{"id":409,"date":"2024-06-26T22:45:10","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T22:45:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/demolinks2.com\/david-ramacitti\/?page_id=409"},"modified":"2024-07-16T21:32:27","modified_gmt":"2024-07-16T21:32:27","slug":"revelations-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/demolinks2.com\/david-ramacitti\/revelations-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelations"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section el_id=”booki-blo” woodmart_css_id=”666ce08fbeca7″ responsive_spacing=”eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NjZjZTA4ZmJlY2E3Iiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfc2VjdGlvbiIsImRhdGEiOnsidGFibGV0Ijp7fSwibW9iaWxlIjp7fX19″ mobile_bg_img_hidden=”no” tablet_bg_img_hidden=”no” woodmart_parallax=”0″ woodmart_gradient_switch=”no” woodmart_box_shadow=”no” wd_z_index=”no” woodmart_disable_overflow=”0″][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Sample chapters from Revelations,
\nBook Six in the Ro Delahanty Series.” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:40|text_align:center|color:%23af2405″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1719441755624{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1718411046127{padding-top: 50px !important;}” woodmart_css_id=”666cdf1e1f431″ responsive_spacing=”eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NjZjZGYxZTFmNDMxIiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfcm93IiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0YWJsZXQiOnt9LCJtb2JpbGUiOnt9fX0=” mobile_bg_img_hidden=”no” tablet_bg_img_hidden=”no” woodmart_parallax=”0″ woodmart_gradient_switch=”no” woodmart_box_shadow=”no” wd_z_index=”no” woodmart_disable_overflow=”0″ row_reverse_mobile=”0″ row_reverse_tablet=”0″][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Chapter One” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:50|text_align:center|color:%23af2405″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1718411206520{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Arranging Mischief” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:50|text_align:center|color:%23000000″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1719441765063{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

Monday, Aug. 27, 2007, 11:05 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

I<\/strong>t was not quite a week ago that Tag Halvorsen accused his girlfriend of \u201ccontemplating mischief.\u201d
\nThey had spent a couple of hours in the kitchen of Up North, pouring over an in-depth research report he\u2019d paid for about the Pribyls and their World of Wheels empire, the kind of due diligence a company conducts when contemplating a merger or buyout of another business. On the surface, the detailed, forty-page spreadsheet-filled document presented a picture of an aggressive, but otherwise entirely legal operation.
\nHowever, the report also seemed to reveal aspects that, if looked at from a different angle, and perhaps with a suspicious eye, hinted at red flags, that something else could be going on behind the scenes.
\nIt was Ro\u2019s expression when she shared with Tag her idea for how to get a look at the Pribyls\u2019 operation from that \u201cdifferent angle\u201d that prompted his mischief comment.
\nShe was about to arrange that \u201cmischief.\u201d<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, hello, Sergeant,\u201d Big Foot said, not hiding his surprise at seeing Deputy Delahanty in civilian clothes for the first time. Since becoming a deputy, every few weeks Ro stopped in at Corky\u2019s, a popular country-western bar in the county, always on duty and in uniform, not on an official call but only to say hello.
\nTonight, though, she was wearing jeans, a dark T-shirt, an untucked, open front chambray shirt to hide her off-duty Glock 19, and her battered Chicago Cubs running cap. While not really \u201cwestern,\u201d like the club\u2019s dominant motif, at least they blended better with its casual ambience.
\n\u201cHey, Big Foot,\u201d Ro said with a shrug. \u201cCan\u2019t I stop in and buy you a beer for a change?\u201d
\nShe timed her visit, hoping to run into him, knowing he was there most evenings by eleven.
