“She needs a suitable boyfriend to prevent her from walking that dark path,” Zack insisted, then seemed to sink into his own thoughts. “Walker will be staying at the hotel a few weeks. He’s a regular Boy Scout and pathetically devoted. Sort of like Gil but younger. Maybe Kane and I could--”
“Don’t try to set her up,” Jackie announced sternly. “She’ll meet someone in her own time.”
“That thought is a bit unsettling, Jackie,” he remarked. “Think about the men who’ll be staying at her hotel. A lot of them are seriously damaged. Some almost as bad as me.” He then hesitated. “Some even worse.”
Jackie snorted a laugh. “Yeah,” she muttered and rolled her eyes. “Hayden Vandyke.”
“Thankfully, I don’t have to worry about Hayden,” Zack informed her.
“Why’s that?” Jackie asked, then considered everything she knew about the man. “He’s a bit of a pervert. An aggressive bastard too.”
“I know he puts on a good show,” Zack remarked, “but he never got over the death of his wife. It’s possible he’s impotent too.”
“Really?” Jackie practically gasped, then shuttered just thinking about the man. “I wouldn’t have guessed that by the way he behaves.”
“The man is seriously broken,” he replied. “Good thing for him too. If he even thought about touching Scorpio, I’d have to kill him.”
“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Jackie insisted, then laughed at the thought. “He’s definitely not her type. She’s not hooking up with someone like Hayden.”
“Thank God for that,” Zack muttered. “That chemical mixture would be like dropping a nuke on the East Coast.”
Chapter 17
Team one, consisting of Gil, Monroe, and Darth, took off in Gil’s mostly fixed helicopter and headed west. One of the three safe houses on Giovanni’s list was inside an old, abandoned gold mine that was a decent trek from any town. Once they reached the area, Gil’s helicopter flew overhead, checking for any signs of an abandoned vehicle. Just because they didn’t see a car, that didn’t mean Marco wasn’t hiding out within the mine’s safe house. They were told that the mine's entrance was pretty well hidden and nearly impossible to see from the air. With Giovanni's coordinates, Gil landed just far enough away from the perceived mine entrance that they could still sneak up on Marco. If he were deep within the underground bunker, it was unlikely he’d hear anything happening outside.
All three disembarked the helicopter and headed in the direction of the mine entrance. Even with exact coordinates, it was still difficult to find the cleverly concealed doorway. Darth sniffed around the area and was finally able to find the hidden entrance for them. A chain-link fence covered in faux shrub had been concealing the doorway. Monroe pulled open the fence and uncovered the fiberglass door that was painted the same color as the surrounding hillside. Monroe and Gil exchanged looks and their approval.
“Giovanni certainly spared no expense with his safe houses,” Gil remarked.
Both men removed their semiautomatics from their shoulder holsters.
“Let’s hope he’s right about Marco heading out to one of them,” Monroe replied.
“News travels fast in certain circles,” Gil informed him. “If Marco’s been paying attention to anything in the last twenty-four hours, he has to know he’s in trouble.”
“Providing he has been paying attention. If he’s in here, I’m guessing he’s not getting the greatest cell phone reception so deep underground,” Monroe reported, then indicated the door. “You want to knock, or should I?”
Gil shrugged. Monroe tried the door. Not surprisingly, it was locked. He removed a lock pick kit from his pocket and worked on unlocking the door. Despite the great lengths Giovanni went to in order to keep his safe house hidden, he didn’t go all out with the lock. Monroe picked the simple door lock in under a minute, reclaimed his weapon, and pushed open the door. Both men aimed their semiautomatics into the dark tunnel.
“Well, this is creepy,” Monroe muttered and removed his flashlight.
He shined his light into the mine but didn’t see anything. They cautiously proceeded inside. Several lights suddenly came on, brightening the mine corridor. Both hesitated and looked around.
“Motion sensor,” Monroe responded.
