Gael turned to Irene, who had woken up while he was looking at the security app. “There are four people coming up the laneway carrying rifles. They must have climbed over the fence.” The fence had been installed by his grandfather, but his father had removed the gate. The fence was showing it's age, but Gael had wanted the security system in place as fast as possible. Next he would worry about replacing the fence. “Get everyone except Patsy and Vicky in here and lock the door.” The master bedroom was the only room upstairs with a lock. “Call the police. No, scratch the first part.'' He reached for his pants and took his key ring out. Taking a key off and handing it to his wife, he lcontinued “Take everyone to the elevator, it's big enough.” They had wanted their elevator to have enough room for large items they might want to get upstairs, such as a hospital bed should they need one. “When everyone's in, lock it. Don't open it until I call you and say it's safe to.” He pulled on his pants and reached for his shirt.

“Why don't you want me to take Patsy and Vicky with us?”

“They are wicked marks-women and they don't take shit from anyone. Tell them to meet me in the storage room downstairs.”

“Don't you go putting our offspring in danger, Gael Maxwell Brennan!”

“I need them, honey. I can't fight off four men by myself. But I don't plan on any bloodshed, if it can be helped. I love you.” He gave her a kiss before leaving the bedroom while buttoning his shirt up. Once he had it done up, he took his phone out of his pocket and called Owen Jarvis while making his way downstairs. “Owen? Sorry to wake you, bud. We have a situation here that could be a problem. My cameras picked up four people walking up the laneway with rifles in their hands.”

“Have you called 911?” the commander of the local RCMP detachment asked.

“Irene is going to do that. She's getting the children together in the elevator and she will lock it so nobody can get to them.”

“Okay, I'm on my way, too. Your address is flagged in the computer system to go double time if any of you call in, so it shouldn't be long before we get there.”

Next, Gael called Stan in the bunkhouse and told him what was going on. “I'm on my way, Dad.”

“You stay there unless you can get here safely. Don't put yourself in danger.”

“I won't. I'm known for my stealth, remember?”

Gael handed Vicky and Patsy each a rifle when they joined him in the storage room. They all donned a bullet proof vest. This was another investment Gael had made when they got the security system. There was a knock at the back door. He looked at the app. Three men were standing at the enclosed porch, each holding a rifle pointed at the door. He tapped to see the front door. The fourth was there, his eyes and weapon on the door. He ignored the knock to buy some time.

The dogs were in the office with the door locked. Gael hadn't wanted them to go on the elevator with Irene and the children because if any of them barked, they'd give their location away.

Meanwhile, in the bunkhouse, Stan got dressed and donned his bullet proof vest. He got his gun out of it's locked box and loaded it, then put more ammo in his pockets. Quickly and quietly, he exited the bunkhouse, picking up a coil of rope at the door. He made his way to the main house. Hiding behind a tree, he saw the three men at the back door. Figuring that the fourth was at the front, he called Gael's phone, pretty sure that it was on vibrate. “Dad”, he whispered when his father answered, “there are three of them at the back door.”

“I know, son. The fourth is at the front.”

“All right. I'll deal with him.”

“Don't be shooting unless you absolutely have to, Stan. I don't want anyone getting hurt.”

“I won't, Dad”, Stan reassured him.

“Be careful.” Gael hated involving his offspring, but he had no choice. However, he knew that his son was well able to handle the situation.

Stan took the safety off his rifle and tiptoed out from behind the tree. He made his way around the house, keeping out of the motion sensor lights' range. He had a knack for being sneaky, which he had used to his advantage as a teenager coming in after curfew. Quiet as a mouse, thankful that they'd raked the fallen leaves, he approached the solitary man at the front door from behind. He put the barrel of his gun up against the operative's head and said in a low voice “Throw your gun on the ground as far away as you can and nobody will get hurt.”

The Cartel's man froze. He did not make a move to comply. Stan could see him tense up, as if he was going to try something, so he wrapped his free arm around the man's neck, applying pressure on it until he dropped the gun. Stan kicked it away, then told him to get on his knees. He didn't move. Stan kicked the back of his knee hard and he went down on his front. The second eldest Brennan offspring was on him immediately. He used his rope to hog tie the intruder. Then he picked up both of their rifles and went around the house to the back.

