Back in uniform, Luca poured himself a cup of coffee in the basement command center at Olympic Division and pondered the events that had unfolded since the lieutenant and Bob Carver had arrived by helicopter to search for them.
Because they were unfamiliar with the terrain of Bob�s ranch and were unable to describe to the owner exactly where they had left the two criminals tied to trees, it had taken several hours of searching to find them. The wrists of both men were chafed and bleeding from trying to break their tethers, but both the handcuffs used on Crowe and the satchel handle used on Phipps had held, much to the chagrin of the captives. Crowe had shouted and screamed himself into hoarseness trying to alert any of his friends who might be nearby, but those efforts had proved futile, and he was humble and actually happy to see them when they arrived to rescue him.
By the time they returned to the ranch house with the two captives, a police captain was there waiting for them, and informed them that they had fast-tracked a sweep of the marijuana field and rounded up most of the workers. The crop would be harvested as evidence when they went to trial, and then destroyed.
Luca smiled, pleased. One more drug cartel out of business, one less shipment of drugs on the streets. It had been a good day.
Turning his attention to his co-workers, he observed Deke seated at his desk talking on the telephone to his wife. Behind him was Jim Street, catching up on some of the paperwork that had been destroyed in the flood. T. J.�s desk was directly in front of his own, and as he watched, T. J. drained the last of his coffee from his mug, and rose for a refill.
As he lifted the coffee pot from the warmer, T. J. smiled, noticing the way Luca was observing the room. �Looks just the same, doesn�t it?�
�Somehow, I thought maybe they�re redecorate or something,� Luca replied. �Except for the clean floor, it looks almost like nothing had happened.�
Somehow, the room didn�t look all that different than it had before the flood. The most noticeable difference was that the floor tiles had been replaced, and they were scrubbed spotless. The desks had been dried and refinished and returned to their original positions. The new weapons were lined up in the arsenal room, and Hondo�s private office was as it had always been.
�Yeah, no coffee stains and no shoe scuffs,� T. J. said.
�And the stain from that little blob of grape jelly that Street dropped from one of Hilda�s jelly rolls is gone. Well,� he added with an amused smile. �After a few emergency runs and a few visits from Hilda, things will soon look normal again!�
T. J. took a sip of coffee, then looked into Hondo�s office. �So, when will Harrelson be back from the courthouse?�
Luca turned over his wrist to view the face of his watch. �Should be any time now, I�d think. Wish we could have gone with him. After all, we�re the one�s who dealt with those guys.�
�That�s exactly why you couldn�t be there yet,� Hondo said, coming down the steps. �You�ll have your day in court when you testify against those guys.� He looked around the room, his eyes resting a moment longer on Street, who sat at his desk methodically copying his paperwork from the damaged sheets. �I see Street is the only one working.�
Luca and T. J. looked at each other, then turned back to Hondo. �We just stopped to get a refill,� Luca protested, holding up his coffee mug as evidence.
�Uh-huh,� Hondo said in a rather teasing tone, indicating that he was not annoyed with them. Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he said, �Okay, gentlemen. �I just got back from the courthouse. Judge Haskell has granted Willis full immunity in exchange for his testimony.�
A chorus of approving exclamations filled the room as Luca, Street, and T. J. voiced their pleasure at the judge�s ruling.
Hondo raised his hand for silence before continuing. �Well, Willis didn�t really do that much that could be considered worthy of prosecution. He was just trying to survive, and made a bad decision which placed him in the middle off that mess. Haskell understands that and recognizes that it is in the best interest of the prosecution to grant the request for immunity.�
�What�ll happen to him now?� Luca asked. �He has no job, no place to live. What�ll become of someone like him?�
�That�s working out also. Bob isn�t going to press charges against Willis for trespassing on his property all these months, and this drug operation has been an eye opener for him about how vulnerable his huge expanse of property is. He�s decided to set up a new business for himself, you see, and he needs some help.�
The three young officers looked at each other, quizzically.
�What kind of help?� Luca asked.
�What kind of business?� Street asked at almost the same time.
�Well, it�ll be sort of a dude ranch where families can book accommodations in the old bunk house, and take trail rides and hay rides, and nature hikes. And after he gets the ponds restocked, there will be fishing.�
�What does all this have to do with Willis?� Luca asked.
�Damn, you�re slow, Dom!� T. J. grinned. �I think he�s saying that Bob has hired Willis as a guide, right?�
�Right,� Hondo said. After all, he does know the property like the back of his hand. And during the off-seasons, Bob will retain him to patrol the property to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.�
�That�s great news,� T. J. said.
�Yes, it is,� Hondo agreed. �And it would also be great news if we could get our paperwork caught up before we leave this evening. Are we all in agreement?�
The three young officers tossed knowing glances at one another as they turned and started back to their desks. Luca suddenly turned back.
�Oh, what about the body of that park ranger?�
Hondo stopped on his way to his private office, and turned to face them again. �Didn�t I tell you?�
�No,� the three officers chorused.
�The identification in the wallet was correct, and his body returned to his family. I think they all knew what the outcome would be if he was ever found, but it never really cushions the blow of finding out the truth, especially something as senseless as this. They told me he was a good man and a good ranger. Everything had gotten so routine that I guess he got a bit careless, and he paid for it with his life. Let�s not let anything like that happen to you boys, okay?�
With a wink, he turned and went into his office, closing the door behind him.
Street, Luca, and T. J. stood quietly for a moment, thinking about the senseless death of the ranger, then all three returned to their desks and picked up their pens to resume their paperwork. Alas, it was not meant to be. The phone on Deke�s desk rang, announcing a hostage situation at a local shopping center. They leaped from their chairs and rushed into the arsenal room to collect their weapons, and rushed up the steps to the waiting SWAT van.
~ finis ~