Liberty or Tyranny Read Online Free PDF Page A

late father. Still, Nate rushed through the courthouse door and had it closed behind him as fast as he could manage it.
    The lobby was empty and dark, nearly as cold as outside, but a lot less wet and windy. There was no power in the building, of course. The only buildings with electricity were those the Army had taken over, including the clinic that had been turned into a small hospital, complete with three emergency rooms. Nate went through what had been the security guard station. A metal detector that people once had to walk through before getting past the security guards stood useless. Being a small town in a rural county, the courthouse wasn’t as large as most in the state of Florida. Still, it was three stories and contained many rooms. He headed down a dark hall and turned right, where he opened a door and stepped into the room that was being used as the temporary sheriff’s office.
    Sitting behind a desk in the dim glow of a kerosene lantern, Tyrone looked up and reached for a shotgun at the same time, not relaxing until he saw who had just barged in. His intense eyes appearing very white in his black face as he looked across the room at Nate, he was obviously ready to kill if need be. Recognizing Nate took only a fraction of a second, and he put the shotgun back on the desk without ever having actually aimed it at him.
    Ignoring his friend’s precaution and noticing that Tyrone was in the process of going through Chesty’s desk, Nate asked, “Find anything? I woke early to go through his desk for anything that might lead us to any others involved with his murder, but I see you beat me to it.” He took his hat off and slipped out of his load-bearing harness, then shed his wet jacket, hanging all on a hat rack standing near the entrance. The cold in the unheated room immediately penetrated his thin shirt.
    Leaning back in the seat, Tyrone took a few seconds to answer, “Nothing so far. I haven’t been here long.”
    Nate rubbed as much water from his face as possible with his bare hands and wiped them on the driest side of his jacket. “We have a few hours. The funeral’s not until 9 AM. I sure would like to know for certain if his murder was related to the terrorists or if it was something else entirely.” He walked across the room and stood beside the desk.
    Tyrone pulled a stack of papers out of the top right desk drawer and handed it to Nate. “Well, start with this pile. Maybe one of us will get lucky and find something. I don’t hold out much hope, though. We knew as much about the terrorists as he did, and if he was working on something he would’ve let me in on it. The fact is anyone could’ve killed Chesty and for any reason, sane or not.”
    “Yeah,” Nate said. “But it’s the first place to look, since we have nothing at all to go on.” He found a chair and went to work, scanning his dead friend’s notes. He spoke while he read. “You’re the only one here with law enforcement training and experience, and I fully understand that.” He looked up from the notes. “You and I both know you’re the boss here. I’m just trying to help out. Also, I may not wait two weeks before heading back to my farm. I’m sorry about deserting you, but that’s the way it is.”
    “I figured that.” Tyrone didn’t even look up. “I just hope I can find two or three good people before you leave.”
    Nate regarded Tyrone. “You don’t hold it against me?”
    He shook his head and looked up. “No. You said two weeks, but things have changed.”
    The two exchanged glances.
    “Something I don’t know about?” Nate asked.
    “No. Donovan has told me the same thing he told you. Said he has given Deni permission to leave anytime she wants. I guess he was warning me I’m going to be short on help soon.” He tossed a pile of papers aside. “A lot can happen between now and the time you leave. I hope what does happen is we get every SOB that was involved in Chesty’s murder. And I hope that’s