TYRANT: The Rise Read Online Free

returned to the back side of the courthouse. When she perceived the bus was heading towards the Mississippi River, she gazed towards the bridge in utter dismay and terror. Parked there, on the bridge from Missouri to Illinois, was a convoy of armored black and white United Nations busses, HMMWVs, and escort vehicles. Under the bridge, as far as her eyes could see, heading north up the river, was a fleet of UN tugboats and shipping-container barges.
    Jess, now afraid, ran back to the access hatch and began her rapid descent down the stairs. It was too late for her to realize that she should have checked her “six” on her descent to the floor. The last thing she saw as she turned around was a young man, in black tactical fatigues and a blue helmet, as he struck her forehead with the butt-stock of his weapon, rendering her unconscious.

CHAPTER V
    Gorham, Illinois, October 23
    Ash was usually the first person to wake up, as his two dogs enjoyed nudging his face first thing in the morning. He enjoyed lying there in the fall morning and sniffing the moisture in the air. There was something special about it that made his morning brighter. Maybe it was reminiscing about the way he and his father used to wake up early and drink coffee just before they went out to the taxidermy shed. He didn’t mind being a taxidermist with his father, but he did enjoy his dogs. He had a natural way with them and that connection is what drove him into working as a canine trainer for Jackson County Sheriff’s Department.
    On this particular morning he was awake before his dogs went through their morning ritual. Something about what Nathan and Todd had seen excited him.
    Every member of the SIHG had their own house in the small country town. Each claimed a house after it remained vacant and was determined to be available. The only rule was that they all had to be within hearing distance and line of sight.
    “I wonder where those barges were headed,” Ash said to himself, “and what is in those containers.”
    Ash threw the blankets off his body and jumped out of bed as if in one motion. He had a bad idea that he knew would probably get him in trouble. He wanted to ride north, along the river, to see what he could find out about those barges. He knew that the idea to do it as a group wouldn’t be approved, so he wrote out a letter and stuck it on the guard-shack door when he knew the patrol would be away.
    Ash saddled a horse and began his long trek north. Both his dogs were running alongside him, which he didn’t mind, but he preferred having them keep watch over the group. On this occasion, he thought it would be best to have the extra security along for the ride.
    The rest of the group went about their daily routines, except that this time, Nathan was handed a piece of paper with scribbles on it. Zig’s wife, Karen, was on watch at the time Ash departed, and she handed Nathan the note.
    Nathan grabbed the note from Karen’s hand and read it out loud: “Gang, headed north to gather intel on river convoy, Ash.”
    “When did you find this?”
    “A couple hours ago. It was attached to the guard-shack door.”
    “Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?”
    “I don’t know. I guess I figured he could take care of himself and you already have enough on your plate,” Karen said.
    “This ain’t good,” Nathan exclaimed. “I’ve got to get Todd and Denny together. Hopefully Ash is safe and he hasn’t been hurt or, worse, killed.”
    Nathan rode to the northwest checkpoint and approached Todd. Before his horse came to a stop, Todd was asking, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
    “Funny,” Nathan said, and continued, “Ash took off early this morning. Apparently he left a note on the guard-shack door that he was headed north up the river to spy on the tugs and their contents.”
    “You gotta be kiddin’ me,” Todd said.
    “Grab your horse. We need to head north too if we’re going to have any hope of keeping him out of