Inside the house, Marissa was coming down from the second floor. She'd refused to get on the elevator. Gael heard her and went to the bottom of the flight of stairs. “Rissa! You get your ass back up there!” He knew it was her as she made a distinctive sound coming down the bare wood stairs with her crutches.

“No, Daddy, this is my fault. I'm going to face them.” She continued down. “I will go with them if they promise to leave all of you alone. I'll deal with whatever consequences they have for me.”

Gael was terrified at the thought of Marissa going back to the Cartel. He knew that whatever they would have in store for her would be horrendous. “Absolutely not, Marissa! Your sisters and I will deal with it. I think Stan is coming, too. If you won't go back upstairs, go hide in my office.”

“I'm staying here, Daddy. Give me a gun.” Before her disability, she had enjoyed shooting at the range and had sometimes gone hunting with her father and brothers. She was a pretty good shot but she wouldn't be able to handle a rifle and her crutches. “I'll take your hand gun. I only need one hand for it.”

“You will not. We are skirting the law enough as it is.” Canadian law would not let them keep weapons solely for self defence, but they could have them for hunting, target shooting or to protect their livestock from predators. The law stated that you could only use as much force in self defence as was absolutely necessary. However, very few cases involving a legal gun in self defence that went to court actually resulted in a conviction. Gael didn't care anyway. He'd go to jail if he had to to protect his family and homestead. His adult children felt the same way, but he did not want Marissa to risk incarceration. With her disability, it would be very hard on her. “Look, if you want to help, open the app on your phone and watch the front door for me. I could really use that assistance, it will let me concentrate on the back. Holler if you see anything concerning. Under no circumstances are you to go near the door, understand? The Cartel doesn't know you are here and I don't want them to.”

Marissa sat down at the kitchen table and got onto the app just in time to see Stan finish hog tying the operative. “Daddy, Stan has someone on the ground and he's hog tying him.”

“Well, I'll be...” Gael replied as he switched views on his phone. “I knew your brother's knack for sneakiness and roping would come in handy some day.”

There was another knock at the back door. Gael, Patsy and Vicky stood at the inside door, with their rifles aimed at it. The patriarch of the family had propped his phone against the wall on the counter where he could see it.

Suddenly, one of the operatives was flipped up into the air and Gael saw Charlie behind him. A shot rang out and the steer bellowed in pain, falling down on the ground. Gael watched as his Hereford bull came up behind another with his head down. He sent the operative sailing. He opened the door and ran out, along with Pasty and Vicky. Marissa had been alternating between watching the front door on her phone and glancing up and looking at the back door on Gael's. She saw Charlie and heard his cry. Paying no attention to her father's directive to stay away from the door, she got up and walked out as fast as she could.

Outside, she found Charlie on the ground and went to him. Her family members had their weapons trained on the operatives, two of whom were still on the ground. Stan said “I'm going to the tack room for more rope” and took off running after putting the safety back on on his rifle. Gael had drilled into all his offspring the importance of safety in everything they did.

Marissa knelt down beside her steer. Charlie was still vocalizing that he was in pain, but he calmed down when she talked to him in a soothing voice. “Where did they get you, Charlie?” They were just out of the range of the lights at the door, so visibility was low.

“Bring a flashlight back, Stan”, Gael hollered, hoping his second eldest heard him. “Can you see where he's shot, Rissa?” he asked.

“No, Daddy. Wait, I think I see blood on his leg.” Marissa knew that if her steer needed surgery, he'd have to be taken to large animal veterinarian an hour and a half away. “I need to call Sam.” Sam McCoy was the family's veterinarian. He was closer, but he didn't do surgery on large animals. However, he would know if Charlie needed an operation.

“Hold on, Rissa. When your brother gets back with a flashlight, we'll look at him. Stan can help watch these morons.” Willy, the bull, was keeping an eye on the two on the ground. Whenever either of them would make a move to get up, he would paw the ground and they would freeze. Like Charlie, Willy was polled - meaning he didn't have horns - so neither of the operatives were hurt.

Stan was back with rope and a flashlight, which he handed to Marissa. She checked her steer out while her brother hog tied the three Cartel members. She very quickly found the bullet hole in Charlie's upper left front leg. It was bleeding, but not profusely. “I need a towel or something”, she said.

