The Story of Freelan — Not Fooling Anyone

When you send a spy, be sure he’s good at subterfuge

Sep 20, 2024

Welcome once again to the Freelan series, my ever-growing, kudzu-like work of literary fiction, where romance, drama, mystery (who’s really behind some of the tricks being played?), combine with a struggle to live truly free lives. Most of us are used to a government that asserts itself as our guardian, our caretaker, and even our nanny. They assure us that our neighbors are loathsome creatures who will cheat us, destroy our property, or worse if that benevolent government weren’t there to stop them. Sadly, most of the time, we have to watch out for that government that uses the force of the law to collect a percentage of our income and take our property or imprison us if we someone manage not to pay. They also aren’t above sneaky tactics to keep track of us.

In Freelan: The Dawning, the head of a department of the State of California government decides to send someone to check on a bunch of ne’er-do-wells in a rather insignificant area of the state. Unfortunately, he picks the wrong man to send, and the residents in the area are completely aware that he is not there for the reason they say.

The Excerpts

Encounter with Rose Wilson:

The spy arrives, sees Rose riding by on a horse, and follows her.

“You work here?” asked Peter as they began walking around.
Guy Jacobs and his assistant Jose Medina kept a close eye on Rose and Peter from a distance, watching for any sign that Rose was in danger.
Rose laughed, a pure sweet sound—almost musical—unlike any laugh Peter had ever heard before except one which was a poor imitation. And she was quite a sight out in this desert area.
…
“No, my ranch is across the highway,” said Rose, bringing Peter out of his thoughts. “I’m just helping out. Sherry had an accident a few months ago and hasn’t quite recovered yet.”
“Accident?” asked Peter out of habit.
The section of regulations related to horses replayed in his mind at the mention. He shoved the memory back to the depths of his mind.
“A horse got startled by a rattlesnake in its stall and kicked out,” explained Rose. “She happened to be standing there at that moment.”
“Sorry to hear that. Nice horse you were riding,” said Peter.
“Yes, Maggie’s a great horse,” said Rose. “I took her out for some exercise and brought her back here for Chuck. She’s his horse—well, now, that is. I sold her to him.”
“Much profit in that?” asked Peter, again out of habit.
He mentally kicked himself.
Rose laughed again. “Well, no, actually. In fact, he’s paying me monthly.”
“Sorry. I don’t mean to be so nosy. I just wondered.”
They stood silent for a brief moment, with Peter looking over at the stables, trying to appear interested and running through in his mind his research on horses and ranching.
Rose noticed and said, “Look, I’ve got some matters to attend to and then head back home. But first, I’d be happy to take a few minutes to show you around.”
They walked and talked. She showed him the stables with their freshly cleaned stalls, and the relevant regulations popped up unbidden in Peter’s memory. Several people were grooming horses out in the stable yard in front of the building. In another small fenced-off yard to the side, two young girls were working a horse in what looked like training exercises. The horses all seemed in great health. Peter kept his distance, not sure if he really liked horses or not. His nervousness didn’t escape Rose’s notice.
“Okay,” she thought, “why are you really here?” But she kept quiet about her suspicions during their stroll around. And so far, Peter hadn’t made advances to her. For such a handsome man, this surprised her, unless he expected her to make advances to him. She laughed inwardly at that as they finished the tour.

Encounter with Jim O’Connell:

Peter stops in a field of alfalfa. Jim rides up on his horse, tells Peter he’s trespassing, watches Peter return to his car, and then decides to invite him to dinner. Jim’s ranch manager shows up and learns that Jim has hired Peter.

The man looked at Peter quizzically.
“Oh, sorry,” said Jim. “This is Peter Thorn.” He turned to Peter. “This is Jack Zimmer, my ranch manager. He’s a widower and admittedly a terrible cook, so he comes here a lot for a decent meal.”
“Hi, Peter,” said Jack, extending his hand. “Yeah, I can even spoil one of those microwave meals. Welcome.”
“Peter’s gonna work here,” said Jim.
Jack looked surprised for a moment and then said, “Oh, great. Starting in the stable?”
“Absolutely,” said Jim, “just like others did.”
“Great,” said Jack. He turned to Peter. “I’ll show you where to bunk after dinner.”
They went into the dining room and sat at the table Janet had set with three places—Jim at the head, Jack on his right, and Peter on his left.
Peter ate carefully, using the best table manners his governess Sian Mackenzie had taught him. They talked about the coming winter, with Jack and Jim going through the status of things. Peter listened attentively as he ate, finding the food delicious—surprisingly so, and certainly equal to what his parents’ cook had prepared.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Jack told Jim while Peter went to use the bathroom.
“I know,” said Jim. “If we keep him around, we might learn who sent him and why. I have my suspicions, but it’s best to be sure. It also appears something personal’s really bothering him. Maybe we can find that out too. You can help there.”
“I should’ve known better,” said Jack, grinning. “Nothing much gets past you.”
“And put him in that empty room in the White Mountain Ranch house.”
“Not a bunkhouse?”
“Something special about him. Besides, Hank can keep a better eye on him that way.”
“Okay, you’re the boss.”
They had both laughed lightly just as Peter returned to the dining room.

Final Note

Do we really know the people around us? And how good are we at hiding our true selves from them? As we approach the season of disguises for trick-or-treating and those Halloween parties, bear that in mind. It’s easy to see those masks and wigs and costumes and recognize them for what they are. But a false face, unadorned by such obvious trappings, is another matter.

Keep being inspired! Keep writing! Don’t let the naysayers get you down.

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Thanks for reading. Please check out my book of recently published eerie short stories (ebook, paperback, audio), my book of eerie Sci-Fi stories (Kindle and paperback), and my third book (a novel) called The Wiccan Tales. A real Halloween treat. All from Wordwooze Publishing. (I designed the covers.)

See them all here:

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