“I thought there were five guards left,” said Mel, confused.
“There were,” added Jake, without elaborating. “But now there are four.”
“What do you think?” Mike asked Joy and me.
“I want all three kids back together,” said Joy, “and before they all decide to move on down the road.”
Mike then looked at me. “My concern is...”
“Hold on a second, Lance,” said Lonnie.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Thirty-one
Raton Pass, New Mexico
Mark pulled up fast on the four-wheeler. “Jim is on the ham with them now, and they are confirming the trade tomorrow.”
“Wait a minute. They don’t have Katie?” asked Mel.
“No, they are still asking to trade for her.”
“We go with Plan B,” Joy and I decided. “If Katie is there, she will be rescued; and if she’s not, then she will surely show up after seeing our victory,” I announced.
“I want to strike at 4 a.m.,” said Lonnie, “while they are still half hungover. The kids will be well rested and ready to run, and the guards will be sober enough not to do anything too stupid, but still groggy enough to let us get our job done.”
“You will need to bring the kids across the slow river crossing, as you already mentioned,” I added, talking to Jake and Mike. “I will be on our side of the river with Tom and Mel. Sorry, David, Joy and Nancy. We can’t have everybody down there, in case it gets bad. Mike and Jake will bring over some of the fireworks and, with Mel’s help, will get within 50 yards of their camp before creating the diversion.”
“Jake’s on rescue,” Mike added.
“And you?” I asked.
Mike grinned. “Me? I’m on cleanup.”
Most looked puzzled at this statement, minus the few of us who knew him best.
“Kids out first, right?” I asked Mike.
“Sure thing, buddy. You will get your boys back, and your girl too, Mel. After that, I can’t promise you anything you’re going to want to hear.” He turned without another word and headed to his tent.
“You’re not going into the woods with your bad leg,” said Nancy to me, with Joy nodding in agreement.
“Yes, he is,” said Vlad, “and so am I. We are both compromised, but we can still shoot. Help us down to the river and we will give them hell,” he added.
I hobbled over to Vlad and said, “I’m glad you’re back, my friend,” patting his shoulder, “and thank you for this.”
“And when they are safe, then we open the Beluga!” Vlad added.
“It’s a deal,” I told him.
I was suddenly overwhelmed by the sacrifice each member of our groups was willing to make for someone else’s kids—for my boys and Mel’s daughter.
In the old-world, I thought, most wouldn’t knock on a neighbor’s door to ask for an extra egg or coffee creamer, and these fine people with us would risk their very lives for another family’s children. I felt truly blessed and vowed to return the favor. I would get my chance in the coming weeks, more than once.
David was not exactly happy about staying behind, but we convinced him that he had an entire group to lead, and one more body in the line of fire would not help the cause. Tina agreed and helped convince him of his duties and promises to her and his mother.
Mel left the drone for another time but unpacked the impressive arsenal of fireworks.
They would be divided, 2/3 among Jake and Mike on the other side, and 1/3 with me, Vlad and Tom, on our side of the river—all of us with night-vision goggles.
We ate an early supper, vowing to turn in early.
Joy and I, both holding a still-scared Hendrix, prayed aloud for the safe return of our boys and Katie.
Mike, with Sheila, told Javi what he had to do, leaving out the adult-only parts. Sheila was worried but didn’t ask any questions or ask Mike to stay back. Maybe this is one way I can start to give back, she thought, to make amends, one step at a time.
Tammy held Jonah close, vowing that her Mel would do everything possible to bring his sister back to him.
* * * * * * *
Chapter Thirty-two
Raton Pass, New Mexico
Katie had slipped out of the house, leaving her crying brother behind. She was doing the one thing she swore she would never consider. She left him, her only family, now alone but safe.
Ringo and Mini greeted her on the edge of the property, giving her a startle. “I’m sorry, doggies, but you have to stay here,” she said, petting each before entering the woods closest to her house and making a large arc around the property, disguised by trees and hills.
Keeping the daypack she had from before, it was now stuffed with borrowed food from Mel and Tammy’s house, including a small life-straw water filter from one of Mel’s bug-out bags he kept scattered around the house, a working flashlight, a Swiss Army knife with a can opener, and several days’ worth of food.
She vowed to remain hidden in the woods until she could confirm the twins were unharmed. Only then would she sacrifice herself in trade to the same men she fought so hard to leave.
