The Law and Dan Mesa by Dan Sears Read Free Book Online

of them and shakes his head and says, “Meana is crazy if he attacks you people. I wouldn’t attack you for all the money in the world. Carlos was always a little crazy. He only attacks if he is sure he can win. Someone has told him something that makes him believe he has the upper hand. However, don’t ever underestimate Carlos Meana. He is a very treacherous and dangerous man.”
    Nadia looks at Jonathan and smiles.
    “I love you, honey, so don’t let anything happen to you or me.”
    The group continues down I-64, finally reaching Saint Louis, Missouri, and connecting with Highway 67 south to take them through southern Missouri and northern Arkansas and into Little Rock. There they will change to I-40.
    It has been three days since they left Richmond, and they have had no trouble yet. Everyone is becoming edgy, because they know it is coming. It is only a matter of time. Dan sees a rest stop and decides to stop. He pulls into the rest stop and turns the wheel over to Jonathan.
    “They are behind us,” he said, “so we’d better face them here.”
    Mesa and Scotty go outside to meet the trouble. Scotty carries the Thompson, and Mesa carries two side arms, a 9-mm, and a .357 magnum. Two cars pull in and immediately stop, assessing the situation. Slowly, they ease forward, and Mesa and Scott step out to meet them.
    The shooting starts, and when the smoke clears, one car is on fire and the other is shot full of holes. Neither Ortiz nor Mesa is scratched. They walk ahead and stop to examine each man. After close examination, they find that no one is dead, but all of the men are banged up severely.
    “Who is in charge of this group? You’d better speak up now.”
    A tall lanky gentleman says, “I am Peter Whitfield, and I am in charge. What do you want?”
    “I am Ranger Dan Mesa of the Arizona rangers, and you just committed a felony by attacking and trying to kill a law enforcement officer. However, you are not the ones I want. I want the crowd in Washington, DC, and the ones in Tucson. I suggest you go back to whoever hired you and tell them you weren’t up to the job. If I see you again, I will shoot you on sight. There isn’t anything this side of hell that will stop me. Now turn this hunk of junk around and get out of here.”
    As the assassins turn to leave, one tries his hand and reaches for a gun, suddenly the calm is shattered by gunfire again. Mesa walks into the melee steadily shooting, killing one, and seriously injuring another.
    “Is there another of you who’d like to try his hand at killing me?”
    An Oriental fellow steps out and says, “I don’t believe you are as tough as they say you are, and I intend to prove it. Let’s see how tough you really are.”
    He takes a karate stance. Mesa tosses his weapons to Scott, loosens his tie, and takes it off. They circle each other, and his opponent tries a roundhouse kick. Mesa steps in and blocks the kick. He grabs his opponent’s ankle and twists hard, breaking the ankle. In one motion, he kicks the man in the testicles and smashes his knee with short, sharp, breaking kick. He drops the man’s leg and steps away, reaching for his gun and strapping it on. He turns and walks away.
    He and Scott load into the motor home and drive away. No one says a word. As Jonathan drives, slowly everyone relaxes. Nadia makes coffee and pours brandy into Dan’s coffee. She turns toward him, and he notices a tear in her eye. He gets up and takes the steering wheel, telling Jonathan to look after Nadia.
    He drives down the highway as solemn as a church mouse.
    Scott turns to Dan and says, “You really are hell on wheels. When did you learn karate?”
    “Scotty, I never learned it. What I know, I picked up from watching you and observing others. I hate fighting, but when I have to fight, I fight to win, and I won’t be merciful. This is being forced upon me; I will do what is necessary to accomplish my job.”
    “Dan, I have known you for over thirty years, and