Chapter Text
It had started with a call on the radio from Dutch. That’s how almost everything the deputy got suckered into started. The county was full of problems and his radio never failed to click in at the most inopportune times to let him know of some fiasco. When Colton had gotten this call he was cleaning out Kellet Cattle company for the resistance. Apparently Eli had radioed in to Dutch that they’d spotted a black SUV headed by two cult escort trucks towards John’s region. It was somebody important, and by nature of being important, the deputy had better head up there to intercept whoever it was headed to Holland Valley. Even though it would be on the other side of the valley, Colton couldn’t deny that it was a damn good opportunity and one they wouldn’t likely get again. And so, he had left the liberated outpost with a group of survivors to start booking it north. He’d stopped in Falls End along the way, picking up Jess and Grace. This was a mission that would need precision. If it were just another armed convoy, he could have taken Hurk and Sharky with him to blow it sky high. But on this occasion, he wanted to make sure he knew who was on the other end of his rifle.
“It’s gotta be Jacob” Jess says from the back seat of the pickup, her feet propped up across the back. “They’re coming from the Whitetails, right? It’s gotta be Jacob coming down to see his baby brother.”
Grace hums and moves her polishing cloth along the barrel of her rifle “If we’re lucky, it’ll be Joseph and we can put an end to this whole thing” to which Jess snorts and mutters an ‘as if’. “We know he travels all over the county. And with as much hell as Rook here has been raising-“ she trails off, looking to Colton with a raised eyebrow.
Jess butts in before he can answer. “That’s why it’s gotta be Jacob. Rook already said that Joseph showed up to yell at John during the baptism. I wouldn’t put it past Joe to go make Jacob try and whip his brother into shape.”
“You just want it to be Jacob so you can put an arrow through his eye” Colton says and swerves to make a Peggie at the roadside dive for the ditch as they go past. “And we don’t know if it’s any of them. For all we know, it’s one of their butchers or priestesses or whatever. Maybe they’re delivering more taxidermy to John’s house for all we know”
Grace snorts in amusement “All the more reason to make stealing his house next on the list. Crimes of interior decorating.”
Colton hums and drums his fingers on the steering wheel “it would be pretty funny to see how big of a tantrum he would throw. Especially if Affirmation was parked in the hangar”
Jess leans forward, toothy grin stretched wide across her face “Well I think that’s what we’re doing after this then. He’s gonna shit bricks”
“That settles it then” Colton nods “Clean up whatever mess is coming from the mountains and then we set off to get a nice bed to sleep in tonight. I’m sure he’s got consistent hot water in his showers too. Might as well help ourselves to everything.” He picks up his radio and hands it over to Grace to tune into Dutch’s channel. “We’re a few miles out from the bridge over Widow’s Creek. Everything still in place?”
The radio is silent for a few moments before Dutch comes in “Eli says they’re still headed that way. You’ve got maybe an hour before they get to your position. Good luck, Deputy”
Colton pulls off the road, driving as deep as he can into the woods to conceal the truck from the road. He learned the hard way the first few times he fought the cult that they had no problem destroying his vehicle and stranding him to walk all the way back to town. Thankfully cult vehicles were pathetically easy to Hotwire in revenge, but he didn’t like riding back to Falls End in one. Mary May had nearly taken off his head by mistake the last time he drove one into town in the middle of the night without warning.
They find a good covered spot, one that they can see the curve of the road up ahead from. Grace climbs a nearby tree and settles in with her rifle to watch the bridge. Colton sends Jess across the road with C4 charges he had ‘borrowed’ from one of the old mines in the Hebane. She positions them carefully so as to not be noticeable, but triggered when the lead truck drives over them, thus blocking in the rest of the convoy. Colton gets a thumbs up from Jess telling him the charges are live, and then disappears into the dark green of the forest to take her own position. He settles into the bushes, waiting for whatever may come. He’ll be the first one into battle, but it’s better that way. If he can draw all the fire, it’ll give his companions time to pick off what he can’t.
