The Holt Compound

[wideeyedone]

Jane Holt had spent almost her whole life on the compound. Her father, Tom Holt, was the leader of the Independence Militia, located on a sprawling ranch in East Texas. Over a dozen families lived on the compound including her own. The children on the compound took part in home school.

Jane was almost twenty, and free from the constraints of home school. Her father's group didn't have much purpose for a single woman. She helped the wives with care of the children and she worked in the gardens and kitchens. From time to time, her father had her go to town for supplies.

This time her father told her she needed to run an errand for him. He handed her an envelope of cash.

"There is a courier coming to town. You will meet him down on the square, in front of the court house. He will be wearing a blue cap. You are to trade the money for a set of keys to a storage unit. The movement needs what he has to for us, Janie girl. I am trusting you with this. Now, don't talk to anyone else at the square. Then get the supplies your mother asked for." He gave her some folded bills to pay for the supplies.

Jane took her father's old green pick up down the private road to the gate. One of her older brothers was on sentry duty.

"Be careful, Jane. If something seems off, if you see those crooked lawmen, you come home. Understand?" Jane assured him that she would be fine.

After she got out of the compound, Jane felt a little more free. She rolled down the windows and turned up the radio. Her long dark hair whipped around in the wind, but she didn't care. It felt good to be alone with no one's eyes on her.

Jane was a pretty girl, but she wore no makeup. Her long dark hair hung to the middle of her back. She wore jeans and a faded plaid button down. It took twenty minutes to drive into town. She enjoyed the drive and found a place to park in front of the courthouse.

She took the envelope from its hiding place under the seat and put it in her back pocket. She surveyed the lawn in front of the courthouse. She saw a tall fellow in a blue baseball cap. He was good looking from what she could see. He seemed to be scanning the faces on the square.

"Are you looking for Tom?" She asked with just a hint of southern drawl in her voice. "I am his daughter Jane, he sent me in his place." She held out the envelope, but then she saw a man with an earwig watching them. She took off at a run, but she saw agents closing in on her. She knew she couldn't get away. She stopped running and put her hands up.

 

[mrmidnite76]

.....

 

[wideeyedone]

A female agent helped her to her knees and was about to put the handcuffs on her. Another agent stood over her, from the look of him she figured he was somewhat in charge.

"My father is still on the compound. I am Jane Holt. My father sent me to buy some construction supplies. Then, I was off to the grocery store for some staples. We raise our own produce and meat, but we still have to buy things like flour and sugar." Jane's voice shook a little, but she tried to look the agent in the eye. She wanted to be brave.

"Can I get up now? I am sure this is some sort of misunderstanding." She offered nervously.

Jane could see some of the townspeople staring from their usual spots. The people in Jacksburg saw the Militia as outsiders, and were just as fascinated with them as law enforcement was.

 

[mrmidnite76]

.....

 

[wideeyedone]

Jane was doing her best to be brave. She knew her father would not be bailing her out. He never left to compound any more for fear of being arrested. He might send one of her brothers, but she doubted it. She sighed deeply beginning to consider that she had been sent because she was expendable.

She bit her lip, wondering what she had been sent to purchase. Her father made sure she didn't know what she was buying, just had been told it was something the militia needed. She rested her head in her hands and waited. Her dark hair fell down veiling her face.

Her heart was thundering in her chest. She didn't have any ID as her father did not recognize the authority of the state or federal government and he felt like the DMV was just a means of the corrupt government to track its citizenry.

Jane wasn't a true disciple of her father, but she hadn't ever lived any other way. She knew she couldn't trust these federal agents to take care of her, she wasn't sure her father was right about everything, but she was sure about that.

 

[mrmidnite76]

.....

 

[wideeyedone]

Jane rubbed her wrists after he freed them. It wasn't that they hurt, it was more she was very aware of being constricted.

She looked over at the agent. She sighed deeply.

"Are you here to tell me that my father is a dangerous man? That the people on the compound are in danger?" Her voice was low in volume, but had an edge to it. "He isn't dangerous if people would just let him be. The militia coexists with the people here in Jacksburg. He only lashes out when you people meddle."

Jane tugged at her sleeve nervously.

"My father won't send anyone to bail me out, and he has spies in town. He'll know I have been arrested, so he won't take me back. So, there is no way I can wear a wire for you." Jane chewed on her lip, watching him watch her.

"My grocery list was in my back pocket and I was supposed to pay for some supplies for the compound with that envelope.... We are adding some more housing. I assumed it was plumbing supplies."

Jane tucked her dark hair behind her ear.
"Are you going to say anything?" She asked in frustration.

 

[mrmidnite76]

.....

 

[wideeyedone]

Jane looked up at Shane with her eyes narrowed. "You don't know much about my father, do you? He told me it was something he needed. That's it. I am about as low on hr totem pole as it gets. In the compound, women don't vote. And women don't have to know what is going on. We do what we are told." Jane looked at the folder in front of her.

"The only reason he hasn't married me off yet is that he wants to get a better deal. Right now, he is pitching me to new fellow they are recruiting. He was a marine that worked with explosives in Afghanistan. He is wanted though. He's hiding from ATF. His name is Tom Winslow." Jane wasn't sure why she was talking. She knew underneath it all she was angry that her father saw her as expendable.


She hissed out a deep sigh.
"Am I under arrest?"

 

[mrmidnite76]

.....

 

[wideeyedone]

Jane looked at the two way mirror. She sat there motionless for almost ten minutes. But her thoughts were racing. She wasn't sure what to do. She knew her father was planning something, but she wasn't sure what.

She reached across the table and took the folder and pen. She began to sketch the compound and label the drawings in code. She started with the granary and the infirmary. She bit her lip and kept going.

She labeled the homes with the last names of the families and put large stars on the houses where there were children. Lastly, she drew where the underground ammo bunkers were. Her hands shook as she drew, but she wasn't going to reveal the meanings of the symbols until she got some assurances.

She stood up and knocked on the mirror and then took her seat.

 

[mrmidnite76]

.....

 

[wideeyedone]

Jane looked at him with an exasperated glare.

"It's a map of the compound. the stars mean children live in that home." She pointed to the boxes filled with stars. " I won't decipher the rest of the map until I know the children will be safe and my mother and brothers get immunity."

She pushed the folder back towards him.

"And I know you can't hold me indefinitely. So, what are you going do?" She was terrified but she hoped it didn't show.

 

[mrmidnite76]

.....

 

[wideeyedone]

Jane looked up at him with hard eyes.

"You can stop trying to scare me. I have been pushed around my entire life. I know it is just a symptom of feeling powerless. So the more you bluster. The more I know you have nothing on me."

She pushed the folder onto the floor.

"I don't want those kids getting hurt and my father would use them as a shield if he gets the chance. that is why I was telling you which houses they are in. The large rectangles are ammo bunkers. They are full of ordinance. My father is a true believer. He would blow the compound sky high to make you look bad."

She stared at Shane.

"I would like a drink of water please." She asked calmly.