\nAaron Small earned the nickname Big Foot because of his size, despite his last name. He and Deputy Delahanty had a unique relationship. One of her first assignments as a rookie Fort Armstrong County deputy a little over four years ago was responding to a 10-10 call \u2013 fight in progress \u2013 at Corky\u2019s involving Big Foot, until then a not uncommon occurrence. While previous \u201cfights\u201d had usually required three deputies to quell, using basic, non-submission judo techniques, Ro had put both combatants on their butts in a matter of seconds. Rather than resenting being bested by a lone female, Ro had instead earned Big Foot\u2019s respect, and they became friends.
\nIt was his initial tip a year ago about seeing unusual middle-of-the-night activity around the Bi-State Reclamation junkyard that first flagged Ro to the new Pacifica Trading Company operation on the site, both of which she later learned were owned by the Pribyls. Over the months since, inconsistencies increasingly troubled her in what was going on there, and by the tantalizing revelations about the operation Tag Halvorson\u2019s recent research seemed to uncover. Which was the reason she wanted to see Big Foot tonight.
\nSpotting Ro, Snuffy, Corky\u2019s owner and chief bartender, joined them.
\n\u201cGood evening, Deputy.\u201d Nodding at her civilian dress, he said, \u201cI gather you are off duty tonight, so what\u2019s your pleasure?\u201d When in uniform, Ro always turned down offers of coffee or even a soft drink.
\n\u201cWine, if you have it.\u201d
\nSnuffy grinned. \u201cNot everyone who comes in here is a Lone Star drinker. I have a Chablis and zinfandel, neither vintage, but they\u2019re both decent.\u201d
\n\u201cThe zinfandel will be fine and bring Big Foot his usual.\u201d
\n\u201cOne zinfandel and one Coor\u2019s Light draft coming up,\u201d Snuffy said.
\nRo knew being bought a beer was not much of a treat for Big Foot. As the bar\u2019s unofficial bouncer-peacekeeper, a \u201cjob\u201d he\u2019d evolved into since their \u201cfight,\u201d they gave him gratis beers instead of pay.
\nHowever, Ro\u2019s gesture did not go unnoticed.
\nWhen Snuffy brought their drinks, Big Foot lifted his glass in salute. \u201cThanks. I sure hope you didn\u2019t come for tonight\u2019s show. Our singer is barely a notch above karaoke.\u201d
\n\u201cThat bad?\u201d
\n\u201cHe tries way too hard to be country,\u201d he said, putting air quotes around \u201cbe country.\u201d \u201cIf he\u2019d relax and be himself, he might not be half bad.\u201d
\n\u201cBeing yourself is sometimes a tough path to walk,\u201d Ro said.
\n\u201cAmen,\u201d but then changing the subject, Big Foot added, \u201cIf you don\u2019t mind my asking, when\u2019s the last time you ventured into a bar all by your lonesome just to have a drink?\u201d
\nRo bobbed her head from side-to-side with a stupid \u201cyou got me\u201d grin. \u201cUh, maybe never.\u201d
\n\u201cWhat I thought. So, if you\u2019re not here for a drink or the music\u2026\u201d He left the thought hang.
