Kate tapped Granny on the back. “Sam, you never said how or who shot you? What happened?”
Sam glared at Kate and then smiled. “There was a traitor in our group. She sold us out to curry favor with the gang. We caught her with one of the gang members, and a fight broke out. I was shot after killing the woman.”
Kate asked, “Could there be other spies in your group?”
Sam grimaced. “There can always be spies if you aren’t careful.”
***
Tom, Kate, and Granny B met in Granny B’s room. Granny B watched when Tom’s head slightly moved as it shook left to right. “Tom, I believe what she said. I just don’t know if we heard everything.”
Kate hesitated, then didn’t speak up. Tom noticed. “Kate, you have as much to say on this as anyone else. Speak up.”
“Sam is beautiful. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t jealous. I don’t want my personal feelings to shade my judgment.”
Tom threw an arm around his wife. “Dear, you’ve never held back before. Speak your mind.”
“She told us what she’d been doing and why she didn’t come back to the ranch. What explains the sightings of the red-haired woman on the ATV? Even you thought it was her. What gives? Also, there was a spy in her group. How many more are in the group?”
Tom covered his face with his open hands. “I don’t think she means to harm us or has lied. I think she’s holding back valuable info. Her vigilante group could expose our location or drag us into a losing fight, and we’re not ready to confront a couple hundred gang members. Even if we conduct a well-organized guerilla action, it would just make Carlos that much more eager to find and destroy us.”
Kate grinned. “I agree about handling Carlos, but I don’t trust anything she said. The only way to fight Carlos and his men is a surgical strike to remove Carlos and his top leaders in one precise attack. The snake won’t rattle long if you lop off its head.”
Granny B slapped Kate on the back. “With a long knife.”
Kate’s brow furrowed. “Huh?”
“A long knife to cut its head off, so it doesn’t bite you.”
Everyone nodded. Kate rubbed the back of her neck and then bit her lip. “We need a few .338 Lapuas or maybe some of those long-range military-style .50 caliber sniper rifles.”
Granny B scratched her jaw. “Grandpa has an old Barret M99 416 and some .416 ammo. We also have a couple of Remington 700 - 338 Lapua magnum rifles and plenty of ammo somewhere in the armory room. Grandpa had them locked in the safe, I think.”
Tom rubbed his hands together. “Great, we have some long-range sniper weapons. We just need some suppressors.”
Granny B laughed. “Suppressors will only reduce the sound maybe by in half. What we really need are people who know how to shoot long range. We don’t have any of the fancy range and windage computers. These have great scopes, and we have some charts on bullet drop in inches. A slight breeze during a thousand-yard shot would make you miss a man-sized target.”
Tom said, “Shit! Back to Sam. What do we do besides keep her on a short leash? If she were captured, Carlos could torture her into giving away our location.”
Granny B had never liked Sam but didn’t want harm to come to the woman. She looked at the others. “FUBAR (fouled up beyond recognition)! Son, I don’t think Sam needs to know about the cave.”
Tom was pissed at first about Sam not being trusted. Then he switched his thinking to the fact that he was responsible for the lives of two dozen people. “I hate to say it, but I agree. I’ll meet with the others tonight and make it clear that no one mentions the cave.”
Kate grimaced, “Lucy will tell her if the topic ever comes up. Sam will probably ask where we went when she finds out we’re not around.”
Granny B said, “I have some sleeping pills. I gave her some antibiotics and pain pills. I’ll slip some sleeping pills in with the others and tell Lucy her mom’s medication will make her tired. That will buy us time to visit the cave and set up the radio.”
*
Chapter 21
The Clark Ranch – The Bunker
Tom and Kate checked in on Sam before leaving to go to the cave. Granny B’s sleeping pills had worked their magic, and Sam was very groggy. Lucy sat in the recliner, watching over her mother. “The medicine makes her sleepy. I think that’s a good thing because she wanted to get out of bed and wander around. She needs to rest and recover from the wound.”
“That’s right,” said Tom. “Your mom is a bit stubborn and could tear her stitches. You stay here and keep her safe. I’ll get the others to share your chores. You might want to go to the library and pick out some good books to read while Kate and I are here to watch her.”
Lucy smiled. “Thanks. I’m almost done with the Great Gatsby."
Granny B never trusted Sam but wasn’t sure why, other than the connection to Carlos and drugs. She saw how happy Kate made her grandson, and didn’t want Sam to come between them. She knew Tom liked Sam and would be hurt if she attacked the woman. Granny B decided to have a private discussion with Kate.
“Kate, can we speak off the record? I think it would be best if Tom didn’t learn about our conversation.”
Kate’s eyebrows rose. “Of course. Is it about Sam trying to get her hooks into my husband?”
Granny smiled. “Yes, I don’t trust the bitch any
