Read Wild Fire for Free Online

right.”
    Harry was on a roll and continued, “My son still had to register for the draft in case they ever bring it back. But my daughter didn’t. What’s that all about?”
    “Precisely. You have a son and daughter?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Married?”
    “Divorced,” Harry replied.
    “Ah, me, too.”
    “Women will drive you crazy,” Harry said.
    “Only if you let them.”
    “Well, we let them.”
    Madox chuckled. “We do. Anyway, you’re here on surveillance for the Federal Anti-Terrorist Task Force. Why?”
    “How long were you in Vietnam?”
    Madox looked at Harry Muller for a few seconds, then replied, “Two tours of one year each, then a third tour that was cut short by an AK-47 round that missed my heart by an inch, nicked my right lung, and broke a rib on the way out.”
    “You’re lucky to be alive.”
    “I tell myself that every day. Each day is a gift. Have you ever been shot at?”
    “Five times. Never got hit.”
    “
You’re
lucky to be alive.” Madox stared at Harry. “It changes you. You’re never the same again. But it’s not necessarily for the worse.”
    “I know. I’ve got friends who’ve been hit.” He thought of John Corey, but he was fairly sure that Corey was the same wiseass both before and after getting hit. He said, “Sometimes, I think I should have volunteered. Vietnam was over, but I could have still served. Maybe I would have caught the Grenada Invasion or something.”
    “Well, don’t be hard on yourself. Most American men have never served. And to tell you the truth, war is a damned scary thing. And now we’re engaged in this war on terrorism, and you, Mr. Muller, are apparently on the front lines. Correct?”
    “Uh . . . yeah.”
    “And by terrorism, we generally mean Islamic terrorists. Correct?”
    “Yeah . . . but—”
    “So, are you looking for Islamic terrorists here? Can I help?”
    Harry was forming a thought, but Mr. Madox went on, “If there’s anything I can do, Mr. Muller, just let me know. There’s no one who feels more strongly about winning the war on terrorism than I. How can I help?”
    “Uh . . . well . . . here’s the thing. About five years ago, I was on this case of Irish Republican Army guys—terrorists—only about fifteen miles from here. They had a training camp.” Harry filled in Madox on the case and concluded, “We sent eight guys to Federal prison for terms ranging from three to twenty years.”
    “Ah, yes. I remember that because it was so close to here.”
    “Right. So, this is the same thing. We’re checking a lot of private preserves to see if there’s any suspicious activity involving the IRA. We’ve had intelligence reports that—”
    “So, this has nothing to do with Islamic terrorists?”
    “No. Not today. We’re doing IRA.”
    “Seems like a waste of time and resources in light of 9/11.”
    “Well, I think so, too. But we need to keep on top of everything and everybody.”
    “I suppose.” Madox thought a moment, then asked, “So, you think the Custer Hill Club is . . . what? A training camp for the Irish Republican Army?”
    “Well, the bosses had a tip about activity in this area, so I got picked to take a peek. You know, in case people were using your property without you knowing.”
    “No one can enter my property without me knowing, as you just found out.”
    “Yeah, I see that. I’ll report—”
    “Certainly not people engaged in paramilitary training.”
    “Yeah, I—”
    “And that doesn’t explain why you were taking pictures of my
lodge
. You should be out in the woods looking for these IRA people.”
    “Yeah. I got turned around.”
    “You certainly did. The point is you
are
on surveillance.”
    “Well, yeah. I need to check about a dozen properties in the area.”
    “I see. So, I shouldn’t feel singularly honored?”
    “Huh?”
    “I shouldn’t feel picked on?”
    “No. Just routine stuff.”
    “That’s a relief. By the way, do you have any sort of government warrant for