None moved immediately.
Outside, Shirley and Dre rushed toward him.
“They’re really charging you?” Dre asked.
“Get in the car,” Otis replied.
“Both of you.”
He looked toward the station.
“We’ve got work to do.”
Through his office window, Sheriff Latimer watched them drive away.
His face carried conflict and regret.
The late afternoon sun filtered through the trees as Otis’ truck moved along back roads he had known since childhood.
Police lights flashed far behind them.
But the search focused on the main roads.
“They’ll check the farm first,” Shirley said from the passenger seat.
“Then your sister’s place in Marshall County.”
“Let them.”
Otis turned onto an old dirt road.
“They won’t find what matters.”
Dre leaned forward from the back seat.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere they don’t know.”
The truck climbed through wooded country until a small hunting cabin appeared among the trees.
It was old and almost invisible from the road.
Inside were basic emergency supplies and copies of important records.
Dre stared at the equipment.
“Your surveillance footage?”
“Copies.”
Otis nodded.
“The originals are somewhere safer.”
Shirley opened her laptop and established a secure connection.
Her fingers moved quickly.
“Marcus at the ACLU is reviewing the case.”
She looked up.
“Reverend Jackson’s office called back too. They’re mobilizing supporters.”
“What about the footage?” Dre asked.
“Can’t we just release everything now?”
“Not yet,” Otis replied.
“Timing matters.”
He looked at Shirley.
“Put it out wrong, and they’ll spend all their energy telling people why it isn’t real.”
Police sirens sounded somewhere in the distance.
Then faded.
Otis’ phone buzzed.
A message from a deputy he trusted warned that checkpoints were appearing on county roads.
“They’re pushing the dangerous militant story hard,” Shirley said.
“The sheriff’s office is claiming you had an arsenal hidden on the farm.”
Otis tapped one finger against his temple.
“Only arsenal that matters is up here.”
Dre almost smiled despite everything.
As darkness settled, they moved again.
By the time they reached their next location, the news had grown worse.
The abandoned country church where they stopped had been empty for years.
Local teenagers avoided it because of stories that it was haunted.
For Otis, that made it useful.
Inside, Shirley opened her laptop again.
News coverage filled the screen.
People they had known for years appeared in interviews.
Some called Otis dangerous.
Some demanded his arrest.
Some looked frightened enough that Dre realized they genuinely believed what they were saying.
“They actually believe it,” he said quietly.
Otis watched the screen.
“They believe what’s easier to believe.”
His voice was heavy.
“A Black man defending his land must be dangerous.”
He shook his head.
“Story’s older than the soil we’re standing on.”
Shirley opened the real footage on another screen.
Wade’s gang setting fires.
Destroying property.
Threatening Otis.