\n\u201cI need a favor from you.\u201d
\nBig Foot shrugged, like such a request was no big deal. \u201cName it.\u201d
\n\u201cWell, it\u2019s a bit more complicated. Um, while it\u2019s probably not strictly against the law, it might get me into trouble as a cop.\u201d She was thinking of her recent nasty encounter with a sheriff\u2019s department lieutenant who chewed her out for \u201cplaying detective\u201d in another matter. \u201cAnd likely you for helping me.\u201d
\n\u201cMmm, sounds interesting. In my wilder younger days, I was good at finding trouble.\u201d
\nRo feigned surprise. \u201cYou mean you haven\u2019t always been a big ole walking teddy bear?\u201d
\nThat produced a hardy belly laugh from Big Foot and a chuckle from Snuffy, who was close enough to overhear.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1718411046127{padding-top: 50px !important;}” woodmart_css_id=”666cdf1e1f431″ responsive_spacing=”eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NjZjZGYxZTFmNDMxIiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfcm93IiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0YWJsZXQiOnt9LCJtb2JpbGUiOnt9fX0=” mobile_bg_img_hidden=”no” tablet_bg_img_hidden=”no” woodmart_parallax=”0″ woodmart_gradient_switch=”no” woodmart_box_shadow=”no” wd_z_index=”no” woodmart_disable_overflow=”0″ row_reverse_mobile=”0″ row_reverse_tablet=”0″][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Chapter Two” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:50|text_align:center|color:%23af2405″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1718412474420{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Roundhouse \u201cTour\u201d” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:50|text_align:center|color:%23000000″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1719441828805{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\t\t

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Monday, Aug. 27, 2007, 11:18 p.m.<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

S<\/strong>o, what\u2019s the caper, Deputy?\u201d
\n\u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019ve noticed the continuing activity around Bi-State and the new operation they\u2019ve set up at the back of the property.\u201d
\n\u201cThe trading outfit… Yeah, with those trailer offices\u201d The fancy name for them was \u201cmodular units.\u201d
\n\u201cYou know, every once in a while, folks from there stop in for a drink.\u201d Corky\u2019s was the nearest adult beverage establishment.
\n\u201cDo you ever talk to them?\u201d Ro had a twinge of remorse that she might be using her friend like a snitch by pumping him for information.
\n\u201cOther than exchanging pleasantries, no, they stick to themselves. People who drive a Porsche and dress in sport coats don\u2019t have much in common with folks who drive pickup trucks and motorcycles and wear jeans.\u201d
\nRo sighed. \u201cBig Foot, everything they\u2019re doing seen from the outside seems like business as usual, nothing out-of-the-ordinary, nothing dodgy. But there\u2019re all these little things nagging at me. Like there\u2019s more going on than meets the eye. I\u2019d like to get a closer look to see if I can learn anything new.\u201d
\nShe hoped he wouldn\u2019t ask for more information about why she was interested, as it would open a whole can of worms to explain her convoluted Pribyl connections and the results of Tag Halvorson\u2019s \u201cinvestigation\u201d hinting the entire enterprise could be a front for a variety of illegal activities. Not that she didn\u2019t trust Big Foot; he didn\u2019t need to know. Fortunately, he let it go.
\nBig Foot nodded. \u201cSay, like looking at it from the railroad yard side.\u201d It wasn\u2019t a question.
\nThe sprawling Sardee Switching Yard, operated by the Grand Island Line, was where Big Foot had his day job humping rail cars. The back of Bi-State Reclamation butted up against the complex of several dozen interconnected tracks where they assembled trains, and scores of cars waited for loading or unloading.
\n\u201cExactly.\u201d
\n\u201cNo problem, it\u2019ll be easy,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cBut wouldn\u2019t you be into trouble, bringing an unauthorized person into the yards?\u201d
\nHe shook his head. \u201cI\u2019m assuming this will be a night operation.\u201d
\nRo nodded.
\nHis grin was mischievous. \u201cThen there\u2019s a perfectly acceptable excuse for us to be on the property. I\u2019ll tell \u2018em I\u2019m giving you a tour of the roundhouse. They won\u2019t question that.\u201d
\nAs the railroad had its own security, Ro\u2019s regular patrols only took her around the perimeter of the yards. She had never been on the property itself.