Finding her way to the makeshift camp by the river that she had used with her brother only days before, she found it undisturbed. Leaving her supplies concealed, she made her way to the camp to spy on the group mid-afternoon.
She missed spotting Mike and Jake by a full hour, hearing nothing but music, as well as birds in the trees, singing as always now since they were quite used to the loud distractions. Weighing her options for more than 30 minutes, she climbed a large pine tree about 100 yards from the camp. The vantage point was crucial, as she had not thought to bring binoculars with her, now remembering seeing more than a few pair in Mel’s house.
They can only spot me if they really try, she thought, and it seemed unlikely given the drunken stupor of the guards.
For a split second, she thought about a rescue plan, with her taking both boys to safety, as she had done with her brother, then quickly dismissed the thought.
Sitting high up in the tree, with the breeze gently swaying the branches, Katie daydreamed of her former life… Family and friends, even teachers and dozens of random people, went through her mind, as the innocent girl she used to be treasured the thoughts. Christmases, birthdays, and an overall happy childhood, where she always felt safe, flooded through her as if she hadn’t a care in the world…
A disturbance in the camp jolted her back to reality. One of the women was refusing to enter the “special” guards’ tent, with her husband attempting to pull her away by the arm. She couldn’t make out the faces clearly but it sounded like her mother’s very best friend, Martha, now screaming to be released.
She could clearly make out the guard’s hat, signifying he was directly responsible for her mom and dad’s deaths, as well as the others. She knew it was him because she had never seen him with his hat off.
The guard kicked Martha’s husband in the stomach, doubling him over before he was beaten down by another, and she was forced inside the tent. Music was slowly turned up, drowning out her screams for help.
Katie decided right then that she would not voluntarily go back; and if captured, she would end her life before they could.
Thirty minutes later, the guard emerged alone, turning the music down. Katie felt her stomach turn and vowed to make sure he would pay for his crimes.
Still vowing to help the boys, she stayed still for another hour before getting her proof of life. The music was once again turned down, and each child was ordered out of the tents by name, including Jax and Hudson, for a bathroom break. They are both in the same tent Javi occupied before! she thought.
Heading back the way she came, she unexpectedly met Mike on her side, and Jake at the other end of the river crossing.
“You’re back!” called out Mike casually, continuing his work.
“Maybe and maybe not,” she responded confidently. “What are you two doing down here anyway?”
&
nbsp; “We’re putting a catch rope across the river,” Mike replied.
“What’s that?” Katie asked.
“When we rescue the kids, minus you now, of course, we…”
“I’m no kid!” she spoke up immediately.
“OK, sorry… When we rescue Hudson and Jax, we will cross the river above the rope, and if we stumble, any of us can catch the rope and follow it to the other side. I should have had one when I got Javi.”
“Those men over there,” she said coldly. “Those animals…” she continued. “I want them all dead!”
Why is that? Mike thought, but didn’t ask.
“The one with the Indiana Jones hat, he’s the one who killed my parents. That evil excuse for a man had me stuck in a tree, watching as he hurt my mother’s best friend in the whole world, and had her husband beaten up. He’s the same man that wanted to trade for me, and he’s the first one I want gone off this earth.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Mike whispered.
Mel dropped his full-sized backpack at the river’s edge, near Jake, and began setting up, without spotting Katie
“Your girl,” said Jake quietly, pointing across the river.
“Oh, thank God!” Mel said aloud, dropping his pack to the hard ground.
Jake put a hand on his shoulder. “Take it slow,” he told Mel. “It’s just my intuition but we don’t want her scared back into the woods.”
“I get it,” Mel responded, slowly crossing the knee-deep river to Katie.
“Your brother misses you, Katie. Tammy and I miss you too. Are you ready to come home?”
“Not until that evil man is dead,” she said loudly, getting a look from each man.
“I’ll bring you his head,” Mike whispered. “Now, go back home with Mel and take care of your brother before I change my mind.”
* * * *
Katie crossed back over the river with Mel, believing Mike would keep his promise.
She was distracted, as Mel asked her to help set up the fireworks, talking to her like his own daughter. “The Screaming Serpents,” he told her as he held one up, “sound like a thousand feral cats in heat,” getting a smile out of her.
“They are going to have no idea what hit them,” he continued, “and we will get the twins back.”
“What about Martha and her husband?” she asked.
“I don’t know yet, Katie. We will have to see.”