Darth wandered ahead of them while they remained by the entrance. Gil noticed a secondary door standing open just inside. The thick metal door was similar to that of a bank vault. When the door was closed, and the large spindle was turned, bolts would project into the surrounding metal frame. It would be nearly impossible for any intruder to gain access once the door was sealed.
“Monroe,” Gil announced and indicated the door.
Monroe looked back at Gil and the vault door. Nothing short of an explosion would open that door had it been sealed. The fact that it wasn’t, in itself, was a pretty good sign of what they’d find, which was almost certainly nothing.
“I don’t think he’s here,” Gil informed him. “If he is, he didn’t bother locking himself in.”
“Maybe he’s not as smart as everyone thinks,” Monroe responded and indicated the tunnel. “We’re here now. We should check it out.”
Gil nodded and followed Monroe along the well-lit, reinforced mine shaft. They walked almost one hundred yards before reaching a steel door where Darth waited and sniffed around the area. Both men approached with their weapons ready. Monroe tried the door. It was unlocked. Despite the door being unlocked, they didn’t let down their guard. Once the door opened, Darth entered ahead of them. The safe house was surprisingly luxurious, considering it was more or less a bunker inside a cave. There was a spacious living room and kitchen combination with moderately expensive yet sturdy furniture. In addition to enough seating for eight, the living space contained a large screen television, a fully stocked bar, and an exercise bike. The only table seating was stools in front of the island counter separating the kitchen from the living room. Toward the back, there were two bedrooms, each containing two queen-sized beds and their own bathroom.
Both men looked around the empty bunker. It was a nice set-up, but it didn’t appear as if anyone had been there in a long time, judging by the dust and cobwebs.
“One down, two to go,” Gil muttered and replaced his weapon to his shoulder holster.
Darth suddenly looked at the open doorway and snarled, alerting them to potential danger. Gil swiftly removed the semiautomatic from his shoulder holster and exchanged looks with Monroe.
“Marco?” Monroe whispered to Gil with a curious look.
“We’re about to find out,” Gil muttered and positioned himself alongside the door just out of sight. He then signaled to Darth.
Darth immediately silenced and joined Gil, where he remained hidden behind the open door. Monroe bolted for the bedroom doorway and took a lookout position. Both remained silent and motionless while listening for whatever it was in the tunnel that had caught Darth’s attention. From his position alongside the door, Gil could hear someone within the tunnel. He signaled to Monroe, hiding within the bedroom doorway. Monroe kept his weapon aimed at the entrance. A man stepped into the bunker holding a gun containing a silencer and glanced around the luxury safe house. When nothing moved, he entered and approached the bedroom doorway while keeping his weapon aimed. Judging by his weapon containing a silencer, he was almost certainly a hitman. Gil had the man’s back within his sights.
“That’s far enough,” Gil announced without giving up the safety of his position.
The man aggressively spun around, preparing to fire. Gil fired first, striking the man in the shoulder, winging him. He clutched his bleeding shoulder without dropping his weapon and seemed even more determined to take down Gil. The man’s finger tightened on the trigger. Monroe fired from behind, hitting the man in the leg. He immediately dropped to the floor, his weapon falling from his hand. Gil and Monroe kept their guns trained on the man. Gil kicked the gun away from the injured, bleeding man then aimed his weapon at the open do
orway.
“Darth,” Gil announced and indicated the tunnel. Darth bolted into the tunnel. “You secure him. I’ll sweep the tunnel in case there are others.”
§
Team two, consisting of Kirk, Ross, and Beck, headed to the closer location just northeast of Colorado Springs. Kirk drove one of the jeeps they kept in a rented garage not far from the Colorado Springs Airport. They drove almost an hour from Jackie’s house to a heavily wooded area. The area was remote and made a perfect location for a safe house. Ross rode shotgun and fiddled with GPS on his cell phone before the signal dropped on him.
“Well, it’s up here somewhere,” Ross announced with a sigh and looked at Kirk behind the wheel. “Start looking for secluded driveways.”
It wasn’t long before Kirk indicated a road just up ahead. “Think that’s it?”
