Conspiracy in the Heartland

Pat walked to the nearest pay phone and called the ranch. Po, Polly, Jessica, or Rocky should be there. There was no answer, and Pat’s heart sank within him as an eerie feeling began to haunt him that something was really wrong. Pat then called his commanding officer, who said he would send some of the law enforcement in the Texas Militia to San Antonio, and he would personally lead a battalion of the militia to the ranch.

Pat reasoned that if the king’s men—who were mainly the hated Feminazis—had found the Innocents, the Innocents would certainly be murdered, along with Po and the rest. Pat, as an afterthought, also remembered the Bell Ranger, now outfitted with the chain guns and an experimental rail gun. It had been hidden in the barn so that anyone at first glance would see only stacks of hay bales. Pat could only hope it had not been found, and then he thought of the cave.

It was a natural cavern that ran a mile or so underground with many pools of good water. It had been stocked with food, and it was livable. It was known only to Po and Pat, who had discovered it. Po did not want big tourism coming onto his ranch or the state making some kind of park out of it, so he had never told anyone about it. It was on one of the most rugged and remote parts of the ranch. Pat had actually discovered it when he was only a boy, but he and Po had stocked it with food and supplies only a few months ago in case the ranch was overrun.

Then Pat got angry when he thought of Po and the rest of his friends at the ranch being hunted like common criminals. He got mad, but his anger was controlled; he now went into a coldness that many might think was aloofness. But Pat’s thoughts were clear, and his purpose was empowered. The king with all his minions would pay if one Innocent was harmed.

The news came the next morning that the ranch house had been burned. The Innocents had been bludgeoned, mutilated, and thrown in the yard before the ranch had been burned. Pat knew only Criminal would be that psychotic. The only thing left standing was the barn. Colonel Travis had immediately dispatched the battalion to secure the property, but they were too late to save the Innocents. They had not found Po, who evidently had tried to make a stand hunkered down behind a knoll. He had killed half a dozen street gang attackers and Slamonuts in the shootout. His body had not been found. Evidently, he was badly wounded, because there was a lot of blood. Polly and the Toons had escaped, probably because Po had stayed to guard their retreat. Yet Po could not be found because he had covered his trail—blood trail that it was.