\nRo made a face of disbelief. \u201cI didn\u2019t know there was a roundhouse, let alone you could go see it in the middle of the night.\u201d Then understood. \u201cOh, a tour\u2026\u201d She put air quotes around \u201ctour.\u201d
\n\u201cIt\u2019s down at the western end of the yards,\u201d Big Foot said. \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been used for decades, except for couples who want to, um, sneak in to have some fun\u2026 It seems the big gears and giant levers can be a turn-on for some folks.\u201d
\n\u201cDifferent strokes,\u201d Ro said with a shrug, not unfamiliar with the naughty thrill of having sex in an unusual place. \u201cAnd you know this how?\u201d
\n\u201cWell, in those wild, youthful days I mentioned, I may have visited the roundhouse a time or two. We\u2019ll just show up at the gate and I flash my employee ID. The security guard will know where we\u2019re going. It might earn us a lecherous sneer, but we\u2019ll get through, no problem. Anyway, there\u2019s a siding right behind Bi-State where we store rusty old equipment we don\u2019t use anymore. It\u2019ll give you good cover to look down into the junkyard. When do you want to go?\u201d
\nRo thought for a couple of seconds. \u201cThe sooner the better. Tomorrow night?\u201d
\n\u201cThat\u2019s fine. Meet me here when we close, at two o\u2019clock. Wear dark, everyday clothes, nothing someone might remember. Oh, and a hat or scarf to hide your red hair. We\u2019ll leave your car here, which isn\u2019t unusual. People who\u2019re too drunk to drive often leave their cars and hitch a ride. We\u2019ll take my motorcycle.\u201d
\n\u201cThank you,\u201d Ro said, putting a hand on his thick arm. \u201cI appreciate it.\u201d
\n\u201cAnything for my favorite deputy.\u201d<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1718411046127{padding-top: 50px !important;}” woodmart_css_id=”666cdf1e1f431″ responsive_spacing=”eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NjZjZGYxZTFmNDMxIiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfcm93IiwiZGF0YSI6eyJ0YWJsZXQiOnt9LCJtb2JpbGUiOnt9fX0=” mobile_bg_img_hidden=”no” tablet_bg_img_hidden=”no” woodmart_parallax=”0″ woodmart_gradient_switch=”no” woodmart_box_shadow=”no” wd_z_index=”no” woodmart_disable_overflow=”0″ row_reverse_mobile=”0″ row_reverse_tablet=”0″][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Chapter Three” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:50|text_align:center|color:%23af2405″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1718412686382{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”All Kinds of Surprises” font_container=”tag:h1|font_size:50|text_align:center|color:%23000000″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1719441869741{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”]\t\t

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Wednesday, August 29, 2007, 2:15 a.m.<\/em><\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t

O<\/strong>nce on the grounds of the vast Sardee Yards, for Ro, there were all kinds of surprises.
\nFor instance, Big Foot told her earlier the two-mile long, half-mile wide east-to-west facility had three gravel driveways, not unlike the county\u2019s gravel roads she sometimes patrolled, each with its own name, although no road signs acknowledged that. The road she and Big Foot were on ran through the yard\u2019s central section; it was called Evers. The road running across the northern boundary was Tinker; the road along the south perimeter was Chance.
\n\u201cTinker to Evers to Chance,\u201d Big Foot explained. \u201cThey were a shortstop, second, and first baseman combination famous for double plays helping the Cubs win league pennants and the World Series, twice, in the early 1900s. The first construction here began when they were popular. There\u2019s an old map in the admin center saying the roads were supposed to be designated A, B and C.\u201d He grinned. \u201cI guess the workers\u2019 idea was more fun. Anyway, it stuck.\u201d
\nThey entered the yards through the main entrance, the complex like a small city unto itself. The headquarters building housing the operations center and administrative staff was called The Castle, although it didn\u2019t at all resemble that architectural style. Across from The Castle was The Bunkhouse, which housed workers\u2019 lockers, showers, and a lunchroom. The Barn, an enormous garage big enough to service up to three locomotives at once, was behind The Castle. And plopped down among them were a variety of storage sheds, maintenance workshops, garages, and vehicle and equipment parking areas.
\nThe main gate\u2019s guard was a fortyish African American in a gray uniform with a Barretta nine-millimeter at his waist. Recognizing Big Foot\u2019s size, and his big Harley-Davidson V-Rod, he waved them through, not even bothering to check an employee ID or acknowledge the passenger.
