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Pulling onto the base property, he and his passengers, Spencer and Henry, inspected the area. He noticed heavy equipment, piles of dirt, and stacks of building materials. The workers were gone from the site and they were to meet the general manager, Baxter Fenshaw.
“Look around for the construction office.”
Henry was the first to see it. “It’s to the right by the gigantic tree.”
The faded yellow trailer was parked under the largest tree on the grounds at this point. Made sense; it was a likely a hot box out here during the day. He glanced in the mirror and saw the dust whirling around behind him, obscuring their other teammates.
He pulled his truck to a stop in front of the trailer and waited while the dust settled.
A robust man emerged from the trailer and stood on the metal steps leading up to the door. His enormous hands were tucked up to the second knuckle in his front pockets. His white hair gleamed in the sunshine, his tanned face a stark contrast to his light hair.
Tate stepped from his truck and his teammates followed suit as they approached the man, who he assumed was Fenshaw.
He held his hand out as he neared the top step, their boots clomping up the metal stairs. “Tate Vickers.”
The man grabbed his hand in a firm grip and pumped it enthusiastically. “Baxter Fenshaw. Nice to meet you.” He stepped aside and motioned toward the door. “Please go on in, it’s cooler in there.”
Tate entered the trailer first and listened as each teammate introduced themselves to Baxter.
The room was what he’d call organized chaos. There were plans laid out on a long table against the far wall and others pinned to the wall above it. Photographs and drawings were stuck to the wall in various places, depicting the finished product.
The room filled with the seven of them, but there were chairs at the back of the long room and his teammates found their seats at Baxter’s urging.
“Now then.” He sat behind the old wooden desk and moved stacks of papers. Tate took the chair directly in front of the desk but moved it aside, so his teammates could see Baxter. “I’m not sure what information you’ve received, and I’ve heard that you met the worst of the BRR yesterday.” Baxter leveled his gaze at him. “Looks like your truck took some heat.”
“Yes, sir.”
“I’ve got the name of a garage that’ll do good work for you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“We’ve begun construction on the communications infrastructure. We laid pipe and pulled wires only to have them sons-a-bitches blow it up. They didn’t blow all of it up and we’ve now repaired or replaced most of what they damaged. But I believe they’ll do it again.”
Maya scooted forward in her chair. Her long dark hair pulled up in her usual ponytail. She was slight of frame, one of the most mentally strong people he knew. “Why are they focusing on the base?”
Baxter grinned at her, then frowned. “For some strange reason, they believe they own this land. Claim they’ve owned it for years.”
“I thought they owned the mountain they call Hickory Hills.”
Baxter grabbed a rolled-up map standing in the corner behind his desk and spread it out in front of him. “If you’d all like to come over here, I’ll show you what they think. At least as near as I can tell.”
Tate and his teammates all stood and gathered around the desk. He and Maya scooted behind the desk next to Baxter to make room.
Baxter pointed to the hill on the map. “This is Hickory Hill. That’s what they named it. Its actual name, back in the day, was Sugar Maple Mountain. It’s the largest population of the sugar maple, which is what the BRR use for their elixir. But they wanted control of it and nothing to do with anything the US decided, and that also meant the name.”
They nodded, and Baxter continued. His finger slid down the map to the base of the mountain. “This is where we are. They’ve decided that since this property starts on the other side of this road,” his finger drew along the bottom of the mountain, “that this is theirs and by extension, so is the rest of this property. The mayor has asked them for documentation as to their ownership and they’ve provided none.”
Adelaide stood directly in front of Baxter. She and Maya were similar enough to look like sisters. “How did they get ownership of the mountain to begin with?”
“Great question, Adelaide. Sixty years ago, when Everett Howard Sr. led his folks up the mountain and started the war that led to them defecting and setting up residence there, his father owned that land up there. Though they’ve not paid the taxes in those sixty years due to a tax deferment. Now that the town council has decided to call the deferment, the mood is changing. If it comes to the town actually going up there to remove them, it will be bloody. The people are tough. They live on the land. They hunt and build their own homes and structures with rudimentary equipment, and they have a hardened edge to them from years of built-up hate toward the townspeople. This is largely why they’ve let them be all these years. So, they believe because Everett’s father had a deed, they have a deed. And that may be true, but legally, it hasn’t been tended to.”
Aidyn pointed at the map. “But the road is only about two feet on this side of the mountain.”
“That’s the truth. But, when the war settled and the state of Kentucky let them have the mountain, they claimed their boundaries were the black roads that led to the mountain roads. Black Road Resistance. Since this black road is on their land, no matter what the survey says, they are claiming it. It feels like another war is about to break out over it.”
Tate took in a deep breath. “You don’t look old enough to have been alive during the first war with the resistance. But have you heard all the stories?”
“All my life. My father lost a hand in that war. My uncles all fought in it. There is bitterness down here as much as up there. But, as time has gone on, life has improved for us down here. Life has largely stayed the same up there. At least as far as we can tell.”
