Chapter 580 Montana Wants Independence

Just when Luke was wondering which force was trying to attack his family, Lilith brought more news.

"Boss, a distress signal was detected from Lip and Beth's cell phones."

Luke immediately put aside all his thoughts and asked Lilith:

"What happened? Where are they?"

"According to the location of the last signal, it's on the border of Montana and Idaho, at a place called Eden Lake."

Luke frowned.

"Why did they go there?"

This question was just Luke talking to himself, and Lilith couldn't answer it at all.

"Prepare the plane, we're leaving now."

"Okay, boss."

Originally, Lip and Beth were planning to go on a short vacation.

Beth follows Angela in her business activities and is busy every day.

Lip finally waited for Beth to take a vacation, so naturally he wanted to spend some happy time with Beth alone.

So they decided to go to the border of Montana, Idaho and Canada.

There are few people there and the scenery is beautiful, especially a place called Eden Lake.

There is a mountainous area over there with beautiful scenery.

Accustomed to the scenery near Yellowstone, the two decided to see other scenery.

So the two of them went on a spontaneous trip.

Eden Lake is a really nice place.

The lake water is clear and the scenery of the snow-capped mountains is reflected on the lake surface.

Eden Lake itself also has underground hot springs. Although the temperature is not high enough for bathing, it is suitable for swimming and is not too cold.

Because this place is remote and in the mountainous area, no one has developed it.

Lip also heard from other cowboys, so he decided to go out alone with Beth.

The two of them set up their tent on the beach by the lake and began their own world.

But unexpectedly, a group of naughty teenagers from a nearby town also came here.

There is no other place like this for such a big lake, so they had to go right next to their camp.

Lip and Beth couldn't be so affectionate in front of a group of children.

So the two of them had no choice but to swim to kill time, thinking that these naughty kids would go home when it gets dark.

Unexpectedly, Lip and Beth's concession made these naughty kids even more outrageous.

Even the dogs they had with them were released.

And the dog was barking very close to Beth.

Beth is not a good-tempered person. She criticized those naughty kids, but all she got in return was their ridicule.

Lip saw this scene when he came back from swimming.

So he picked up a branch by the lake and waved it to drive the dog away.

The naughty kids are not happy about this.

After threatening the two men viciously, he left with the dog.

In fact, Lip and Beth didn't take these naughty kids seriously.

It's better to go.

So the two of them started to be affectionate again.

Nothing happened that night until the next day.

When Lip and Beth woke up, they had no intention of leaving.

But when they returned to the car to get their food, they found that all the food was gone.

Lip drives a pickup truck.

Most of the stuff is in the back box.

Fortunately, only food was lost.

The contents of the car were still intact.

When Lip decided to drive to a nearby town to do some shopping, he discovered that the tire was also damaged.

Just when Lip was feeling helpless about these naughty kids, he saw them in the woods.

Then Lip heard the dogs barking and Beth yelling.

Lip hurried back and found Beth holding a branch to drive away the naughty kids' dog.

Seeing Beth being threatened by the dog, Lip went up angrily, picked up a stone and threw it at the dog.

He originally wanted to drive away and scare the dog, but as luck would have it, the stone as big as Li Pu's fist hit the dog's head.

The dog vomited blood on the spot.

The naughty kids were startled, ran forward, hugged the dog and started crying and wailing.

Lip and Beth didn't know what to do, so they simply apologized and took Beth back to the car.

But when they turned around, the group of children looked at them with hatred in their eyes.

Lip and Beth's sweet vacation was completely ruined.

Neither of them was in the mood to stay here, so Lip changed the spare tire and took Beth with him to leave.

But these naughty kids had no intention of letting them go.

After Li Pu changed the spare tire, it was getting dark.

But the two decided to leave here overnight.

However, it was too dark and Lip was not familiar with the road, so the car had an accident at a turn.

The pickup truck ran off the road and crashed into a big tree at the foot of the hill.

Lip was stuck in the driver's seat, and Beth tried for a long time but failed to get Lip out.

So Lip had to ask Beth to go to the town to call home.

Before leaving, he handed the pistol in the glove box to Beth.

