Gateway To Chaos (Book 3): Seeking Justice

by Payne, T. L.

  “I don’t recall you asking. This isn’t weather for walking. You’ll freeze to death long before you find that friend of yours. You won’t be no help to her as popsicles.”

  “We appreciate it, Ms.…” Raine said.

  “Maggie. Everyone in these parts calls me Maggie,” she said, reaching over and pushing open the passenger side door. The interior looked all original, and he wondered if she’d owned it since it was new.

  “Maggie. This is dangerous. The people that have our friend, they’re bad people. They have guns,” Scott said.

  “Really? So do I,” Maggie said. She reached back and tapped on a black case. “Slide open that side door and take a look.”

  Scott slid the door open and unlatched the case. He opened it slowly. Inside, on black foam, were a purple AR-15 and a Barrett M82. “Whoa,” he said. “Nice!” Scott looked at the woman. She wore an ear-to-ear grin.

  “I built that AR-15 myself. I have a friend that painted the upper for me. That’s a top-of-the-line scope. It cost near as much as my trailer house,” Maggie said.

  “They’re beautiful,” Raine said, twisting in her seat to see them.

  “Bet you’re surprised, aren't you, with an old broad like me liking guns?”

  “No, ma’am. Not really,” Scott lied. He’d been shocked, actually. He’d taken her for the pacifist hippie type.

  “I used to shoot competitively. Best shot in the state in my younger days. I was a sniper in the Army. I bet you didn’t know they had female snipers, did you?”

  “Really? That’s so cool,” Raine said, sitting back in her seat.

  Maggie smiled. “Israeli Army has long had female snipers.”

  “I didn’t know that,” Scott said.

  “You getting in?” Maggie asked as she put the van in gear.

  Scott climbed inside, took a seat, and slid the door shut. He stared down at the black case to his left. “You got ammo for these?”

  Maggie stuck her thumb over her shoulder.

  “In the back. I just got back from the range when the lights went out. With all that has happened since, I forgot to bring them inside.”

  “I’m surprised someone didn’t steal them—and your vehicle. There’s not many of either around anymore. There’s a lot of desperate people now,” Scott said.

  “Anyone around here knows not to come on my property. If they get past Bowie, they will get their butt filled with lead.”

  “Who’s Bowie?” Raine asked.

  Maggie smiled. “My Rottweiler.”

  Raine's eyes widened. “I didn’t see or hear a dog.”

  “That’s ‘cause I saw you first.”

  Raine nodded.

  Scott was conflicted about accepting the older woman’s help. He was already troubled about bringing Raine along, now to involve this woman when he knew what they’d be walking into… It felt so wrong. Two miles down the road, Maggie made a right turn down a side lane.

  Scott leaned forward and placed a hand on Maggie’s seat.

  “Wait. Where are we going?”

  “I need to pick up a few things,” Maggie said.

  “I’m not comfortable with this,” Scott said.

  “Trust me. You’ll be glad we stopped here.”

  The VW turned onto a narrow lane. Seconds later, a large steel building came into view. As Maggie pulled the bus around to the front of the building, it became clear that it was someone’s home. Scott had heard of barndominiums but hadn’t seen any up close like this. He was actually intrigued by the idea. Off the upper story of the structure was a large covered deck. Below it, patio furniture was neatly arranged around a gas firepit.

  The man who exited from a door on the ground floor didn’t seem alarmed to see them drive in. He threw a hand in the air and said, “Hey, Maggie. Good to see you out and about. Who are your friends there?”

  “Russell, these folks came down from St. Louis. They’re looking for their friend, a woman. She was kidnapped by a mean-ass ex-husband and his associates,” Maggie said.

  Russell threw his head back then nodded. “Oh. That woman the cartel is looking for?”

  Shit! Did everyone in the state know about them?

  The broad-shouldered man was dressed head to toe in hunter’s camouflage. He wore a pair of tan Merrell tactical boots. He looked like he’d returned from a hunting trip.

