by Robin Mahle
Slocum returned and his expression struck fear into Jensen’s heart. He would have to think fast because he knew what was coming.
“Did you see that?” he said on approach.
“See what?”
“Are you serious? You didn’t see that fucking light in the distance? They’re here. They found me.” Slocum held the jackets in his arms and tossed them to the ground. “I also found this.” He held his cell phone into view. “Now I distinctly remember turning this off. Funny how it’s on now. Oh, and that the Feds are climbing up this hill as I speak.” He raised his gun, aiming it at Jensen’s head.
“I don’t know what to say. I guess you must’ve dropped it or something.”
“And it mysteriously turned itself on?”
“Anything’s possible. Look, Deputy, I been nothing but cooperative with you this whole time. I told you I ain’t stupid and that would’ve been a stupid move on my part. You have to believe me. I mean, if I did find and turn on your phone, don’t you think I would’ve called 911 or something instead of just leaving it somewhere?”
By the look on Slocum’s face, he just might have swayed him. It was still too early to be sure, but the tide appeared to be shifting in his direction.
Slocum appeared to consider his explanation and Jensen didn’t want to squander the opportunity by allowing him to think on it further. Slocum still needed him to get him out and he had to use that fact to his advantage. “Look, if they are here, we’d best get a move on before they track us down.” Something caught Jensen’s eyes. He saw someone.
“What? You see something?” Slocum cocked his gun and turned on his heel.
“Stop! FBI!” Kate appeared before he could complete his turn. “Don’t move, Deputy. Our entire team is here. It’s over. Now put down your weapon.”
Slocum lowered his arm. “Let me guess, it was the signal on my phone?” He shifted his gaze to Jensen only briefly. “Well, I tell you what, Agent Reid. Why the fuck don’t you just shoot me, then?”
27
Leaves spun in a whirlwind above the asphalt as the chief’s Chevy Tahoe sped along the road leading to the mining operation. There were no street lamps illuminating their way, only the yellow beam of the SUV’s headlights that shone just a few feet in front of them.
Nick was in the passenger seat and peered at his cell phone. “I’ve got a weak signal and who knows if that will last the closer we get.”
Fisher pulled up between the front seats as he sat in the back seat with Walsh and Duncan. “We picked up the signal from Slocum’s phone. There has to be a tower somewhere near there.”
“I’ll tell you one thing’s for sure,” Tate began. “If your team is up there, scouring around for him, they’re crossing some damn dangerous territory. That place ain’t safe, which is why it’s been fenced off for years.”
“I see the roadblock,” Nick continued.
The chief slowed to a stop, his headlights shining on the patrol cars ahead. Both officers walked toward the SUV, peering inside.
“Chief,” the officer said. “Captain reached out to us. I hear our boy is up there in the mines?”
“You hear right. We’re joining the others. You see anything yet?”
“No, sir. Been quiet since your FBI folks went up in there about an hour ago.”
“I’ll need you boys to keep your eyes peeled. If Slocum starts to feel cornered, he might do something stupid. And right now, we’re inclined to believe he might’ve gotten some help getting up in there.”
“We’ll be ready, sir.”
“Good enough. We best get on through and help those people track him down,” the chief said.
The officer nodded and waved to his partner. Both returned to their vehicles and pulled back, allowing the chief’s SUV through. They quickly closed the gap again.
Although Nick would never show it, he was growing concerned for his team, but mostly for Kate. From day one, he always worried about her safety. But if he ever hoped for their new team to accept both of them, accept that there was no favoritism, he had to remain impartial at any cost.
“I see the state patrol car up ahead and that must be Horton’s truck, at that trailer,” Walsh said. “Chief, kill the lights.”
With the headlights off, the chief pulled up behind the other car. “I suggest we create a plan of action and hop to it. Every minute that passes is another minute your team could be in danger.”
Nick stepped out and looked beyond the chain link fence into the grounds of the operation. He checked his phone once again. “One bar.” He turned to Fisher. “You?”
“Same.”
“Me, too,” Duncan said. “Better than nothing.”
“Divide and conquer. It’s the only solution.” Walsh headed toward the fence, waiting for the others.
Nick regarded Fisher with concern. “We drive and we risk Slocum panicking.”
“We walk, and we risk not only injury, but wasting time. Reid and Quinn and that kid trooper are up there now.”
“What if we try to make contact? Send a text to our team?” Duncan asked.
“I’m on it.” Fisher typed in a message to Reid and Quinn. “I’ll tell them we’re here and that they can pull back and wait for us.”
It was Nick’s call to make. And whatever he decided, he had better be right.
Kate and Slocum locked eyes. Both had weapons aimed at one another. Even in the dark, she could see the pain and anger in him. “I know you loved her—Jenny. I saw the pictures in your house.”
“What the hell do you know? You come down from Washington with your fancy talk about profiling people and you still didn’t know it was me.”
“I know you didn’t act alone. I know Lynn Floyd helped you. She cleaned up your mess because she believed what you two were doing was right, but still couldn’t hide her guilt. So many young people. Kids. You not only poisoned them, but you took out your anger on them, too. I found the bat you used. It’s time to stop, Eric before you hurt anyone else.”