Beth ran out on her own.

Because the two of them suddenly decided to go on a spontaneous trip, they did not bring a satellite phone.

As for the communication base station coverage rate in the United States... it would be an exaggeration to say that it is comparable to that of a county town in China.

Because there is no profit in those remote areas, the operators will not waste money in such places.

Although neither of their cell phones had signal, they were using "their own cell phones" after all, so Lilith got the news immediately.

When Luke arrived, these naughty kids had tied Lip to a tree with barbed wire and were cutting him to bleed.

Luke pulled out his pistol and fired two shots into the air.

The group of naughty kids immediately ran away into the woods.

Luke didn't chase him, but put Lip down first.

"Beth, come out, those naughty kids ran away..."

After Luke finished shouting, Beth hurriedly ran over from the bushes not far away.

Li Pu's injuries were all external, and the most serious one was actually caused by crashing his car into a tree.

Luke checked him first, then took the medical kit handed to him by Lilith and gave Lip a simple bandage.

"We need to get out of here first."

Not wanting the damaged pickup truck anymore, Luke carried Lip and took Beth onto the Pelican.

The local sheriff also received Lilith's call, but obviously did not take it seriously.

They only found the wrecked pickup truck, but no signs that Lip had been abused.

After settling Lip and Beth down, Luke and Old John listened to Beth's story together.

Beth also said:

"Someone among the group of kids recorded the video with his cell phone. This should be evidence."

Old John said nothing, but Luke explained it to Beth.

"That thing won't be found. It's a small town, and the sheriff won't risk being hated by the townspeople by arresting these naughty kids."

Beth looked angry.

"Is that the end of it?"

Li Pu's injuries were not serious, but they looked scary.

The naughty kids only scratched the surface of Li Pu's body with a knife. The wounds were not deep, but there were many wounds and a lot of bleeding, which looked scary.

However, the broken ribs will require a few months of rest.

Luke patted Beth's head and smiled to comfort her.

"Take good care of Li Pu. I, your father, and your big brother are here. We won't just let it go."

When Old John and I came outside, Old John didn't say anything, just looked at Luke.

Luke knew what he meant, sorted out his thoughts and said:

"The law won't punish these naughty kids too much, but they have been like this for a long time. They have no respect for the world."

"so……"

"We can't use conventional legal means, and illegal means are not convenient either. After all, we are in a different position from those frogs in the well, so there's no need to dirty our hands to punish them."

"Leave this to me."

Old John nodded without asking Luke what his plans were.

That day, Luke only asked the cowboys on the ranch to go to the town to pick up Lip's pickup truck and ask the local sheriff about the progress of the case.

As expected, the local sheriff naturally protects the locals.

They claimed that they only found the scene of a car accident and no signs of abuse of Lip.

Besides, it was impossible for those naughty kids that Lilith mentioned when she called the police to appear in the woods at night.

The cowboys said nothing, just loaded Lip's pickup truck and went back.

Luke had already kept Lilith on the lookout.

Luke was also the first to know about the local sheriff's handling of the matter.

As he had guessed, the local sheriff would not enforce the law impartially.

It is normal to prefer local talent.

But Lip had to vent his anger for being tortured like that.

But as Lilith began to investigate, Luke realized something was wrong.

This town originally developed because of the mining industry.

But as the state of Montana began to restrict its heavily polluting mining industry, the town gradually declined.

But after a period of decline, the town began to prosper, and then seemed to suddenly disappear.

But in fact, there are still quite a few people in the town, at least several thousand people living here.

However, the town is very closed.

Moreover, the residents of the town are quite scattered.

"Boss, I found it."

Luke took the information handed to him by Lilith and showed a look of sudden enlightenment.

"Eden's Gate, there are really all kinds of evil cults in the Federation."

Luke sat down and began to think.

The matter of punishing a few naughty kids is now nothing compared to this matter.

So Luke hurried to find Old John.

There is such a cult in Montana. Old John is really too much of a homebody.

Old John was also shocked when he got the news.

"This Hope Town was not originally named this."

Luke wasn't surprised.

"That's not the point, Old John. This kind of evil cult must either be stopped or uprooted if it is moved."