  Scott could see Raine stiffen. He slid his hand down and gripped his rifle. Maggie looked back over her shoulder, then back to Russell. “Yep. That would be the one.”

  Scott’s pulse quickened. Every muscle in his body tensed. He didn’t want to have to kill the old woman, but he couldn’t let her hand him and Raine over to the cartel to be used to get JJ to talk. He reached up and tapped Raine on her right shoulder. She jumped but didn’t turn around. Scott saw her pull her rifle into her lap. So did Maggie.

  “It’s all right. We’re all friends here. We’ve had our own run-ins with those SOBs. Russell here cleaned the clock of the ones that paid him a visit.”

  “Bowie had softened them up a little for me. A couple of them could run very fast,” Russell said as he approached the vehicle.

  “What?” Raine asked.

  “Bowie chased them off my place. If I hadn’t called him off, he’d finished them. As it was, he came back covered in blood. I had to place him in his crate because he kept wanting to follow them.”

  Raine leaned to her left and looked up at the man. “How many of them are there?”

  “Four visited my place. A different four visited my dad’s place across the highway the next day, though. They are a persistent bunch.”

  “How long ago was that?” Scott asked.

  “Three days ago. They haven’t been back, so I figured they found her. We’ve been out looking for them. We don’t like strangers terrorizing our friends and neighbors,” Maggie said.

  “What happened with the group that visited your father?” Raine asked.

  “They didn’t make it up to the house. Between a two-thousand-pound bull and the meanest ram in the state, they decided it wasn’t worth it and never got out of the car.”

  “You ever see what a bull can do to a truck’s door?” Russell asked.

  “I didn’t know they were that mean,” Raine said. “I wouldn’t have gotten out either.”

  “Do you have any idea where they're holding our friend?” Scott asked.

  Russell leaned inside the driver’s window and shook his head. “The sheriff played dumb when I asked him if he knew where those guys were holed up. He’s hiding something.”

  “Our friend’s father and brother left with him earlier today to find her,” Scott said.

  Maggie looked back at him. Concern was written all over her face.

  “You're going looking with them, Maggie?” Russell asked.

  “Yeah. I think the sooner we get this resolve, the better for all of us. That’s why I stopped by. I wanted you and the boys to join us. These two can’t take on that crew all by themselves.”

  Russell ran a hand across his stubbled chin and took a step back. “I guess I have nothing better to do today. Give me a minute to get geared up.”

  “Make sure you load enough ammo. We want to make sure these fellas get the message they ain’t welcome in these parts,” Maggie said.

  Chapter 20

  St. Francois County, Missouri

  February 23rd, Approximately 2:25 pm

  The door rolled up and a skinny teenage boy stepped out of the garage. Russell backed an old, green Land Rover out and waved out his driver’s side window. “Follow me. I have to stop by Dad’s.”

  “Right behind you,” Maggie called back. When she put the VW into reverse and backed up, the tires spun and became stuck in the slush and mud.

  Russell stopped and backed up. “Get in. We don’t have time for pulling you out every five minutes. I’ll get you out when we get back.”

  Scott and Raine helped Maggie carry the gun case and ammunition to Russell’s Land Rover and they set
out to Russell’s father’s place. Minutes later, Scott got to see firsthand why the guys with the cartel had chosen not to get out to approach the house.

  “He’s massive,” Raine said as Russell bumped the two-thousand-pound bull with the brush guard on the front his vehicle. The colossal beast moved, but only a few feet. He turned and stood in the middle of the driveway facing them. A second later, something white flashed by.

  “Okay, folks. Everyone make sure you keep your hands inside the vehicle at all times,” Russell said a second before something crashed into the front passenger side door.

  “Dammit, Thunder. Cut it out,” the boy said.

  Russell rolled down his window and yelled. “Hey, Dad, would you mind sending Chance out? Thor and Thunder won’t let us down the driveway again.”

  A moment later, the front door to the house opened and an Australian Shepherd bounded out running full bore toward the bull. The beast turned on the dog and stomped his hoof, but the dog didn’t back down. The dog circled around the vehicle and rounded up the ram before driving the two animals toward a barn.