\nThe amount of activity, even at two o\u2019clock on a weekday morning, was amazing. There was the deep grumble of the Grand Island Lines\u2019 familiar maize yellow diesel engines moving here and there, switching cars from one track to another. You could hear the hollow booms as cars bumped up against one another; and the ear-splitting screech of brakes or axles that needed greasing. As they moved west on Evers, they passed neat stacks of new ties or jumbled mounds of old rotting ties, heaps of forty-foot-long rails, piles of pole mounted signal lights, and the big levers used to shift tracks and reroute trains.
\nThey encountered four-wheel utility vehicles ferrying trainmen to remote assignments or carrying security people on their rounds. Most waved at Big Foot when they passed.
\nJust like a small town, Ro thought. Everyone knows everybody else.
\nThe plan was to go directly to the old roundhouse and park near it to make things look legit, then cross a dozen tracks on foot to the area behind the junkyard. Even if they met a security crew, they\u2019d say they were taking a walk. At worst, they\u2019d be shooed back to the roundhouse.
\nThe roundhouse, with its imposing thirty-foot height, curved shape, and huge garage doors, reminded Ro of the space dock for starships in Tag\u2019s Star Trek films. Her favorites were The Next Generation series. While she didn\u2019t always follow the techy stuff \u2013 like how \u201ca modulating resonance burst from the deflector dish could reveal the plasma trail of a cloaked Romulan ship\u201d \u2013 she did like Captain Jean-Luc Picard, with his combination of self-assured authority tempered by human understanding. He reminded her of Sheriff Ballard.
\nWhen they arrived at what Big Foot told her was officially Track Forty-Eight, a dead-end spur, they were on the outer edge of the glow from the yard\u2019s hundreds of pole mounted security lights. The moon, a sliver past full, hanging low in the western sky, provided little illumination. The three large pieces of equipment parked on the siding, their color faded, their flanks streaked with rust, had a ghostly, almost baleful look.
\nOne\u2019s function was easy enough to figure out; a crane mounted on a flatcar.
\nBut another, resembling a giant semi-tractor with arms hanging off the back and what looked like clamps at the ends, Big Foot identified as an automatic track welder.
\nThe third looked to Ro like an oversize road-grader, with a tall cab in the center and thick supports protruding both fore and aft. Her companion said it was a track laying machine.
\n\u201cThat\u2019s the one I figured for your cover. Bi-State is right on the other side. The cab is twelve feet above the tracks. It should give you a good view down into the junkyard,\u201d he explained.
\nWhat she would see would be both tantalizing and maddening.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2024 by David F. Ramacitti, writing as Dave Lager<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][\/vc_section]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_section el_id=”booki-blo” woodmart_css_id=”666ce08fbeca7″ responsive_spacing=”eyJwYXJhbV90eXBlIjoid29vZG1hcnRfcmVzcG9uc2l2ZV9zcGFjaW5nIiwic2VsZWN0b3JfaWQiOiI2NjZjZTA4ZmJlY2E3Iiwic2hvcnRjb2RlIjoidmNfc2VjdGlvbiIsImRhdGEiOnsidGFibGV0Ijp7fSwibW9iaWxlIjp7fX19″ mobile_bg_img_hidden=”no” tablet_bg_img_hidden=”no” woodmart_parallax=”0″ woodmart_gradient_switch=”no” woodmart_box_shadow=”no” wd_z_index=”no” woodmart_disable_overflow=”0″][vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”Sample chapters from Revelations, Book Six in the Ro<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-409","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/demolinks2.com\/david-ramacitti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/demolinks2.com\/david-ramacitti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/demolinks2.com\/david-ramacitti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demolinks2.com\/david-ramacitti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/demolinks2.com\/david-ramacitti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=409"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/demolinks2.com\/david-ramacitti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":445,"href":"https:\/\/demolinks2.com\/david-ramacitti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/409\/revisions\/445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/demolinks2.com\/david-ramacitti\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}