“What the hell does it matter now anyway? You know, I didn’t want to kill that girl from the hospital—Lori.”
“I know. I don’t think you wanted to kill any of them. But pain and revenge took hold of you. I understand the power of those emotions more than you might think.”
Slocum laughed. “Yeah, sure you do.”
“Why don’t you let the man go.” Kate briefly shifted her sights to the older man wearing only a tank top and jeans. “You don’t need him anymore. You have me.”
“Oh, so you gonna offer up a trade? What do you think this is, Agent Reid, some sort of negotiation? We ain’t negotiating nothing.”
“Okay. But I should tell you, I’m not the only one out here. There are others approaching and more on the way, including Chief Tate. There’s no way out for you, Eric.”
“I figured as much. I don’t want a way out either. What’s the fucking point? This town’s turned to shit. Anything good inside it just ends up getting eaten away by a damn cancer.”
“I don’t believe that. I’ve seen good people here. I’ve talked to them. They lost loved ones, same as you. But it made them want to make things better, not worse.”
“What’s going to happen to Mrs. Floyd?” Slocum asked.
“She’ll go to prison. There’s no way around that. She helped you kill innocent people.”
“Where’s Billy Horton?” he asked.
“Last I heard, they brought him in to the station. They got him on possession.”
Slocum laughed. “Possession. So he’ll spend, what, a year or so behind bars and then he’ll be set loose to do the same damn thing. Get people hooked on heroin and shit. He’s the problem. And he’s the only reason I’m still here.”
“You were poisoning human beings. Then you beat the life out of them. I don’t see how you’re any different from Billy Horton, except he’s not a brutal killer. You are.”
“I was making them people pay for what they did to Jenny. For making her take the
drugs too. Billy’s the only one left. The only son of a bitch that hasn’t been reckoned with yet.”
“So you were just doing this to make things right? A reckoning for Jenny?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, you know I can’t give you Billy Horton. So what do you want to do, Eric?”
Slocum turned the gun on himself and aimed it at his temple. His lips began to quiver and he swallowed down the lump rising in his throat.
Jensen stepped back in surprise.
Kate flinched at Jensen’s movement and diverted her attention for a split second. Then the spark of light flashed before her eyes. The hot, burning sensation crawled inside her leg. Kate looked down as blood streamed along her thigh, seeping through her pants.
Slocum started to run and was disappearing into the darkness.
“He’s running!” Jensen lurched after him.
“No!” Kate raised her weapon and aimed it at the vanishing figure in the night. Another shot rang out along with a light trail that faded in the path.
A thud sounded.
“You got him.” Jensen rushed to Kate’s side. “We need to get you some help.”
Kate wrapped her arm around him. “I need to see him. I have to know if he’s dead. Here, turn this on.”
Jensen turned on the flashlight and helped her hobble toward the sound of the thud. Her gun still aimed at the dark.
They came upon him just a short distance away.
“You got him, ma’am.”
Slocum was on the ground, his head spilling blood, but his eyes were open.
“He’s still alive.” Kate grabbed her phone and started to call Nick.
“I think it’s too late, ma’am.” Jensen pointed at him. “He’s gone now.”
The sound of gunfire brought Quinn to attention. “Shit.” He ran in the direction of the sound, though out here, the noise could’ve bounced around between the hills and mountains of tailings. His best shot was to head back toward the main in-road and up because that was Kate’s path. As he ran, he aimed the flashlight to light his way. His legs pumped hard, but his speed was slowed on the rough terrain. “Come on. Come on, Reid. Just call me or something.” He feared calling her, unsure if it was she who fired the shot or Eric Slocum. And if she was in trouble, the sound of her phone could make the man flinch and fire on her.
He couldn’t be too far away, though. He began to hear voices in the distance and the faint sound of trotting through the mud and dirt and debris. “That’s got to be Shelby.”
Within moments, the two spotted one another, each shining a light in the other’s eyes.
“It was Agent Reid. The shots came from up there.” Quinn pointed toward the top of the hillside. He was out of breath with sweat pouring from his brow. “Let’s go!”
The echo of the shots reached the team at the bottom of the hill, just inside the mine’s entrance.
“We don’t have time to pussyfoot around. There’s trouble and we have no idea if it’s the good guys or the bad,” Tate said. “Best get back inside the vehicle and drive up the hill.”
“Yeah.” Nick rushed back to the SUV. “Chief, I need you with me in case you need to talk Slocum down. Fisher, call for help. Get emergency services out here ASAP.”
“We should go up there with you, Scarborough. You don’t know what you’ll be up against,” Walsh said.
Nick eyed the rest of his team.
“He’s right. Take Walsh and Duncan with you,” Fisher replied. “I’ll get help down here. Go!”
“Ma’am? What can I do?” Jensen helped Kate to the ground as her legs grew unsteady.
“Just put pressure on the wound. Take off my jacket and wrap it around my leg. You have to be quick though, okay?”
