The Road to Round Mountain: The Betrayal by (18 page)

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her report this morning. Funny thing is, the report had the  agent’s death caused by a shootout in the parking lot, from a  robbery attempt at the store”.

“How can she do that, they died because of what I have  become, and tried to protect me”.

“One minor little detail she may have overlooked, it  seems the FBI agents had someone put up a camera on the  light pole in the parking lot that faces the store. I’m sure that  Agent Boling was well aware that the store had no camera  and one of the folders on the flash drive has login information to access footage from that camera. I believe those two  agents had already planned on her acting in some capacity  and wanted video of it”.

I seem to be the cause of the FBI agents getting killed, and the subsequent cover up attempt. I don’t understand what is so important about my condition that warrants this type of activity. One thing I was sure of, that the place in  Nevada is the key to this whole mess. What exactly was down there and more important who, and how big of a roll does Agent Boling play in this. I need to stop, I’m giving myself a headache as I still need to deal with my current situation first.

“Did you say that some people you know can maybe figure out what all this stuff on the drive is”? “Yeah, but it will  take some doing. I sent copies of the contents to three different folks I know, but I won’t say where or who. We don’t  need any more dead bodies turning up around here”. Boy did  I understand that and I didn’t want to know who was looking  at it, for my own sake as well as theirs.

It took just a few minutes to go around the bend and up

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to the Point. The Sheriff popped the flash drive out of the  side of the monitor and back into his pocket, as we pulled in  to the modest parking lot. The Point wasn’t a big tourist attraction, just a large covered version of a lifeguard stand you  would see on the beach, but you had a view of Washington  State, the mouth of the Columbia River and to the west, the  Ocean. It was made of 100 percent wood, which is a challenge to keep in good repair with our rainy weather.

We were just getting out of the patrol car when another small car pulled onto the parking lot. It was a light blue  Hyundai Accent with Jennifer behind the wheel. My mood  immediately improved with the sight of her. The Sheriff was  digging around for something in the trunk. Jennifer looked  stunning as she got out of her car. She was wearing a sleeveless black mid length dress with matching black shoes. This  was the first time I had seen her with her hair not in a ponytail. Her Shiny blonde hair, those sparkling blue eyes and  that dress would make for a great portrait. Since I have no  talent in that arena that point is moot. There was a light  breeze that gently swirled her shoulder length hair. A beautiful memory I will never forget.

Only 50 percent of us dressed appropriately, but that was  okay, we were here to pay tribute to my parents. My Dad  would approve of my attire since his wardrobe consisted of  overalls and hip waders. My Dad was quite the fashion Guru.

“Billy, come here for a minute”, the Sheriff asked while I  smiled and waved at Jennifer. Jennifer came around with me  as we went to the back of the patrol vehicle. I looked over  at Jennifer and said, “You look Fantastic, I mean wow”. I’m  surprised I got that many words out. “Thank you Billy, I’ll

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be right back, I’ve got something for you in the car”. I was  watching her walk back to her car when I heard the Sheriff,  “A little distracted are we”? Embarrassed, I slowly turned towards him as he handed me an urn. I couldn’t help but stare  at it. I wasn’t quite sure what I expected but seeing the urn  was a slap of reality I wasn’t ready for. I could feel my eyes  getting misty.

“That’s your Dad”, said the Sheriff as he pulled the second urn from the box in the trunk. “This is your Mother”,  the sheriff continued. Too much reality, I don’t know if I can  do this. Jennifer came around with some type of clothing  draped over her arm. “I’ll take that Billy”, she said referring  to the urn while handing me a suit coat. “It’s for you; the  Sheriff said all of your clothes were destroyed in the fire”  she said with that smile that continued to melt my heart.  “I don’t know what to say”, as my eyes welled up again. “It  was my brother’s suit, but he hasn’t worn it for a while”. I  gave it a try and it fit pretty darned good. I now felt a little  more appropriate.

