Page 60 of Nomad

“I know,” he interrupted. “You’ve got somebody else to think about. Did you see the six o’clock news?”

“No.”

“Brenda,” Brash turned to where she was working over the sink, “did you record the six o’clock news?”

“Sure did. Figured there’d be somethin’ about Cann on.”

“I’m takin’ this girl out to the bar then.”

“Okay.” She looked over her shoulder at Bud. “I start cookin’ breakfast at seven.”

“I’ll be here,” Bud said.

There were three big screen TVs in the bar and lounge area of the clubhouse that were synced by AV control. That system had nothing to do with the bank of sixteen screens showing camera angles of every inch of the building exterior, gates, and periphery of the compound.

What was currently playing on the three big screens was the firstJohn Wick.

Without asking for permission, Brash claimed the remote that was velcroed to the back wall of the bar so that the bartender always had final say, and accessed the evening news as recorded a couple of hours earlier.

KXAN headline was about the arrest of Cannon Johns and the extraordinary story of rescuing a young woman and her unborn child.

Seeing Johns put in handcuffs threatened to bring tears to her eyes all over again. It was the first time she’d seen herself on TV. Her reaction was a strange mix of fascination and embarrassment, but overall, she thought she’d done a fair job of leaving the impression that Johns was not just an innocent man, but a modern day knight.

What came next were the scenes Brant had described. More crowds like the ones in Del Rio. Only bigger. As Brant had said there were two locations where people were gathering, the District Court and the capitol.

The next item was a surprise. It was her father standing in front of the Austin Ranger office being interviewed by local press. Flashes were going off so fast that it almost mimicked rapid fire weapons.

“Mr. McIntyre, have you changed your accusation that Cannon Johns kidnapped your underage daughter?”

The man looked both stony and bitter. “It was all a misunderstanding.”

“But he still transported a minor across an international border without documentation of permission. That’s a very serious offense.”

“What the judge decides about that is out of my hands.”

“Have you spoken to your daughter since you saw her at Del Rio?”

“No,” he said simply, and walked away with people firing questions at him.

Brash handed the remote to Eric so that he could find his place inJohn Wickand restart his movie.

“How serious is it?” she asked Brash. “The crossing border thing.”

Brash shrugged. “It’ll be up to the judge, but judges have motives that can be massaged just like everybody else.”

Bud stared again. “Wow. I don’t think I want to be on the wrong side of you guys.”

Brash gave her a blinding smile. “You don’t. And darlin’, I know you don’t mean anything by it, but if my wife sees you lookin’ at me like that you’re gonna find out why redheads have a reputation for temper.” Bud gaped. “It’s okay. I get it a lot. Just so you know. There’s another guy who comes around here sometimes, looks a whole lot like me. Also married.”

Arnold was walking by when he said that and corrected, “He doesn’t look a whole lot like you. He looksexactlylike you.”

Brash shrugged. “Identical twins.” While Bud tried to picture that, he went on. “Stop worryin’ about Cann. It’s all gonna be fine.” He chuckled. “Except that he may find that celebrity doesn’t sit well with him.”

“Celebrity,” she repeated, taking on a whole new worry she hadn’t considered before. “You mean like people stopping him on the street?”

“Yeah.” Brash grinned. “Like that. If it happens, it won’t be a bad thing. Right now he’s adored by the multitudes. He just may not like being recognized by strangers. He’s been livin’ under the radar for a long time.”

It wasn’t hard to comprehend what Brash meant. “You don’t think he’ll, um, run again, do you?”

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