The thing about waiting on the roadside is that it can make thirty minutes feel like hours when you’re waiting for something to come by. Colton had never had patience for hunting for that exact reason. He was a man of action, of the right now, and that was both a blessing and a curse. He had jumped at the marshal’s proposal of storming right into the compound during Sunday night worship and look where that got them. Maybe that’s why he liked spending so much time in the valley. John was ready to meet the challenge and hit back twice as hard everytime Colton did something to fuck with him. Jacob liked playing the long game and it made him itchy and restless. Faith…well….he had enough of Faith after the third mountain lion had jumped him from the bliss. A creak comes from the tree and he looks up to Grace who’s raised her rifle to peer through the scope. She gives a small nod, eye not leaving her target. They’re here. He’s not sure how to signal to Jess but he’ll trust that she’s also at the ready. He checks his pistol before readying his service issue 45/70.
He can hear the trucks before he can see them up around the curve. The cult ran diesel which made them louder and easier to spot compared to most of the gas engines in the county. He can’t remember who, but someone once told him that they got most of their fleet from old army surplus and he can’t say he’s surprised. John may be dripping in money but Jacob was a cheap bastard who knew how to get a good deal even before everything went to shit. The convoy is small, two trucks with mounted guns bracketing a black SUV with all the windows tinted out. Colton takes in a breath and holds it, waiting for the lead truck to give them their opening.
For one long moment, he thinks the charges aren’t going to go off when the truck’s front wheels pass over where they should be set. But then the much heavier back end, weighted down by turret gun and a chosen passes over and the C4 goes off with a thunderous roar. The back end launches up with the explosion and the other two vehicles hit their breaks. When the truck comes back down it’s jack knifed across the road, back suspension and wheels destroyed, and the man at the gun unconscious.
“Grace! Tires!” Colton yells and launches himself out of the bushes, taking aim at the back turret gunner. It takes three shots to get the man to collapse but the back truck is already attempting to back out to give the SUV room to bolt back the way it came. He doesn’t see Grace take the shot but he hears the tire pop on the SUV as he continues running towards the back truck to get the driver. Two more pops follow as he empties his rifle chamber into the driver and the passenger exchanging fire. He dips back against the bumper on the SUV as someone opens fire from inside through the back windshield. His hands are shaking as he tries to reload as fast as he can. A door opens and he knows Grace has taken care of whoever it is by the sound of a thump and gurgling.
He hears two more doors open and he swears, dropping the rifle to pull out his pistol instead. Someone opens fire on the tree line and he knows that it’s just him for a moment with Grace changing positions and the car blocking Jess’s shot from the woods. He launches himself to his feet and around the car, pistol raised ready to shoot.” HOPE COUNTY POLICE DEPARTMENT DROP YOUR WEAPON” he yells, habits beat into him in the academy kicking in. Peggies didn’t care who he was with after all, especially not the one pointing a gun at his head. “Well….shit” he releases a breath “Hey John”
John Seed is all smiles despite the pistol pointed at him “Deputy! What a surprise” he coos as if they had just ran into each other at the corner mart shopping and not surrounded by death and blood in the middle of nowhere. “We have to stop meeting like this” and his smile turns mischievous “people will start to talk”
Colton grits his teeth. Of all the fucking people to be in the SUV it just had to be an actual Seed. “Put down the weapon and put your hands above your head”
John’s smile only widens “no, no I don’t think I will. You didn’t even say please”
They’re stuck in a standoff, weapons raised and fingers on triggers. It would just take one small flinch for them both to empty their guns into each other. Colton hopes Grace has found her new position already cause he doubts he’s gonna be able to talk John down out of something stupid. Behind the herald, Colton catches a flash of movement and the world seems to slow down “Hit the deck!” He yells and throws himself flat into the dirt. To his surprise, John does so too, and not a moment too late as the concussed chosen opens fire from the turret towards where they just were. Apparently his faith was so strong that he believed that bullets could pass right through John without hurting him. The bullets continue for what feels like an eternity before there’s a meaty thunk and the gun goes quiet as the chosen slumps over, an arrow sticking out of his neck.
Colton raises back to his feet, checking carefully to make sure the guy is really dead before turning his attention back to John. The herald is pale but he’s also not so subtly reaching out for the rifle he dropped on the ground when they both dove. Colton puts his foot down on John’s hand, not hard enough to crush it, but enough to send the clear message to stop. “It’s over, John”
Colton can see the wheels turning in the other man’s head as he tries to concoct a way out “Perhaps…we could come to an agreement.” John withdraws his hand when Colton removes his boot. He pushes himself up so he’s sitting, putting his back against the car and his forearms on his bent knees. “I’m sure there’s something I could offer, someone, I could offer that it would make it worth your while to let me go.” He tilts his head up, studying Colton.