One of the men was already tied up, so Gael put his rifle down and took his shirt off. He tossed it to Marissa “Use this.” He still had his undershirt on. “Is there an exit wound?” Marissa felt the other side of Charlie's leg.

“Yes, I think so.” Marissa tore the shirt into strips.

“Check his back end, Rissa.”

“Mama's going to kill you”, Vicky said. She had her rifle trained on one of the men on the ground.

“I'll deal with your mother. She doesn't want anything to happen to Charlie any more than I do.”

“Nothing on the back leg. Just a sec.” Marissa went back to the steer's front. “There's a hole in his brisket. The bullet must have gone through that, too.” She wanted to freak out, but she knew she had to stay calm for Charlie's sake.

Gael had an urge to kick the shit out of the Cartel's men for harming his daughter's pet, but he restrained himself. Getting himself into trouble wouldn't help anyone.

When all three operatives were tied up, he called their vet. Sam said he would be there in 10 minutes.

“Where are the police?” he wondered aloud. As if on cue, he heard the buzzer in the house. He ran to it and buzzed Owen Jarvis in, then set the security system to keep the gate open. He'd close it when the police had all left.

Owen drove up to the house and got out of his car. “The others should be here any minute”, he told Gael after greetings were exchanged. “There's a fire at an abandoned house twenty minutes from here. I think it might have been deliberately set to keep us from your place, but the fire department has it under control, so the officers aren't needed there anymore. Looks like you have these yahoos under control.”

“Yes, it's a good thing that Stan excels at making knots. There's another of them at the front door.”

“I see you have your guns out. Were any shots fired?” Owen knew that the Brennans hunted and kept weapons in case of attacks on their livestock. He also knew that Gael wouldn't hesitate to use any of his firearms to protect his family. While it was a grey area, he hoped that he'd never be put in a position of having to choose whether or not to lay charges against his best friend.

“Just one, and not by us. One of them got Marissa's steer - went through one leg and through his brisket. We're waiting for our vet to get here to assess the damage.”

“Good”, Owen replied, then hastened to add “Not good that Charlie got hit. I know what that steer means to Marissa. I meant good that you didn't fire any shots.”

The sound of tires on gravel could be heard as two RCMP cars came up the laneway. “About time”, Gael grumbled. He was impatient as he wanted the Cartel's operatives off his property and the sooner the better. “I better call Irene and let her know it's safe to come out of the elevator now. She'll have my head if I forget about her in there.”

“Could you wait until they have been taken to the detachment?” Owen asked. “Just to be safe.”

“Sure, but I still better call her and let her know what's going on.” Gael called his wife who answered on the first vibrating buzz of her phone. He gave her an update on what was going on and told her he hoped she and the kids could come out soon.

Charlie decided he wanted to get up. “No, Charlie, stay down”, Marissa commanded him as Gael was putting his phone in his pocket.

“Let him up, Rissa. Let's see if he can stand on it. If he can, chances are that nothing's broken.” Charlie got up, hesitantly at first, seeming to not want to put weight on his injured leg. But then he overcame his hesitation and rose. Marissa walked a few steps away. The steer followed her while Gael watched. “He's limping a bit, but far less than I expected.”

The RCMP officers were talking to Owen and Stan. Owen instructed them to go around to the front of the house to get the fourth Cartel operative, but to take pictures before touching him. “Gael, I'm afraid we aren't going to be out of your hair for awhile. Forensics needs to come out to gather evidence, namely the bullet that was fired, as well as the guns. They have to stay there so the photographer can take pictures.”

“That's all right, Owen. I won't be getting any more sleep tonight anyway.” It was now almost 4am, the time he got up to have a quick coffee and start the preparations for the morning milking. As he hated going to bed early, he usually grabbed a nap either just before or just after lunch.

One of the officers came back. “I need Stan to come untie the man's ropes, so we can get him on his feet”, he said.

“Just cut them”, Owen said, a little irritated that the officer had not already done that.

“That's not a good idea”, Gael interrupted. “That's the rope Stan uses in rodeos, he'll have your head if you cut it.” Stan went back with the officer to help untie the prisoner. Patsy and Vicky had gone in the house to put coffee on and get some toast made for Gael and Stan. They'd eat a couple slices before heading for the milking barn and have a full breakfast later.

