The Reinvention Of Rudd Carter. A Western Action Adventure Novel Read Online Free Page B

awakened Rudd.
    “Mr. Carter, my father would like to meet with you in the dining room at one o’clock today. Are you all right with that?”
    Rudd took a moment to clear his head. “Is that you, Len?”
    “Yes, sir. Good morning, sir.”
    “Good morning, Len. Please tell Mr. Mosier I’ll be there at one. Thank you.”
    Having gotten eight hours of good sleep, he felt rested and ready to hear more about Desert Revolt. He arose, shaved, dressed, and prepared for his meeting. As he shaved, he pondered the evening before and all the enticements that had been presented to him in an attempt to persuade him to sign on with Ben Mosier and company. The offer was generous, the accommodations were comfortable, the food was bearable, and the entertainment was more than lovely. He planned to learn everything he could about this plan of theirs.
    He entered the dining room at noon and was surprised to see Ben sitting at a table with a Mexican man, not the two business partners from the day before. Joining them, Ben introduced him to the Chief of Police of Mexicali, Ernesto Fuentes. He sat down and motioned for the waiter to come over.
    Ben wasted no time in getting the meeting started. “I wanted you to meet Ernie today because I’ve thought of another way to sweeten the deal for you. When we control Northern Baja and have people crossing the border to take advantage of our facilities, we are going to need a sizable police force to keep law and order. I would like you to recruit as many of your men as possible to be constables in our New Mexicali, the capital of Baja Del Norte. You would be working with Chief of Police Ernie, here, to provide the muscle he might need at any given time.”
    “I must admit, Ben, you’re making it very difficult for me to turn my back on you,” Rudd said. “Of course, the main consideration is going to be how much money anyone could expect to make as a policeman or constable.” He paused and laughed. “Constable. That has a nice English ring to it. Mexico is not known for its high-paid police.”
    “I understand your concern.” Ben nodded agreeably. “Your men will be the highest paid policemen in the world today, paid enough to give them the incentive to spend a lot of it at the tables, restaurants, and hotels.” He sat back, reached for his humidor, extracted a cigar, bit off an end, and struck a match under the table to light it.
    Chief of Police Fuentes, a stocky, well-built man somewhere in his forties, leaned forward. “I welcome the opportunity to discuss having you and your men as a military backup to my police force,” he told Rudd with barely a trace of a Mexican accent. “At your leisure, I would be happy to show you our city and share with you some of our plans.”
    “I’d like to stop by your office in the morning and take you up on your offer, Chief Fuentes… you know, your American is better than mine. Where were you educated?”
    “I was born in East Los Angeles, and my parents insisted I attend college. They both worked very hard to help me get my education. After I graduated, I worked for a while as a police officer in L.A. before I met and married a Mexican girl. I applied for a position in Mexicali and worked my way up to chief. I have dual citizenship.” Fuentes stopped long enough to take a long look at Rudd. “Is that an English accent I detect? Are you from England?”
    “I left England thirty years ago and have never been back. I worked out of Hong Kong until the Mexican Revolution, and most recently I’ve been living in the San Francisco Bay area. Most people think I’m Australian, and that’s all right with me. I’ve worked hard to get rid of my stuffy upper-class British accent.”
    The waiter took their orders, and they spent the rest of lunch in small talk. Rudd liked Fuentes and felt they could become good friends.
    That evening, anxious to see Kathryn again, Rudd went to the dining room for dinner. He found a table close to the stage, seated