A Flicker of Doubt - Tim Myers [67]
Heather said, “Sorry, we didn’t bring the key with us. We’re waiting for an injunction to stop you.”
That’s not going to happen, lady. You’d better hope you find the key.”
“We’re not leaving,” I said.
“We’ll see about that”
He turned to the man on the nearest bulldozer and said, “Run them down.”
The operator looked at him like he was insane. “Come on, Mr. Kirk, you know I can’t do that.”
“Then get out of the seat so I can. They’re here illegally, and I’m sick of these tree-huggers trying to stop every job we take on.”
The operator climbed out of the seat and Kirk took hit place. This is your last chance to unlock yourselves and go home like good little boys and girls.”
“We can’t” I said, a little too loudly in the quiet round us. “She told you, we don’t have the key.”
“Then I suggest you find it and fast”
He started the dozer up, and I could feel the ground rumble under us as it approached. The blade looked huge at it came closer and closer, and I could see chunks of caked dirt clinging to its steel teeth. At ten feet away, I kept thinking he was bluffing, but by the time he was within five feet of us, I knew we were all going to die. The man had a crazed look in his eyes, as if he’d been waiting his entire career to run somebody over with a bulldozer. He was less than twenty-four inches torn us when the dozer stopped and the engine died. I was between Heather and Sanora, and we’d held hands automatically as the bulldozer had approached. They’d each squeezed so hard, I wasn’t sure I’d ever get the feeling back in my hands, even if we somehow managed to live through the dozer assault.
Kirk jumped down from the tractor. “You people disgust me.” He spat on the ground in front of me, barely missing my shoe.
“Runion doesn’t own this land,” I said.
“What are you talking about?”
“He doped up the owner so he could trick him into selling. That’s a crime, and if you do anything under his orders, you’re just as guilty as he is.” I didn’t know where I stood on legal grounds, but the morality of what I said was real enough.
“I don’t know anything about that,” he said grudgingly. “All I know is that we’re being paid to clear this land and haul off whatever we find.”
He turned to one of his men and said, “Bring me the bolt cutters. They’re in the back of my truck.” Then he said to us, “I’ve got a job to do, and until Mr. Runion comes and cancels it himself, these trees are coming down. If you won’t unlock that thing, I’ll do it for you.”
“Mr. Kirk? I can’t find them,” one of his men called out.
“Blast it all to Baal, do I have to do everything myself?” He stormed back to his truck, and I noticed the roughnecks giving him plenty of room, though he was a good fifty pounds lighter than most of them.
I asked Heather, “What do we do now?”
“We resist,” she said “Once he cuts the chain, we go limp on the ground. We have to make them carry off.”
“So we’re beaten,” Sanora said.
There’s only so much we can do,” Heather said. They dragged us away from the theater, too, but at least we tried.”
I felt both women tighten their grips on my hands gain as Kirk approached with a pair of huge red bolt cutters. He was just about to shear the lock when I heard a police siren in the background. I said, “Here comes the cavalry. I wouldn’t do that if I were you, you’re in enough trouble as it is.”
“I didn’t lay a finger on you,” Kirk said.
Sheriff Morton himself drove up, and Cragg got out of the front seat of the squad car before it even came to complete stop. The attorney said, “Who’s in charge here?”
Kirk looked as though he wanted to deny it, but he finally said, “I am.”
“This order states that you must cease and desist all operations until the sale of this land can be properly investigated.”
The foreman didn’t even look at the document. Kirk turned to his men and said, “Load them up, boys; we’re going back to the shop.”
There were several groans from his people, but they did as they were told. Kirk himself climbed up onto the bulldozer in front of us, and I didn’t breathe again until it was heading safely back