The Sheriff pointed to the stairs of the Point and said,  “Shall we”. I took my Mother’s urn while Jennifer surprised me by taking my Dad’s urn. It was just as well; the  way I was shaking I don’t think I could have held on to  two urns. “Thanks”, was all I could get out as we went up  the stairs. The breeze picked up some when we got to the  top. The mist had stopped and there were a few breaks in  the clouds.

I walked up to the railing facing the mouth of the  Columbia River with Jennifer at my side when she said,  “I’d be honored to help you if you’d like that way we can

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release both urns at the same time”. She was too good to be  true. I was feeling a little wobbly but managed to nod my  head in agreement.

I opened the top of my Dad’s urn as Jennifer did the  same with my Mother’s. We set the urns on the rail when  I said, “Ignorance is the curse of God, Knowledge is the  wing wherewith we fly to heaven”. Jennifer immediately  replied, “My soul is in the sky”. We looked at each other  and she said, “On three”? I nodded, as she counted one,  two, and three.

We picked up the urns and poured them out over the  railing. A gust of wind came up as we emptied the urns,  and the wind seemed to pick up the ashes and sent them  higher in the sky. It was surreal as the ashes seemed to twist  and turn with the wind, continuing their ascent in the sky. I  know the laws of gravity, but for the life of me, my Parents  ashes kept rising as if reaching for the heavens. The wind  died off to just a breeze, as my parent’s ashes disappeared  out into the horizon. It was all I could do to maintain my  composure when I felt Jennifer’s hand join mine. The feeling of her hand in mine made me feel a lot better. I looked  down at our hands and notice she too was wearing surgical  gloves. She thinks of everything.

The Sheriff had his hat off holding it over his heart  during our mini ceremony and stated, “Well I’ve got to say  that was about a good a sendoff that I’ve been a part of; that  was great Billy”. I could tell Gordon was moved as well.  He didn’t say anything but gave me a thumbs up. I asked  the Sheriff and Gordon if I could have a few minutes with

Jennifer before we left. They said that they would wait for

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us by the car.

Our hands still intertwined as Jennifer said, “That was  Shakespeare wasn’t it”? “It’s the only one I could remember; it was my Mother’s favorite. What about yours”? She  smiled and replied, “Shakespeare also, from A Midsummer  Night’s Dream”. My Mother would be impressed with  someone who could quote Shakespeare. “Where did you  learn that from”, I inquired? She had a sly look on her  face, “It seems some Librarian at High School had recommended it to me for a school project I was working on”.  I returned the smile, “My Mother”? She nodded as she  squeezed my hand with affection.

I took my free hand and pulled out the second flash drive  I had in my pants pocket. “What this”, she asked. I knew the  Sheriff wouldn’t appreciate how long it could take to explain  everything to her, so I gave her the cliff notes version, and  asked if she could figure out what was on it, or if she knew  someone who could. Then I said I would call her later to

further fill her in on Frankie’s activities as well.

“Thank you so much for coming out here, it means a lot”,  as I pulled up her hand to give it a quick kiss. She returned  my gesture with a kiss of my hand. The taste of surgical  gloves left a lot to be desired but in this case it was worth it.  Jennifer surprised me by pulling me in for a hug. She made  sure that our faces didn’t get too close; nothing like a shot  of electricity to kill the mood. I can’t ever remember anything feeling this good and I didn’t want it to end. “Get a  room”, I heard Gordon shout followed by a series of laughs.  The Sheriff followed that remark with a small whack on

the backside of Gordon’s head. “A little respect if you don’t

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mind”, the Sheriff added.

We slowly pulled apart still holding hands, “Sorry about  Gordon, he was so shy yesterday”. “That’s quite alright  Billy I seem to remember being a little shy myself, and  some Librarian informed me that her son was the same

way”. I smile again as I knew that she was referring to my  Mother. “Thanks for asking me here, I wouldn’t of missed  it”. We started walking down the wooden stairs when she  looked at me in a strange manner. “What’s wrong”, I asked.  “ When I wheeled you out of the hospital yesterday the  streak of white in your hair wasn’t as wide as it is today;  looks like you’re going to be all gray here pretty soon”, and  her smile returned.

