‘‘No,’’ said Volont, speaking for the first time. ‘‘I’ve just come from there. It’s a deterrent, just like we want it to be. The contrast between there and here is marked, and that’s what we want.’’
‘‘So,’’ I said, ‘‘we think they’ll do it today?’’
‘‘A high probability,’’ said Volont.
The transfer of Nola to the courthouse went without a hitch. She was safely in the building at 1121.
The hearing began at 1130. I wasn’t there, but those who were said that Nola kept referring to jurisdictions. In fact, at one point she refused to participate because the U.S. flag by the bench had fringe on it. She claimed that it was an Admiralty flag, and that she was not under the jurisdiction of an Admiralty Court. Right.
I was up at the jail, waiting for Nola’s return. That’s when I expected the shit to hit the fan. I was out on the front steps, avoiding Volont, who had taken over my office for his phone calls, and was sort of looking out of the corner of my eye, to see if I could locate somebody from the special team. I was armed with a cold can of pop in my hand. Now that the sun was out, the little valley where Maitland nestled was developing little patches of fog, especially along the Sparrow River, which runs through the center of the town. It was beautiful. Hot, uncomfortable, but beautiful. I looked at my watch. 1157. The hearing would have been recessed by now, I thought, unless the judge thought he could get it over with in the next thirty minutes. Personally, I’d feel a lot better if we could get Nola back in the jail, no matter what Gabriel had planned. The place was like a fort. I understood that the military sort of made a living of taking forts, but I’d still feel better.
As in so many midwestern towns, the fire sirens went off precisely at noon. You live in tornado country, you like to know they work.
The siren was just winding down then I heard a metallic clang and a booming sound at the same time. Quite some distance away, but with the buildings and the valley, you couldn’t tell where the sound had come from. I listened carefully on my portable but there was no traffic at all. I took another drink of my pop, and the fire sirens started up again. Kept on cycling, up and down, about ten seconds per cycle. Fire.
I turned and started into the building.
‘‘Twenty-five, Maitland!’’ came over the radio. Dispatch calling the local officer.
‘‘Go ahead!’’ He was excited. Always was when there was a fire.
‘‘Small explosion at Farm and Field, possible anhydrous ammonia leaks from damaged tanks!’’
Damn. They were at the lower end of town, almost on the edge, but the light breeze would carry the caustic gas. It tended to sink, but there were probably ten to fifteen homes within a couple of hundred yards of the place. Evacuation… that meant traffic control. It wasn’t like we didn’t have a bunch of cops about, but which ones to release…?
The second explosion was closer, and as I turned in the doorway I could see a fountain of red brick dust rising in the air. The school, or a brick house damned near it.
The third explosion was only a second or two behind, from the opposite end of town, by the highway… an enormous gout of orange flame, surrounded by a thick, oily cloud of smoke. Fuel storage tanks. There were three of them out there, one gasoline, one diesel fuel oil, and one propane gas. It looked like the gasoline had gone.
The fourth explosion was more of a prolonged crackling sound, very loud. I looked toward the courthouse. All the trees along the street, the side opposite the courthouse, were coming down. Most looked like they were falling into the street, completely blocking access to or from the jail. I had seen det cord used before, to fell trees. That’s what this was.
I turned back into the parking lot, got my AR-15 out of the trunk, put it on my front seat, and drove as fast as I could toward the courthouse. Ineffective little red dash light and ineffective little siren under the hood going for all they were worth.
I didn’t say a word on the radio, but there was sure a whole lot of traffic. In my car I was picking up eight channels, and they were all clamoring for attention. I could imagine the 911 board lighting up.
It occurred to me that Gabriel hadn’t had to risk taking out the command center. All he had to do was make it so busy it was ineffective. Worked.
I got about half a block from the courthouse, in time to see about six trooper cars leaving, lights and sirens going, heading toward explosion scenes. They would be able to get to most of them without having to fight the trees in the road on Hill Street, which led to the jail.
There were stunned people coming out of their houses, gazing in wonder at the vegetation in their yards and the street. The press was pouring out of the courthouse, feasting, and dying for more.
I grabbed my rifle, and headed into the courthouse at as good a speed as I could, considering the traffic coming the other way, some of it in uniform. I stopped two troopers, and told them to stay put. It turned out that their sergeant had told them to get toward the school. I brushed by, saw the elevator was packed, and ran up the stairs. That just about did me. I wasn’t used to the boots, the utility belt, the ballistic vest under my shirt, or the exercise.
I got to the top of the long, steep stone stairway and saw one of our reserve officers staring out the window at the other end of the building.
‘‘Mark,’’ I yelled at him, ‘‘look sharp.’’ A deep breath. ‘‘Watch your step.’’ Another deep breath. ‘‘We may have company.’’
‘‘Okay,’’ he hollered back. He had no real idea what I was talking about, but he moved to one side, out of the window, and looked alert.
Only one person, the Clerk of Court herself, remained in the Clerk’s office. Her staff was out looking at all the excitement. Just as I was about to ask her where Nola Stritch was, I saw the county attorney, Nola’s attorney, and the court reporter come out of the courtroom.
‘‘Where’s Nola at?’’ I asked.
They all looked at the rifle in my hand and obviously thought I was nuts. The county attorney just pointed toward the courtroom. I brushed by them and saw that the world had left Nola guarded only by Sally, who had nothing but a can of Mace to defend herself with. They both turned as I came in the room and headed toward them between the gallery.
‘‘Get her to the jury room,’’ I said. ‘‘We’ll sit on her there.’’
‘‘What the shit is going on?’’ asked Sally.
‘‘I think somebody is coming to get her,’’ I said.
Nola just smiled.
‘‘All this for her?’’ asked Sally. ‘‘The explosions, the trees.. .?’’
‘‘I’m ’fraid so,’’ I said, herding them toward the back of the courtroom.
‘‘Well,’’ said Sally, talking to Nola, ‘‘you must be a better lay than you look, honey.’’
‘‘You little bitch,’’ hissed Nola, moving toward Sally.
‘‘Don’t do it Nola,’’ I said. ‘‘We can’t afford to bury you.’’
I kept moving the fighting pair to the jury room door.
Suddenly there was a noise that sounded for all the world like somebody with a set of drumsticks had just played a tattoo on the wall that separated the courtroom from the hallway. Followed by what sounded like a pistol shot. Muffled, but enough for me.
‘‘Get behind the judge’s bench up there!’’ I hollered, pushing both women ahead of me. ‘‘Move, move!’’
Ever since a dude had tried to pull a gun on the judge while court was in session, the clerk had taken to stacking old lawbooks on the other side of the judge’s desk and partition. The bench. Although only thirty-four inches high, it made a pretty effective barricade.
Seeing Sally and Nola going behind the bench, I charged a round into my rifle, and pointed it at the main courtroom door. About a second later, a face in a ski mask peeked around the doorframe, with a long black object just under it. He saw me, and the long, black object suddenly became a submachine gun with a silencer. He fired, and I fired. I missed. He hit me in the belly. I rocked back on my heels, and then ducked down. I looked at my belly. Small hole in my shirt, and a lump in my ballistic vest right behind it. Cool.