is that three of us..." he pointed to Eugene, Jes, and himself. "... have combat experience. So, listen to what we say with an open mind, and you will learn a few things today, okay?" he added, knowing Jes was trying to be easy on Larissa and not pointing out the obvious.

  Larissa nodded with a smile. She trusted Mitch and Eugene explicitly and Jesalyn was just a sexy badass, getting sexier by the moment. 'My hand is going to be tired in the morning,' she thought to herself. "Yes, Sheriff, I will do my best," she replied.

  Jes looked at Larissa and smiled as she showed her cell phone screen with her number on it. "I need you to patch me into Pardo," she said to Larissa, then she looked at Mitch, "Pardo, capable of patching calls through your radios?" she asked, just realizing she may be assuming too much.

  "Yes, he can," Mitch replied.

  They all settled in their positions and moved quickly toward the ingress point. Jes swept to her right, then her left, ensuring her transitions to and from each flank did not muzzle sweep the group. Larissa did the same but with more exaggerated motions. The pace slowed once they all got into the tree line at the ingress point. They stopped several times for Mitch to read the trail of the previous individuals who passed through there. They were ten minutes in when Mitch stopped them using a hand signal and then, with another, made them crouch down. Jes picked up, scanning more visually and listening through her ear protection that amplified sounds under the decibel levels of weapons' fire that cut that sound out.

  It is a funny fact that when you are trying to be quiet, everything you do seems louder. Your breathing, your heartbeat, and every little move you make, whether it be your gear rubbing against your clothes or the faintest click of the magazines you are carrying in your plate carrier. Even whispers can seem like you are talking at a normal level. Jes had learned to tune all that out and listen out for indicators of sounds she did not expect to hear. He pointed to her to come forward to him. She did so as quietly as she could and settled next to him. They were next to a gigantic pine tree with some brush around it. He pointed to her scope and then to his eyes, pointing out to a small clearing about 150 yards ahead of them. Jesalyn angled her body to clear her line of sight as she used her scope to see while she adjusted the magnification down to get a wider field of view.

  What she saw was gruesome. Four bodies are being torn apart by six wolves. All of them were huge, and they were feasting on three men and a woman. One of them was James Hill, the missing deputy. Jes turned her face away towards Mitch, her eyes gleaming with tears she refused to shed. Mitch's look already confirmed he knew, and he was sad and pissed at the same time. They were too late and four people were dead.

  Mitch keyed his mike and whispered with a grieving waver in his voice. "Operations Adam 112. Need you to call NPD SWAT to my location, roll two buses, and put a call to the coroner. Key twice to confirm." he looked back at his fellow deputies and waved them up as they all heard Pardo key twice in their headsets. Larissa was trying hard not to burst into tears and Eugene looked down in the face, but just as mad as Mitch. Once everyone was together, he laid out the plan. "Larissa, I need you to fall back to the house. I know you want to fight, but I need someone to guide SWAT back here. Do you understand?" he stated. Larissa nodded her head as she wiped her eyes and slowly backed away to do as she was told. Mitch watched her until he was sure she was going to follow through, then looked at Jes and Eugene. "We need to clear the area of those huge mother fuckers. Jes, Eugene, and I are going to move up so we can toss some concussion grenades to scare them off. I need you to cover us, but when they go off, I need you to drop as many of them as you can, and by drop, I mean blow their fucking brains out," he said in a grave whisper.

  Jes understood all too clearly the need for vengeance. Though she did not know the family and only met James once, she would be more than happy to comply with Mitch's order. She placed her hand on his shoulder with a firm squeeze and nodded. He reciprocated by placing his hand over hers and squeezing. They all waited a minute to center themselves. All hell was about to break loose.