  “They make excellent guard animals,” Raine said.

  “Yeah, they do. If it weren’t for Chance, Dad would have put those two in the freezer already.”

  “If they were mine, I’d be having steak tonight,” Maggie said.

  The talk of steak made Scott’s mouth salivate. He couldn’t remember when he’d last eaten. His stomach growled loudly, and he clutched his abdomen. “Sorry. The mention of steaks woke my stomach.”

  Maggie reached into her oversized tote bag and pulled out a clear plastic baggie. “Here. Have some jerky.”

  Scott took it and placed a piece in his mouth. “This is the best deer jerky I’ve had in a very long time,” he said as he chewed.

  Russell drove up to the house and got out. “I’ll be right back. I have to go get the comms.”

  “Comms. Won’t they have been fried by the EMP?” Scott said.

  “Not Dad’s. They’re buried.”

  Russell disappeared around the side of the house. When he returned a moment later, he held a two-foot piece of white PVC pipe in his hands. The tube had been sealed on both ends, with caps having been threaded on the ends.

  “Here, Daniel. Get the radios out and put the batteries in them,” Russell said, handing the tube to the boy.

  The kid did as instructed, then handed one of the radios to Russell. He walked a few feet away and keyed the mic. Scott couldn’t hear his conversation but was impressed that someone had had the forethought to stash radios in a place that spared them from the electromagnetic pulse.

  “My brother and cousins are going to meet us down the road here,” Russell said, climbing back into the vehicle.

  As they drove south, Scott felt hopeful for the first time that they might just be able to rescue JJ without getting killed. He glanced over at Maggie. She was staring out the window and humming a tune. She didn’t appear the least bit nervous. Next to her, however, Raine was wringing her hands.

  Scott leaned over and whispered in her ear, “You should hang back and watch the vehicle. We’ll need to make a quick getaway after we find JJ.”

  She looked up at him. Her eyes narrowed. “I said I’d have your back.”

  “I know. But we can’t afford to lose the vehicle.”

  Raine nodded and stared at her hands, then flattened them on her thighs.

  “I can do this, Scott. I can help you get JJ,” Raine whispered.

  Scott smiled slightly, then let it fall from his face. “I know, and we’ll get her.”

  They rode in silence the rest of the way to meet up with Russell’s family.

  As they approached the intersection, Scott could see three SUVs stopped in the middle of the road. He was surprised that these people would be willing to risk their lives to save a stranger. On the one hand, it made him a little suspicious. He wasn't accustomed to that kind of generosity. But if their motive wasn’t pure, what could they want from him and Raine?

  Russell pulled up beside a red SUV and rolled the window down.

  “I saw the sheriff drive by about an hour ago.” the man in a red SUV said.

  “Anyone with him?”

  “Not that I could see.”

  Scott leaned forward. “Are you sure? My friends left with him this morning. He was supposed to take them to his daughter.”

  “The passenger seat was empty. They could have been hunched over in the back. I don’t know,” the man said. Scott stared at the man. He appeared to be in his late forties with salt-and-pepper hair and a long beard. Scott could see a definite resemblance between the man and Russell.

  “Let’s head that way and see if we can pick up their tracks before this snow melts and we lose them,” Russell said.

  Scott hadn’t thought about that. With the temperatures warming, they could lose all trace of the cartel's vehicles. Scott looked to the sky. The sun had been out all morning, but thick cloud cover seemed to be moving in now. Maybe the temps would drop again and preserve the tracks.

  Russell handed the man one of the radios he’d retrieved from his father’s house, and the red SUV drove out heading south. The other two vehicles pulled in behind Russell.

  “How are we going to locate where they are holding our friend?” Raine asked.

  Russell looked at her in the rearview mirror. “We are going to ask the sheriff.”

  She leaned forward and placed her left hand on the back of his seat. “You think he’ll tell us the truth?”

  “Yeah. We’re going to ask nicely,” Russell said, sticking his tongue through the gap between his coffee-stained teeth.