A truck came up the laneway and Gael and Marissa recognized it as their veterinarian's. It came to a stop and a tall, husky man emerged from the driver's seat. Sam McCoy had been their vet for forever, it seemed. He was past the normal retirement age of 65 and showed no signs of slowing down. Gael didn't know what he'd do when the man finally retired - large animal vets were becoming fewer and fewer, it seemed.

“Marissa!” he greeted her, bending down to give her a gentle hug, being mindful of her unsteadiness on her feet. “I heard you were back, but I didn't want to intrude on your homecoming. I figured your father would need me out here soon enough and I could welcome you back then.”

“It's good to see you, Sam”, she replied. “And it's so good to be home, but I fear I've brought trouble with me.”

“Don't you be talking like that, young lady. You did the right thing in coming home. Any actions they do” and he pointed to the hogtied Cartel members, “is on them.”

“Maybe she will listen to you, Sam”, Gael said.

“She better or I'll hog tie *her*.” They all had a laugh, something they very much needed this early morning. “Let's take a look at Charlie. I see he's up.”

While Sam was looking at the steer, the RCMP officers returned to the back with their prisoner, now untied and in handcuffs. Stan was with them and started untying the other three. Once they were in handcuffs, they were loaded into the officers' cars for transport to the station. One officer stayed behind to ensure that no potential evidence was touched. “Not that I think you would tamper with it”, Owen told his buddy, “but for legal purposes, I have to have someone here until the forensics team arrives. We don't want them getting off because we didn't follow procedure. I'll send some officers out later this morning to get statements from everyone.”

“I'm not offended, Owen”, Gael told him. “Thank you for coming out.” Owen got in his car and left. Gael joined Marissa, Charlie and Sam.

“I'm pretty sure the leg's not broken”, Sam told the Brennans. “but I should take an x ray just to be sure. I know that adds more to the cost, but I know you want what's best for Charlie.”

“Do it, Sam. This is Marissa's baby. You know we're good for the money.”

“Daddy, I will pay the bill. Charlie is mine and you've been feeding him for the past four years”, Marissa said. After her parents taking out a loan for the security system, she did not want to saddle them with a vet bill.

“He earns his keep by looking after the heifers, Rissa, but we'll hash it out about the bill later.”

Sam took the radiographs and looked at the results on his laptop. “Charlie is a lucky boy”, he said. “The bullet went clean through without hitting bone. I just need to clean his wounds out and stitch them up. I'll give him some banamine for pain and to get inflammation down and I'll sedate him so he doesn't kill me while I'm tending to him, as long as it's okay with you.”

“Do what you have to do, Sam”, Marissa told him, “but the sedation probably isn't needed. Charlie is a big baby, you know that. If it makes you feel safe, though, it's okay to do it.”

“I know how gentle he is but he's an animal in pain and even the gentlest of animals can be dangerous when they are in pain, Marissa. I'd rather be on the safe side.” When he was finished tending to the bovine's wounds, he asked “Do you have somewhere clean and dry to put him for a day or two?”

“He can go in the horse barn, Sam”, Gael informed him.

“Good. Make sure the stall is kept as clean as you can, we don't want bacteria from his manure to get in the wounds. After a day or two, he can go back outside - unless it's raining as they need to be kept dry. Do you want me to come back to take the stitches out?”

“Nah, I can do that myself.”

“Okay, keep an eye out for infection - you know what to look for. I gave him a shot of long acting antibiotic so he should be all right. Give him banamine for a couple days until the pain has subsided. Do you have any?”

“Yes, we have lots.”

“I'll be off then. If I'm in the area on another call, I'll stop in and see how he's doing. I know you and Marissa will take good care of him.”

“Thanks, Sam. Do you want to come in for coffee?”

“I better not. The Missus will have it on at home, she always worries when I'm out in the night.” They said their goodbyes and the vet left, after being asked to close the gate on his way out. Gael would lock it from the controls in the house.