Ross eyed the barely visible driveway and sighed. “Only one way to find out,” he remarked. “We’ll need to find a good spot to park the jeep where it won’t be spotted and go the rest of the way on foot.”
Kirk turned onto the old driveway and pulled into a secluded area within the woods. All three got out of the jeep and followed the driveway while remaining within the woods so they wouldn’t be spotted. They walked more than one hundred yards before spotting a log cabin on the lake. Apart from being a little larger and possibly a little nicer than most cabins in the woods, this particular, single-story cabin didn’t look to be anything special. Its size suggested it contained at least two bedrooms. There was a large, covered front porch and an equally large, covered back patio. There seemed to be quite a few windows, although little could be seen through the curtains. The cabin was situated within the woods, allowing for plenty of cover. The lake was only about twenty feet from the patio and contained its own dock and a small motorboat.
“That’s it,” Ross informed them. “A cabin on the lake. We’ll need to stake it out.”
Kirk groaned and leaned against a nearby tree. “Couldn’t we rent a boat, some fishing equipment, and stake it out from the lake instead?”
“Would be a sweet cover,” Beck muttered.
Ross eyed both men a moment with surprise, then chuckled. “Look at that,” he announced, sounding somewhat pleased. “You two actually agreeing on something for a change. I’m proud of your teamwork efforts.” Ross’s smile then faded. “No.”
Both men groaned then focused their attention on the cabin, attempting to peer into the windows with their small binoculars.
“I see something through one of the windows,” Kirk remarked. “There’s definitely someone in there.”
Ross lifted his own pair of binoculars and scanned the cabin. He nodded in agreement. “Definitely movement,” he replied. “We’ll stake out the place a little while longer.”
“I could go up for a closer look,” Kirk informed him.
Ross held up his hand. “Give it a few minutes,” he insisted. “Let’s see what we see first.”
They heard a crash followed by a woman’s scream.
Ross groaned and straightened. “We’ve seen enough,” he announced and nodded to the front door. “Kirk, take the front. Beck and I will attack from the rear.”
All three men removed their weapons and dashed for the cabin while keeping low to the ground. Kirk headed for the front while Ross and Beck headed to the back. When Ross was sure Kirk was in position at the front door, he nodded to Beck. Beck straightened and kicked in the back door. Ross charged in first with his gun aimed. There was another loud, thunderous crack, which was Kirk taking down the front door. The main room of the cabin contained the living area and the kitchen, making one large room. Three young, lean men dressed in faded, ripped jeans and graphic t-shirts spun in surprise to the unannounced interruption and aimed their semiautomatics at the intruders.
A brief glimpse of the room revealed a dark-haired man, possibly Marco, tied to a chair with his head hanging down while a young woman sobbed on the floor near his feet. The young woman was startled by the men breaking down the doors as well, although she appeared more relieved at the possibility of a rescue. Ross shot the first man in the shoulder, effectively taking him down. The two remaining men seemed panicked when they saw that the men breaking in also had weapons. The first young man ran for the back bedrooms. Before the second man could even aim his gun, Kirk shot him in his leg, dropping him to the floor. The man dropped his weapon, clutched his injured leg, and held up his free hand while screaming like a frightened child.
“Don’t shoot,” the injured man frantically cried out. “I’m unarmed. I’m unarmed!”
The man’s reaction was a bit surprising. Beck cast a strange look at Ross, silently questioning the sobbing man. Kirk had already taken off after the other man, who fled into one of the back bedrooms. Ross approached the man who was clutching his bleeding leg while screaming on the floor.
“Don’t shoot,” the man continued to scream. “I’m not armed!”
The distraught woman was even surprised by the injured man’s wailing. She seemed to return to the reality of her situation and looked up at Ross from her position on the floor near the tied man.
“Are you going to hurt us?” she asked in a frightened tone.
Ross appeared surprised by the question, then managed a smile and shook his head. “No, we’re here to help.”
“Thank God,” she gasped and quickly sprang to her feet to untie the man bound in the chair.
While Beck collected both men’s discarded weapons, Ross approached the tied man, who appeared unconscious.