Colton grimaces, putting his hands on his hips. He knows exactly who John is offering. “See, I don’t know that I believe you. There’s a good chance I let you go and you crawl down in your bunker and don’t come out again till I blow the door off the damn thing.” In his head, he’s less sure. Getting Joey back…Mary May and Nick wouldn’t let him live down making a deal with the devil, but he can’t leave her down there either.
John tilts his head, listening as if he could hear all of those thoughts rattling around in Colton’s head. “I’m a man of my word, Colton Rook. No tricks. You let me go, I’ll have my people hand deliver her to Falls End before nightfall. Not a hair on her head will be touched” he offers up his hand as if to shake and for just a moment, Colton almost takes it.
But Grace comes out of the bushes and whatever spell John had tried to cast over him was broken with it. She’s clutching her shoulder, blood between her fingers, and scowling. John’s hand withdraws back to its former position and the serious look on his face is replaced by a grin. “What’re we gonna do with him?” Grace asks.
“Ah Miss Armstrong! My apologies for the arm but I rather liked that particular driver” John chirps, clearly pleased that he got any sort of hit on the sniper. His head turns, hearing Jess before the rest of them as she comes around the car, bow drawn. “And Miss Black….cant say I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you yet, but my brother-“
“Shut it” Jess snaps, pointing the drawn arrow at John. “I say we gut him and ship the pieces north”
Colton sighs and chews on the inside of his cheek. “No….no we aren’t going to gut him”
John beams up at Colton “How generous. I always knew you were the more reasonable dep-“
“Shut it” Colton echoes Jess. John’s mouth snaps closed into a pout. “Grace, we got any rope in the truck?” He can feel both women look at him out of the corners of their eyes.
Grace grimaces “are you sure this is what you want to do, deputy?” She wouldn’t outright agree with Jess but she had plenty of reasons to want John dead. Most of the county did. “If we take him into Falls End there’s no telling what they’ll do with him”
Colton sighs “I’ll call Jerome and…have him pre warn people. He said we have to be better than the cult right? Show people there’s a better way.”
Jess snorts “I don’t think turning the other cheek applies to monsters like him.”
Colton is watching John’s eyes follow the conversation like a ping pong match. He could be surprisingly quiet when he wanted to be. “If we don’t have law and order, we don’t have anything.”
John starts to open his mouth to argue but then thinks better of it, closing it again. His eyes meet Colton’s, bright brilliant blue staring deep into hazel. It’s Grace who breaks the uneasily silence creeping in. “I trust you, Deputy.” She looks over John “But we don’t tell Jerome to tell the town. There’s no telling who knows who and what sorta ambush we’ll walk into if they know where we’re heading with him. I trust Jerome, but nobody else. Joseph will stop at nothing to get his brother back” she then looks to Colton “Deputy….” Her mouth tightens into a hard line “I hope you know what you’re doing”
Colton nods “Me too, Grace. Jess would you…?”
The shorter woman perks up, loosening the tension in her bow to put it on her back . “Happy to!” She says before driving her knee into John’s face hard enough to make it bounce off the metal car door. He slumps over, out cold with blood running out of his nose.
“I meant take him to the truck, Jess” Colton groans.
She shrugs “He’ll be quieter this way” and he can’t say she’s exactly wrong. He’ll be quiet…till he wakes up and starts bitching about his nose and beautiful perfect face being ruined.
Colton moves forward, grabbing John’s arm and maneuvering him into a fireman's carry on his back. “Grab my rifle at least. John’s too and anything else that looks useful we can bring back. No sense in leaving anything for the cult to take back home with them….might as well burn the trucks before we leave too. Grace come back with me and help me get him in the truck and we’ll get your arm bandaged.” He starts off towards the truck. John is surprisingly light for what he was expecting, even at dead weight. To himself he privately thanks whoever’s out there that Jess was wrong and it wasn’t Jacob. There’s no way Colton could have ever gotten him lugged back to the truck.