“And they may be,” Angie said as they crossed the street. “But anyone can be tempted by the desire to belong. These Rambo-wannabes? This makes them feel important, gives them meaning. They belong to something bigger than themselves. And yes, I can see why you think there are similarities to the church.”
“You’re a smart woman, Angie Wilson,” he said, opening the door.
“Glad you recognize it,” she said laughing at him. “Makes up for my boss who thinks I’m a kid barely out of high school.”
He laughed.
Janet was already at the café, drinking her coffee, when they walked in. She was reading something, but she looked up and smiled at them.
The waitstaff approached them, and Mac ordered iced tea, unsweetened, and enjoyed the look of shock. Janet laughed. Angie frowned slightly at the joke she wasn’t privy to, and ordered iced tea as well.
“What was that?” she asked after the waitstaff left.
“Every time we come in here, he orders Mountain Dew,” Janet said. “They keep some just for him, I think. And they’re always disdainful about serving it to him. It’s a ritual now. And he just broke it.”
Angie laughed and relaxed.
“I ordered a sandwich last time,” Mac added. “Messing with their minds might become my favorite thing.”
“Just don’t piss them off, Mac,” Janet warned. “I like their coffee.”
She looked at the two of them. “So, what do you know about the logistics of this? Rodriguez called me. He’s concerned.”
Mac raised an eyebrow. That was unusual.
“We meet at Anderson’s gun shop in Marysville and caravan to Wilderness Adventures,” Mac said. “We then will go on a fairly posh expedition into the mountains. When I pictured all these idiots with guns, the only thing I could think of that would make it worse, was having drunk idiots with guns. Anderson laughed when I mentioned it. Said for the money the men were paying, of course, there would be alcohol. And catered meals as well. So that means there’s support vehicles going in with us.”
Mac paused to drink some of his iced tea. It was good tea, he acknowledged.
“There will be 10 men from their gun club setup. Angie and me, Anderson, and the guy who runs the expedition, Ken Bryson. Maybe some of his crew. And the sheriff, of course. Anderson said he brings along a variety of weapons for the men to try out.”
Janet nodded as she listened. “And you’ll be armed?”
“Yeah,” he said. “I don’t trust anyone’s weapons but my own. And Angie will have one of my small handguns just in case.”
“Good,” Janet said. Angie looked surprised.
Janet laughed. “Mac’s investigative reporting seems to end in gun fire,” she said. “Prepare yourself.”
Angie snickered, but she nodded. “I made him take me to a gun range,” she admitted. “I liked it.”
Janet was silent for a moment. Thinking about last fall, Mac thought.
“He did the same for me,” she said at last. “But don’t get complacent. I still got kidnapped. Because in the end, a lesson at the gun range didn’t outweigh the three men who grabbed me.”
Angie nodded slowly. “Good point.”
Mac looked at her. “When it comes down to it? If it’s flight or fight? You run like a rabbit,” he said. “I’ll find you. But I can’t in good conscience not give you a weapon. If it comes down to it? Shoot it in the air, so I can hear it. Then throw it at them and run.”
Angie grinned at him. “Maybe I should have had you teach me to throw something instead, then.”
Janet laughed. “How certain are you that Norton is going on this trip?”
Mac frowned. “He’s the one that OK’d it with Anderson for me to go,” he said slowly. “Why?”
“Bad feeling, mostly,” she admitted. “But something Rodriguez said. He figures if something bad is coming down, Norton won’t want to be near it. Just like Malloy has the sense to stay home. And you know he’s got to want to be there, if they’ve got something bad planned for you.”
Mac was silent, thinking that over. “You both seem to think this is a set up,” he pointed out. “But the Sensei seems to want to recruit me, not shoot me.” He grinned at the rhyme undeterred by the matching eyerolls from the other two.
“I think that there might be competing agendas,” Janet said. “The reason that the Skinheads never got anywhere is they fought among themselves more often than not. Same with the militias — Hayden Lake, Branch Davidians. If you look at Bundy in Nevada, however, you start to see a movement developing, not just a small clan of white men suspicious of outsiders who like guns. So, what do we have? Branch Davidians or the next Bundy?”
“Or both?” Mac asked.
Janet nodded.
“Sensei is building a movement,” Mac said slowly. “He says he’s winnowing out the weak to make white men strong and proud again. Anderson and Malloy? They just like making money, I think. But Norton? Especially if he’s mlk4whites on Facebook? He’s Branch Davidian — he’s a doomsday cult.”
Janet looked at Angie. “Mac values your insight into people. You’ve met Norton. What’s your read?”
Angie glanced at Mac, but he couldn’t read her expression.
“He’s a believer, down deep,” she said. “Religion? White supremacy? Constitutional sheriff? Whatever the flavor is, he believes in it. Passionately. And he sees himself as the man on top. If he’s following this Sensei, it bugs him to do it. And eventually he’ll challenge the man.”
“And that’s exactly the dynamic that has brought down these other white supremacy groups in the past,” Janet said. “But Bundy is different. He’s more calculating. His ‘lieutenants’, if you will, are his sons — and that’s a well-established pecking order. He may have failed in his stand-off
