Warlock of Omaha

Warlock of Omaha By Hemaccabe Chapter 14 On the Road Again ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Warlock of Omaha

By Hemaccabe

Chapter 14 On the Road Again

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

Travis was not a bundle of emotion, but he loved that knife and that made me feel good. He was getting about as far back as one might hope. Jake was making good progress towards his GED.

One day, as I wasted time puttering around the forge trying to figure what to do next, Travis dropped by.

"I'd like to run by my cabin and get some stuff. Even if I'm not gonna stay there." He said.

"Okay," I answered. "It's not like you have to ask permission."

"I just figured you'd want us to stay together as a group?" He answered questioningly.

Well that made sense.

It was February. While cold, the roads were clear. Truth was, I hadn't been out much lately. The idea of a road trip sounded good. I needed some time to think anyway as I considered my next project.

I had a handful of items on the table. I had Big Baby roughly half way to done. I was thinking about what I might do with a second-generation axe. I was also trying to figure out how I might use my amazing new forge skills to improve our gear. To be honest, my gear. Most of my gear was made of plastic and ceramic. There was some steel in my firearms but not exactly appropriate to forging.

I called Jake and asked him if he wanted to come. He wanted. I let the girls know we'd be leaving the next day at eight. I packed a grip. Put Baby and my shotgun in the truck. My Dodge has something called Ramboxes which run down the length of the bed and provide lockable storage. Mopar sells a rack for the Ramboxes to hold rifles. I loaded some ammo as well.

The next morning Travis rolled up at seven fifty in the Jeep truck with Jake. We convoyed over to the Costco and topped off then headed south on I-29. We got to Kansas City just after eleven and stopped for some que for lunch. Then we headed down to Branson. It was a quiet drive with plenty of time for thinking. Jake spelled both of us driving. It made sense to bring both vehicles, we'd be able to bring more crap back and while one field trip was nice, the fewer round trips after this the better. I didn't want to push it. The drive gave Jake and me some good time to talk. I reviewed his math and gave pointers. Jake also got time to talk to Travis. They included me in that conversation by cell phone which was nice.

We checked into a nice hotel in Branson for the evening, then we went and got a nice steak dinner, took in a show and settled in for the evening. Before we went to sleep in the suite, I checked my report. The day before I had ordered a patrol of the cabin by Dark Glass security. It wasn't as expensive, per man, as the detectives. The guys they would send would be, merely, former Green Beret, Marine Force Recon, SEAL-type guys. There would be a team of eight, they would stay out of sight and just sweep to make sure El Compost Mage didn't have any nasty surprises waiting for us.

The report described the area as deserted and safe.

We got up the next morning and went for some breakfast. Travis ate solidly, but nowhere near as much as Jake and me. We got in our trucks and drove the last hour over to Travis' cabin.

I had led the way down to Branson, but since Travis knew the way to his cabin, it made more sense for him to lead, so I followed. I was thinking about how much grunt work would be involved. I really had no idea what Travis had in that cabin that he wanted to bring, was it a bag of clothes, a chest of personal things, a grand piano? I was also worrying about lunch. I needed to eat a lot more these days to feel okay. His Cabin would be out in the middle of nowhere. We'd be lucky to be back to civilization by evening. Maybe I should signal a stop to get a cooler full of snacks and sandwiches?