Shallow Creek

While he sat idle, his brain still spun.  Grant had said he did a lot of customer site visits.  Well, these farmers were probably his customers, so that story more than likely held water.  On the other hand, if someone wanted to participate in illegal activities, there weren’t many spectators or witnesses out here in the sticks.

One man’s paranoia was another man’s common sense, and now that Brendan saw the lay of the land, perpetrating a drug deal in the middle of nowhere made a lot of sense.

He got out of the truck and stood up on the rocker panel to get a view over the top of the short trees blocking his view of the dirt road his brother was traversing.  Well off in the distance he saw the cloud of dust shift and head to his left.  The small pair of binoculars he’d stolen from his dad revealed the roof of a big barn off down that way, so Brendan guessed his brother was heading there.

He didn’t have to wait long for his suspicions to prove correct.  The dust cloud settled over by the buildings.  They stood probably a solid three miles from his current location, and there was no way he was driving his rental down there.  They’d see him coming immediately, if anyone cared to watch.  Instead, he got back in his truck, drove past the entrance to the side road, and then ditched the truck behind some big bushes sitting just back from the pavement.  He’d hidden vehicles more proficiently in his past life, but honestly, the traffic on these little farm roads was light enough that he doubted anyone would notice it, and even if they did, why would they care?  It was out of plain sight for anyone approaching from the same direction Brendan had come, and that was the only way in from the main highway.

His boots crunched loudly on the caliche as he jogged down to where he estimated his brother had turned off.  The noise stood out like a fart in church, but he knew it was just an illusion caused by the prodigious silence.  The lack of ambient sound really got to some people, but these country folk relished it.  Moving to the city would be like having elephants trample through their house all day long.

It was a nice day for a jog, but the dry dust eventually clogged his throat.  His time in the sandbox now seemed even better spent.  Who’d have thought running around in Desolation, Afghanistan would help him sneak up on his brother in the middle of Nowhere, Texas?

He found the turnoff easily since it was the only turn, right where the road dead-ended.  A peek around the tall grass running along the barbed wire fence revealed a straight shot up a dirt road to a large barn and a farmhouse.  Both were offset to one side of the road, so he could probably get halfway down the path before he needed to climb the fence and cut through the fields to avoid detection.

Ah, to hell with it.  He darted across the road entrance and hopped the fence into some tall, dried grass.  Apparently the landowner didn’t keep up with his fields, because even Brendan could tell they looked rough and neglected.  He trudged along, keeping low to the ground, and staying close to the fence, which gave him an easy reference point for his location.

When he eventually ran out of field and found himself looking at the barbed wire fence dividing his field from the buildings dead ahead, he paused and counted six vehicles, including his brother’s truck.  That meant quite a few people were around.  He couldn’t see or hear any, which was strange, because the place wasn’t that big.  A shiny new tractor stood at attention outside the main doors to the barn, but it didn’t even look used.

Brendan kept watch from a low crouch until he was satisfied no one was outside.  After taking a few steps slowly away from the fence, to get more grass cover in front of him, Brendan cut to his right and then followed the fence around to get a view of the back side of the barn.  All was clear, so Brendan settled in to wait, something his time in Force Recon had taught him well.  The first time they’d done extended reconnaissance training, him and a buddy had traded twelve-hour shifts for days, lying perfectly still, not even moving to piss.  And all they had to do was watch.  Most people would think that was easy enough, but try watching the same damn thing for twelve-hours every damn day.