"Enough, everyone, quiet down!" Sheriff Ben Shoei slammed the table, and the room fell silent. He gestured for Jack and Jan, who had stopped pacing upon seeing Jack, to sit down, then continued speaking.
"Our ancestors were forced onto this land. They lost everything and had nothing, struggling to survive on this barren soil. It wasn't fair, but we accepted it."
"Yes, we couldn't change anything. We fought back, we struggled, but the plagues still spread across this land, and alcohol and drugs have ravaged our young people. There is no fairness here, but we still accepted it."
"But what do these bastards think of us? They've been abusing our children at will. The Lambert girl is still underage, and the Hansen boy just turned 18."
"And maybe there are more. Over the years, how many children have gone missing in the snowfields of the reservation? You all know this better than I do."
"If these bastards consider this place a lawless land, then we'll show them what true wilderness really is."
After the sheriff's speech, the deputy sheriff and his officers all nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, let's take down those bastards."
"Show them what we're made of."
"Isn't it a bit inappropriate to say this in front of me?" Jan weakly protested.
Jack shot her a sidelong glance and asked in a calm tone, "So, how would you Floridians handle something like this?"
Earlier, Jan had mentioned she was from Fort Lauderdale, the second-largest port city in Florida, known for its annual college spring break. Jack was curious to see how someone from a place with Florida's "charming" reputation would respond.
"Of course, we'd cut off their... parts, stuff them down their throats, then chop them up and throw them into the swamp to feed the gators. Or maybe hang them upside down on a yacht, slice open their veins to attract sharks, and let them be torn apart bit by bit."
Everyone fell silent.
"Alright, alright, I was just kidding. I'm just as angry as you are. These bastards didn't even spare the FBI, but can't we find a way to throw them all in jail?"
It was clear Jan was genuinely shocked. She hadn't expected the security guards to be so ruthless, ready to kill the moment they realized they were under suspicion.
Jack didn't know what exactly happened to the main characters Falcon and Scarlet Witch in the original story, but being the leads, one of them probably survived, at least. Considering Falcon's weapon—a Marlin 1895 lever-action rifle with a terrifying caliber, rumored to be capable of killing a dinosaur—those security guards likely didn't meet a pleasant end.
As for the tribal police, who were also secondary characters, Jack's gaze swept over Sheriff Ben Shoei, Deputy Sheriff Brandt, and the other officers. If the original story included a similar scenario, how many of them would have survived?
Having mentally sentenced the security guards to death, Jack began considering a plan while explaining things to Jan.
"In fact, there's not much we can do. If they committed the crimes in those mobile cabins, even if we found enough evidence during a search, we'd be tied up in jurisdictional disputes for years."
"Not to mention we'd never find proof that they kidnapped those girls. There aren't any surveillance cameras at any intersection around here."
"I even suspect that if you managed to get a search warrant and brought a team of FBI agents to the drilling camp, all you'd find would be the charred remains of the buildings."
"Corey, who's been monitoring the area, mentioned they've prepared a large amount of fuel behind the cabins. Most of these guys are dumb, but the leader is definitely smart."
"You're obviously smarter than all of them put together. You saved all of our lives earlier—why not tell us your plan, Mr. 'On Vacation'?" Deputy Sheriff Brandt threw out a flattering comment that made Jack feel quite pleased.
"My plan is to grab the dumbest one of them, question him thoroughly, and find out exactly how many crimes they've committed."
Jack's plan wasn't complicated. Initially, he had intended just to spook them and see if their reactions revealed anything. But the security guards' extreme response—resorting to murder to cover their tracks—seemed over the top for just this one case.
That meant the original plan of having Braxton infiltrate their ranks was no longer feasible. The intent would be too obvious and might get him killed.
However, Braxton had mentioned a "loudmouth" named Pete, who seemed like a suitable point of entry. The key now was how to isolate him without alerting the others and get him to talk as quickly as possible.
Even though everyone had initially discussed taking justice into their own hands, it wouldn't be wise to drag the loyal tribal police or Jan, who had only been a federal agent for a few months, into such a mess for the sake of these rapists.
Jack always aimed for both procedural and outcome-based justice, so while calming down the angry sheriff and his men, he also called Chris—there was no hesitation when it came to calling for backup, especially since this involved his sister-in-law's family.
Chris would need about two days to drive up from Los Angeles with his gear. In the meantime, Jack, Braxton, and Corey Lambert took turns monitoring the drilling camp 24/7.
They carefully avoided the camp's surveillance cameras, wearing white cloaks and lying in the snow with binoculars, watching the guards' every move.
The FBI and tribal police's earlier "visit" and the failed ambush had made the security guards uneasy for several days. They stopped going out at night to drink at the town's bars, and even when they went out to buy groceries, they moved in groups of at least four.
Two would go into the store, while the other two stayed in the car, fully armed with AR rifles at their feet, warily watching for any signs of trouble—just like the U.S. military back in Afghanistan.
At Jack's direction, two tribal police officers even staged an "accidental" encounter with them. What started as exchanging trash talk quickly escalated into a fistfight.
Finally, the old sheriff "timely" arrived and harshly scolded the tribal officers, who retreated "humiliated," leaving the arrogant security guards to celebrate their victory.
Two days later, with the arrival of Chris and the addition of Martin Hansen—Ellie and Natalie's father—the number of people watching the camp increased to five, making the shifts much easier.
Justin had also come along with Chris.
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