Old John glanced at Luke.

"You're going to use the National Guard?"

Luke nodded, then shook his head.

"It's best not to let the federal government intervene in this matter. Otherwise, it will be a huge blow to Montana's status and image. It's best..."

Old John looked at Luke in confusion.

Luke smiled.

"It's better if they are drug dealers rather than a cult."

Old John thought about it for a few seconds and immediately understood Luke's intention.

As for cults, they are very common in the Federation, but at most there are only a few dozen people, and those with hundreds of people are considered large sects.

For a small town like Eden's Gate, which covers thousands of people, it is a big deal among big things.

It's the kind of thing that's hard to say.

This would make Montana a laughing stock in front of other states.

The Dutton family has always regarded Montana as their own territory, and most of their industries are in the state.

Cults are definitely not a good thing and they have a very bad reputation.

Montana originally had a relatively high degree of autonomy, which was why the Dutton family was able to control the state.

But if the federal government gets involved, it will have more excuses to meddle in Montana affairs in the future.

You know, even the FBI doesn't have a branch in Montana.

It is conceivable how much Old John dislikes the federal agencies intervening.

But if left alone, the hidden dangers would still be too great, and he would not allow such an organization to exist on his territory.

Luke knew it.

That’s why I used another name, drug dealer.

There is a consensus in all states to crack down on drug dealers.

Generally, each state takes care of its own affairs.

So, Montana just needs to mind its own business, it's just drug dealers, what state doesn't have that?

It sounds much better to crack down on these cults in the name of drug trafficking.

The federal government won't care.

Montana can handle it however it wants behind closed doors.

So, Old John nodded in agreement with Luke's idea.

"Then what's the excuse for this? After all, they didn't really sell drugs, and we don't have any evidence."

Luke smiled and shook his head.

"Old John, no evidence needed, who is the largest law enforcement agency in the state of Montana?"

Old John was stunned for a moment, then spoke without thinking.

"Livestock Police."

Luke smiled.

"Yes, it is the livestock police, and this agency is in your hands."

Old John laughed too.

Luke didn't even need to tell him anything; he knew what to do.

"I get it, but these guys are just livestock police. You have to help me."

"Don't worry, I will have my elite troops assist them, but you must also be prepared for the worst."

Old John nodded.

Luke's worst-case scenario is to use the National Guard.

Because Hope Town has a population of several thousand, if it's really full of cult members, then the Livestock Police will be useless and the National Guard will be needed.

The most urgent task now is to investigate to what extent Hope Town has been controlled by the evil cult Eden's Gate.

This is not an easy task. Most small towns in the United States are difficult to film, let alone a small town like this one that is under the control of a cult.

Professional matters require professional people.

So Luke came to a tourist souvenir shop in Paradise Town.

"Hi, Mary, is Bourne there?"

"Hey, Luke, he's in the back fixing the rental scooters, do you want me to call him?"

Luke waved his hand.

"No, just go ahead and do your work. I'll go find him in the back."

Luke walked around the counter and toward the back door.

Coming to the backyard, we saw a lot of electric bicycles parked in the semi-open garage.

Bourne and Mary opened this store after they came to Paradise because there were many tourists from Yellowstone Park and the Indian Reservation.

We sell souvenirs, groceries, travel guides, maps, etc. We also rent out electric bicycles.

Bourne was in the garage, sitting there repairing the damaged electric car.

"Hey, Bourne, there's a time I need your help."

When Bourne saw that the person coming was Luke, he stood up with a smile and wiped the oil off his hands.

"Come talk to me, but you have to talk to Mary first. You may have to be away for a while."

Bourne was stunned for a moment after hearing what Luke said, then he smiled and nodded.

"Okay, wait for me."

Mary didn't ask any more questions. After saying goodbye to Bourne, she went back to her business in the store.

Bourne followed Luke back to Old John's house.

When Bourne arrived at old John's study, he was stunned.

Here are not only old John's classmate, the female governor of Montana, but also the old cowboy, the chief prosecutor of Montana (state attorney general), and the commander of the Montana National Guard.

Seeing this, Bourne said casually:

Is Montana going to be independent?