“Okay.” He helped her take her jacket off and rolled it up lengthwise. “I’m sorry, but I gotta lift your leg a little.”
“It’s okay. Just do it quickly.” Kate was growing dizzier by the second. “Where the hell are they?”
The man yelled again. “Help! Help!” He wrapped her leg and pulled the jacket tightly into a knot.
“Ahhh!” Kate reeled back in pain.
“I’m so sorry, ma’am.”
In that moment, a figure appeared and Jensen leapt up. “Who’s there?”
“It’s Quinn and Shelby.” He emerged from the shadows with Shelby only steps behind.
“Oh my God! Reid!” He rushed to her side and examined her leg. “What the hell happened?”
“That crazy ass deputy shot her and took off. She took him down, though.”
“We need to get you the hell out of here.”
“I’m getting really dizzy,” she said.
“I know.” Quinn stood up. “I see headlights. That’s gotta be them. That’s gotta be Scarborough.”
“Christ. They better drive faster.” Shelby took over and applied pressure to her wound while Jensen stood back.
The SUV skidded to a stop on the road down about fifty feet from where Kate lay.
Quinn jogged to the car as Nick opened his door. “Reid’s been shot. She needs help. Now!”
Nick pushed him out of the way and jumped from the SUV. “Kate!” He ran toward her.
“I’m okay. Slocum’s dead.”
“You’re not okay.” Nick slid his arms beneath her and lifted her.
Walsh quickly approached. “Let me help.”
The two carried her while Quinn opened the cargo area and laid down the third-row seat. “Set her down here. Careful!”
“Oh my God.” Duncan eyed Reid. “You’ll be okay. Fisher called for help.”
“There’s not enough room for everyone,” Shelby said. “I’ll stay here with you.” He looked at the hostage.
“Sterling Jensen. I’m okay. I’m not hurt.”
“Y’all get her out of here,” Shelby continued.
The chief tossed his keys to Scarborough. “Go. I need to see to my boy.”
“We’ll come back up for you.” Nick examined her leg. “You’re not hurt anywhere else?”
“No.”
“I’ll drive. You stay back here with her.” Quinn reached for the keys. “Walsh, jump in. We need to roll. Now!”
The small hospital where Kate had visited the young woman, Lori, less than forty-eight hours earlier, was now the place she was being wheeled into at this very moment.
“She’s been shot. Right leg. It didn’t hit her femoral artery. She’d be gone already,” Nick said to the doctor.
“Let’s get her back to surgery!” He barked the order at the two nurses who flanked him.
Kate looked at Nick as they began pulling her away. She smiled and disappeared beyond the doors.
The team waited for Nick in the lobby.
Walsh was the first to approach him and he placed his hand on Nick’s shoulder. “She’ll be all right. They’ll take good care of her.”
The anger balled in Nick’s chest and climbed to the surface. “How the fuck did this happen? Where the hell were you, Quinn?”
“We split up and tried to find Slocum because he had a hostage. You said find him. And that’s what we did.” Quinn grew defensive.
“Hey, this isn’t the time or the place,” Fisher began. “Quinn and Reid made the call together. It was their best chance at finding Slocum. You know that.”
“I know you want to lash out right now, but you got to keep your shit together. Kate needs you,” Walsh pressed on.
Nick closed his eyes. “I’m sorry.” He returned his attention to the team. “I won’t second-guess any of you. You know what you’re supposed to do and how to do it. I’m out of line.”
“It’s okay. We understand. But she’ll pull through just fine,” Duncan replied.
“Look, why don’t you guys head back to the station house. Brief Ness and the rest of them. I’ll stay here.”
“You sure?” Walsh asked.
“I’m sure.”
The chief had already returned along with Shelby and the hostage. It was th
en Billy Horton decided to speak up.
“I gotta say something here. I know Slocum’s dead and all. But the shit that just went down. It’s crazy as fuck.”
“What are you trying to say, boy?” Tate asked.
“I—I gave Eric the names of them people who were friends with Jenny Floyd. I didn’t know what he wanted them for. I swear it. He just said it would keep me out of trouble.”
“You seem to be offering up a lot of useful information.” Ness turned to the chief. “Suppose he’s looking for a way out of this.”
“I suppose he is.”
“I’ll tell you what, you tell us what you know. And I mean everything, including the name of your supplier, and we might just be able to work something out. Considering the fact that you gave him those names and essentially signed their death warrants. Whatever you can give might go a long way to keeping you from spending the rest of your life behind bars.”
Nick stood next to Kate’s bed and brushed the strands of dark hair away from her face. “Hey. You’re awake. How you feeling?”
“Okay. They must have me on some good painkillers.”
“I’m sure they do.” He examined her, lying in a hospital bed, as he’d done in the past. Only this time, she was his. She was his girl, not anyone else’s. And it hurt much worse than before. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you.”
“I’m glad you weren’t.”
“What?”
“Nick, you can’t be there for me every time. You have to let me be what I’m supposed to be. You’re the one who taught me that, remember?”
“I do. Of course I do.”
“How are the others?”
“Fine. Everyone’s fine. They’re all back at the station house.”