“Marco,” Ross announced firmly. “Can you hear me?”
The man slowly lifted his head and looked at Ross. To his surprise, it wasn’t Marco! Ross frowned and groaned with disgust.
“It’s not him,” he announced to Beck.
Beck swiftly tied the man with the leg wound then looked up with surprise. “It’s not?” he gasped, then looked at the mildly beaten man. “Then who is it?”
Ross eyed the frightened, young woman. “Who are you?” he asked. “What are you doing here?”
“Our car broke down about a mile from here,” she announced, then indicated the man clutching his bleeding shoulder. “That one offered us a ride to a working phone. He brought us here and started beating up my boyfriend.” She shuttered slightly and insecurely rubbed her shoulders. “I was terrified to think what they intended to do to me.”
Ross sneered and kicked the man with the shoulder wound. He cried out while continuing to hold his bleeding shoulder.
“I’m sorry,” the injured man screamed in agony. “I’m sorry!”
“You’re only sorry because you were caught,” Ross snarled, then indicated for Beck to tie him as well. Ross looked across the cabin. “Kirk!”
There was a loud crash from the back bedroom. The third man, who had attempted to flee, was thrown from the bedroom and across the cabin. Kirk stormed out of the bedroom after the man now trying to escape from the angry, big man. Kirk grabbed him by the back of the neck and slammed him headfirst into the nearby wall.
“Kirk,” Ross again called out.
Kirk finally looked at Ross while standing over the disoriented man. “What?” he demanded as if annoyed that he’d been interrupted.
“It’s not him,” Ross announced and indicated the beaten man, who was now free from his bindings.
“They did try to shoot us,” Kirk announced while maintaining his irritation.
“I’m not saying you shouldn’t beat them,” Ross remarked. “Just, well, don’t kill them.”
Kirk smirked and gave a firm, pleased nod. He returned for the man who again attempted to bolt for the door. Kirk punched him in the gut and then in the face, knocking him backward into the wall.
Ross returned his attention to the woman, who no longer appeared frightened, and indicated the man on the floor. “If you want to kick him a few times,” he announced, “be my guest.”
The woman turned angry and kicked the man repeatedly in the midsection. He scr
eamed and cried, now no longer the tough guy who had beat up her boyfriend and threatened her with physical harm. Beck removed a set of car keys from the other man’s pocket and tossed them to Ross. Ross handed the keys to the beaten man.
“Here’s your ride to town,” Ross casually informed him. “We’ll leave the men tied here. You can call the police or just leave them here to rot for all I care. Your call.”
Kirk punched the man a few more times, seeming to enjoy himself a little too much. Ross glanced at his watch then eyed Kirk.
“Wrap it up, Kirk,” Ross firmly announced. “We should go.”
Kirk finally punched the man in the groin, dropping him to the floor. Beck shook his head at Kirk’s final blow, then approached the writhing man and tied him as well. Ross smiled at the young man and woman.
“You’ll understand if we don’t stick around,” Ross informed them. He then turned for the front door and twirled his finger in the air. “Move it out!”
Beck and Kirk followed Ross from the cabin. The young man and woman exchanged looks then eyed the discarded guns on the nearby coffee table.
Chapter 18
The newer black blazer pulled up to the small, dilapidated motel on the edge of town. The motel, situated on a concrete slab foundation, was just one field away from the parking lot of the massive, newly-built casino. Detrick, Carter, and Bart got out of the vehicle and stared at the creepy, abandoned building with the same expression. The ten cabin motel, fashioned in an “L” shape, had seen better days and had possibly been abandoned for more than a decade. The roof needed work, the old, wooden siding was in dire need of painting, the windows were boarded up, and the weeds were tall and thick around most of what should have been the paved parking lot. Detrick made a face and withheld his somewhat humored laugh.
“Marco wouldn’t be caught dead in a rat trap like this,” Detrick announced and shook his head. He then looked at Carter, who seemed equally puzzled. “You were given bad intel. Maybe they meant the casino next door.”
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