  “And you know where to find him?” Scott asked.

  “I have a pretty good idea.”

  Ten minutes later, the red SUV stopped in front of a pink mermaid mailbox. Russell slowed and turned down the driveway on their right, the two other vehicles following. Scott’s gut clenched. Maggie and Russell seemed like nice people, but placing his and Raine’s lives in their hands and being kept in the dark about the plans was a bit too much for Scott.

  “You mind telling me where we are?” he said, trying not to let his concern show in his voice.

  “This here is the sheriff’s girlfriend’s place. He doesn’t think anyone knows they're seeing each other. If he’s hiding out trying to avoid us, my bet is this is where he’ll come.”

  “Won’t that just piss him off? Us just showing up like this?” Scott asked.

  “It might, but who gives a damn.”

  Russell stopped the Land Rover in front of a single-story ranch-style house. Black smoke rose from the chimney. Scott looked for the sheriff’s truck but saw no vehicles parked in front. The driveway continued around to a detached garage, so it was likely it could be in there.

  “I’ll be right back,” Maggie said, exiting the vehicle.

  Scott watched her walk up to the front door and knock. The door opened, and an attractive woman in her mid to late thirties stepped outside. The woman shook her head and turned her back to Maggie. Maggie reached out and grabbed the woman by the arm. Scott’s hand dropped to the door handle.

  Russell looked back and shook his head. “Don’t. She’s got this. Maggie is one tough broad.”

  A second later, Maggie was following the woman inside the house.

  “You sure she’s safe in there—alone?” Scott asked.

  “I’m sure,” Russell said.

  Moments passed in silence. Raine tapped her fingers on her knees. She appeared as anxious about the situation as he was.

  “Russell. Can I ask you something?” she said, breaking the silence.

  “Sure, kid.”

  “Why are you helping us? I mean, you don’t know our friend or us. Yet you’re willing to risk you and your families’ lives. That seems extraordinary to me,” Raine said.

  Russell shifted in his seat to make eye contact with Raine. “That’s not so extraordinary. It isn’t as altruistic as you make it sound. We have a common ene
my. You want to find your friend and save her. We want the people who are harassing and hurting people in our community gone.”

  That made much more sense to Scott. Why they hadn’t done more to rid the county of the cartel already was still suspicious in his mind.

  “Oh. Okay,” Raine said.

  Russel turned his attention back to watching the front door.

  “You believe him,” Raine whispered.

  Scott nodded. “Yeah. I think I do.”

  When Maggie emerged from the house, she didn’t appear very pleased. She stomped to the car, yanked open the door, climbed in, and slammed it shut behind her.

  Russell put the Land Rover in gear and backed down the drive. “How’d it go?” he asked.

  A smile formed at the corners of her mouth. “They are holding the girl at Howard Kirkman’s place.”

  Russell stopped the vehicle at the end of the drive. “Are you sure? His daughter said Howard and Brenda had been on an Alaskan cruise when the lights went out.”

  “Exactly. That’s what makes it the perfect place for that group,” Maggie said.

  “All right,” Russell said. He backed out onto the highway next to the red SUV and rolled down his window. “Maggie says they’re out at Howard Kirkman’s place. We’ll have to park about half a mile away and go in on foot.”

  “Well, that sucks,” the man said. “You think maybe the EMP fried the surveillance system?”

  “We could hope, but I don’t want to chance it. Do you?” Russell said.

  “No. You’re right. I’ll send Buddy in to get intel. We should wait until dark to hit them.”

  Scott leaned forward and stared at the man. “Dark? JJ might not have that long. Especially if they get wind that her dad and brother are looking for her.”

  “You don’t understand. That place they're holed up in is like a fortress. Old man Kirkman is a paranoid doomsday freak. He’s totally off-grid. He has surveillance cameras everywhere and tripwires. It’s not impossible, but damn difficult to penetrate. It will take time to map out a plan of attack once we get eyes on the place.”

  Scott slumped back in his seat and blew out a breath. He didn’t think JJ had that kind of time. So much could go wrong.