Gael called Irene and told her it was safe for her and the children to come out of the elevator. He went inside and poured himself a cup of coffee before sitting down at the table, thanking his daughters for putting it on. Irene came down after putting the kids back to bed. She would let them stay home from school today, to their delight. “I'm sorry that took so long, babe”, he said to her as she sat down with a mug of java. “I didn't want you to come out until the police had taken them away.”

“I heard a gunshot, Gael. Was anyone hurt?”

“Charlie got hit, but he's okay. Sam just left.” He proceeded to tell his wife what had happened since he'd got the alert that people were walking up the laneway. While he was doing that, Marissa came in. Irene got up and poured her a coffee. Gael finished his recounting of the early morning's events. “Is Charlie all settled?” he asked his daughter.

“Yes, Stan bedded him down real well. He's not going to want to leave the stall!”

“He and the heifers get plenty of straw in his barn.” Charlie and his “babies” had 24/7 access to a small barn in his pasture. He hadn't wanted to put him in there for the couple days Sam had ordered because the steer would be able to get outside. Plus, he didn't need the younger heifers crawling over him and possibly dislodging his sutures. They loved snuggling up to him or climbing onto his back when he was lying down.

All the Brennan animals were well bedded in their pens or barns, including the free stall barn the milking cows had access to 24/7. It was shelter for them in the winter and in the summer, fans on the ceiling kept them cool. It didn't get extremely hot in that part of the country, but they did have some days that were uncomfortable. Gael wanted to get bovine waterbeds for them, but the money just wasn't there. The more comfortable and content the cows were, the better they would produce. It made more work for the humans, but it was worth it, and the teenagers helped with cleaning and putting down fresh straw as part of their chores. The younger children helped with bottle feeding the newborn calves.

Every animal had a job, except the young calves. The same applied to the humans over toddler age. Even Marissa, once she had settled in back home. Because of her disability, her jobs were mostly sitting down - helping Irene with peeling and cutting vegetables, making salads etc, and she was doing Gael's paperwork for him. She also helped with setting and clearing the kitchen table, in a limited way.

Gael poured a travel mug of coffee and headed for the milking barn. Irene had a shower before starting breakfast preparations. She had time remaining, so she worked a bit on the knitting project she was doing. When she had time, she knitted hats, scarves, mittens and sweaters to sell for some extra money.

Marissa took a mug of coffee out to the barn where Charlie was. Irene had tried to stop her, saying she should go back to sleep, to no avail. “I'll have a nap with Charlie”, she told her mother as she headed out the door. Irene didn't push, she knew how much the steer meant to her daughter. Gael had been known to sleep in one of the barns with a sick or injured cow or horse, to be there in case the animal got in distress overnight.

Marissa found her steer eating his breakfast. The banamine was working to control his pain. Charlie mooed when he saw her. She entered his stall and sat in a corner, talking to him while he ate and she drank her coffee. When the bovine had finished his meal, he lay down on the thick bed of straw. Marissa snuggled up to him and fell asleep, thankful that her beloved pet was going to be all right, but worried that the Cartel would send more operatives when they found out these had failed at their job.

----------------------------

In LA, it was midnight. Braxton had fallen asleep a couple hours ago, but was now awake. Try as he might, he could not get back to sleep. Finally, he got up and paced his house. He had a very strong feeling that someone was in danger. After debating whether or not to call them, he phoned his parents in Boulder. Everything was fine with them, so he called his sister, who was annoyed to be woken up. She was fine, she assured him.

Braxton was confused. His family was fine. Who was in danger? Or was he losing his mind? He decided to call Logan Medina, his detective friend in Denver. Logan was up, he always was a night owl and he was still on leave from the police department. The detective said he was fine. “I can't figure out this feeling I have that someone I know and care about is in danger”, he said to the cop.

“You watch too many cop shows”, Logan said.

“Maybe. Sorry to bother you, buddy.” Then he had a thought. “Oh wait … have you heard from Marissa or her family?”

“Not a word.” Logan was not going to tell him of the efforts people had made to contact him.

“Damn. Ok, thanks, Logan.” Braxton hung up. He had made really good progress in getting over Marissa, but now he was thinking about her again. Something told him it was her that was in danger, but he couldn't do anything about it since he did not know where she was or even what name she was currently using. He was sure she wouldn't be at her parents' farm, since she was adamant about not talking to them in order to “protect” them, according to her.