As we made our way towards the Sheriff and Gordon,  Jennifer said, “I heard about those two people killed dur-ing a robbery right across the street from you”. The Sheriff quickly responded, “How did you hear about it”? A con-fused look came over her face, “I heard it on the radio on the way over here, why”? “She sure works fast”, as he looked at me; referring to Agent Boling. “I’ll fill you in later, that’s not what happened”, I told her. “You make sure you call me later, I’m off today but I work mid shift through Sunday”. “I will and see you soon I hope”. She smiled as said, “Me too”, as she got into her car and pulled out onto Marine Drive.

As sad as the purpose of our visit to the Point was, the end result left me with a warm feeling that I didn’t want to go away. The Sheriff was at the front of the patrol vehi-cle on the phone while Gordon and I leaned on the trunk.  Gordon was the first to break the silence, “Do you think we should tell the Sheriff about Friday night”. “Not just

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yet; when we get back, try and remember everything you  overheard Frankie talking about and don’t leave anything  out. We might be able to stop them ourselves”. Did I just  say that, I don’t remember signing up to be a super hero?  Maybe, just maybe if we can time this right, we can stop  them. Yeah I said we, I just recruited Gordon, and I’ll let  him know later.

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on the phone for a while which  gave Gordon and myself ample time to smoke. He finally  came back towards the back of the patrol car. The scowl on  his face did not put me at ease that things were going okay.  “That was by far the strangest two calls I’ve had”. Gordon  and I just looked at each other. “Okay, I keep forgetting that  while you’re in on this, you really can’t help. So the first call  was some mucked up FBI Person telling me to stay out of  their investigation, due to sensitive issues of security. What  that means is they just fed me a pile of shit so they can continue their cover up”.

“Sounds like whoever called you is partially if not totally responsible for what happened here”. The Sheriff was  astounded by what I just said. “That’s a more than reasonable deduction Billy. Where did you learn stuff like this”?  I shrugged and replied, “From watching Criminal Minds”.  Gordon chuckled and the Sheriff continued. “The second

call was from a guy who said he was with NSA. I had my  doubts until he told me the reason he called me was that his

colleague had given him my number and if I got a call from  him that meant his colleague was dead. He also was given a  copy of what was on the flash drive. He’s going to get back  with me but already has some useful information”.

“What would that be Sheriff”, I asked? He shook his  head, “Not yet Billy at least not until we get more information

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that makes sense of what’s happened here, and I can figure  out how to stop these folks”. He was all business now, pointing to the patrol vehicle. Gordon and I took the hint and got  inside. It was dead silence for a few moments as he turned

right onto Marine Drive until, “That sure was a pretty young  lady Billy. Have you known her long”? “No I met her at the  Hospital, she’s a nurse there”. The Sheriff turned his head in  my direction, “Are you sure she’s a nurse, you remember your  last one”? “No Sir, I’m sure this time, and yeah she is pretty”.

All was quiet as we headed towards what we call the  bend. Once you hit this part of our mini peninsula heading  west, you follow the road for about two miles, and then 180  degrees later you’re heading east and still on the same road.  They call it Marine Drive or Business 101 depending on  who you talk to. It’s a nice drive plus just outside the perimeter of the road is a walking trail which is even a better view  because you’re that much closer to the Ocean. I will definitely have to take Jennifer down there for a walk.

Just as we were started our slow turn around the bend, A  large truck was barreling down the road towards us at high  rate of speed. From my angle it looked like one of those big  city trucks they use for construction and fill the huge bed  with dirt or whatever.

The Sheriff had just noticed the truck which by now was maybe a few hundred yards away. “Oh shit boys, this guy is out of control”, the Sheriff hollered as the truck driver was now in our lane. Every time the Sheriff maneuvered to the other lane, the truck followed suit. It appeared as though the trucks speed was getting even faster, or perhaps it was the fact that he was so damn close. The Sheriff tried one

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more time to get out of the way and of course there was no  place to turn into. The truck was almost on top of us when I  heard Gordon screaming from the back seat and the Sheriff  had closed his eyes and hit the brakes as if that would help  prepare him for impact.