Page 16 of So Far Gone

There was a Gadsden Flag in the window of the truck, and a sticker on its tailgate that at first Rhys thought was an old email logo, until he read it more closely and saw that AOL actually stood for “Army Of the Lord.” He looked back at the two men and noticed, underneath the jacket of the one with the goatee: the black strap of a shoulder holster.

“Asher! Leah!” The tall, bald man strode over. “There you are. Your dad has been worried sick about you!”

“That’s Shane’s friend, Brother Dean,” Leah said to Kinnick. Then, louder, to the approaching men: “This is our Grandpa Rhys. He’s an author. He lives off the grid.”

“Hello, sir,” the bald man said as he finished crossing the parking lot. “We can take it from here. Shane asked us to pick up his kids at his apartment today. Their neighbor said you might be bringing them here.”

“I really have to use the bathroom,” Asher said. He was shifting his weight from boot to boot again.

“Come on,” Brother Dean said. “We’ll go see if we can use their bathroom and then we can get out of here and call your dad, tell him you’re okay. How’s that sound?”

“He’s signed up to play in this chess tournament today,” Kinnick said.

“Is he?” asked Brother Dean. “Well, shoot, his father doesn’t know if that’s such a good idea right now. What with his mother running off and all.” He looked down at Asher. “Your dad asked me to watch you for a couple of days, until he gets back from his trip. Then you and your father and Pastor Gallen can pray about chess later. How’s that sound, bud?”

Rhys considered the two men. There was nothing overtly threatening about them. But where did he know the bald one from? It wasn’t a good memory. Still, he wasn’t sure what he should do.

“Mrs. Gaines asked me to watch them,” Rhys said.

“Yeah, that wasn’t appropriate,” said Brother Dean. “Shane is none too happy about her doing that without his permission. I told her so myself.”

“Please,” Asher said, squinting his eyes shut.

“I’m taking him to the bathroom,” Kinnick said.

“I’ll take him,” Brother Dean said.

“We’ll all go,” Kinnick said.

“No,” Brother Dean said. “We won’t.”

Kinnick could see the pain on Asher’s face. “Fine. Take him.” He turned to Leah. “You want to go with them?”

Dean took the children into the church. The other man stayed, staring at Kinnick, who had the feeling he was beingguarded.

When they were gone, the man with the goatee said, “We know all about you.” His smile was edged with jutting eyeteeth.

“Yeah? Well, I know about you, too. I used to get my email from AOL. What’s the name of your secret lair, MySpace?”

The smile disappeared.

“Naziscape?”

“Shane said I should watch out, that you’re a sucker puncher. Are you a sucker puncher, Mr. Father-in-Law?”

“Depends.” Kinnick could feel the blood rising.

“Think you’re so smart. You don’t seem so smart to me. You gonna sucker punch me, smart guy?”

But Brother Dean emerged with Leah and Asher before anyone could punch anyone. Kinnick and the man with the goatee watched them walk across the parking lot.

“Today is theadultchess tournament,” said Asher when he arrived, clearly disappointed. “We got ’em mixed up. The kids’ tournament is next month.”

“Well, I’ll tell you what, we’ll come back,” Kinnick said. He turned to Brother Dean. “You’re not taking them.”

Dean narrowed his eyes. “Yes. I am. You don’t have a choice in this. Theirfatherasked me to watch them until he gets home.”

“Well, then, I’m going with you,” Rhys said.

---