Twenty minutes later, they all walked back to Beatrice’s house together.
Jonah was there, playing with Javi, when he saw his sister. “Sissy! Sissy! You came back for me!” he cried, running into her arms.
“I’m sorry, Jonah. I’m so sorry… I’ll never leave you again!”
Tammy welcomed her back with a big hug and genuine tears. Mel hugged Tammy, telling her it’s going to be OK and reassuring her they would be a happy family soon enough.
Mike lifted little Javi and swung him in the air, surprising Sheila and most adults in the room. “More!” he yelled out. “More! More!”
Beatrice made her way over to Mike as he put Javi gently on the floor. Putting her right hand over his heart, she whispered, “I know who you are…” followed by a pause, with neither speaking. “You are a slayer of bad men and a protector for the rest of us. Thank you for bringing Katie back to our side. Now bring those sweet boys back safe.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied honestly. “I’ll do just that.”
“What was that about?” David quietly asked his mother minutes later.
“It’s my job to make sure everyone is welcome here, and that’s what I am doing.”
“Mark and I have a surprise for you if you’re up to it,” David told his mother.
“Of course I am, son. I’m not getting any younger, so let’s have it!”
David let an excited Mark take the lead, showing his grandmother to the underground gallery. Beatrice was taken aback by all of the paintings featuring her, year after year, and started with the one on the left side.
“What are these?” she asked David.
“Dad painted one every year that you were married, and they have been here the whole time.”
“Why didn’t Dean show them to me before?”
“I’m not sure, Mom, but I think he would have if he’d had more time,” David said, whispering so Mark would not hear.
“Well, they are just lovely,” Beatrice replied, not acknowledging his last statement. “I especially like the early ones, with zero wrinkles!” she quipped.
She noticed they were in order by years since they were married. With the exception of the fifth year, which was missing, the rest were all in order. She hoped the boys would not notice the discrepancy.
“Should we take them down and move them into the house, Mom?”
“No, David. I like them just where they are, in your father’s hideaway studio. Now I can come down here as often as I wish and view each one at my leisure. Besides, cooking, swimming, and being a new grandmother to your girls—oh, and planning a wedding!—I now have a few extra minutes a day for this precious gallery.”
“Can you please excuse us, Mark?” asked David.
“Sure, Dad. I’ll just head back to the house.”
“You noticed, right?” she asked about the missing portrait.
“I’ve known about it for a long time, Mom,” he replied. “Dad told me when I went off to college, after I asked him about the missing painting.”
“He told you everything?” she asked.
“Yes. He said he made a mistake that nearly cost him his marriage. I didn’t have to ask questions to understand why he didn’t paint that year.”
“What do you think the mistake was?” she asked, puzzled.
“I assumed he had an affair and you two were able to move on past the mistake and stay happy for all those years.”
“You’re partially right, my son, but it was me who cheated on your father all those years ago.”
“I don’t understand,” David said, confused.
“Your father was traveling a lot back then. I got lonely and made the biggest mistake of my life. We had a tough year after that, which I assume is why he did not paint. But he forgave me completely and we remained the closest of couples the rest of our days.”
David paused, processing the information he always thought to be different. “I love you, Mom, and I forgive you too.”
* * * *
Dinner this night was solemn, with a hint of hopefulness as well as prayers for our boys’ safe return.
Although it wasn’t spoken out loud, David had a sense that since there were only four guards left across the river, they would be liberating an entire camp that would assuredly affect his group in either a positive or negative way.
Jake seemed confident in a stoic military-type way. “This is going to work,” he told me. “We have superior firepower, planning, the element of surprise, and eventually good always triumphs over evil.”
“If you can get the boys to the river, Vlad and I will make sure you’re covered from there,” I said.
“I can do that,” he replied.
“Mike’s going to take all the guards out, isn’t he?” I asked.
Jake nodded his head without saying a word.
“OK. Let’s make sure our plan is solid and everyone knows their roles,” I added.
Mike, Jake and Mel would leave camp at 2 a.m., crossing the log once again and eventually making their way to the other side to set up the fireworks close to the camp.
At exactly 4 a.m., the first of them would be set off. Mel was solely in charge of detonation, planning a five-minute initial launch, keeping low in the trees in case of random gunfire.
Jake would head to the tent they hoped the boys would be in, after spotting Jax and hearing Katie’s confirmation on both the boys.
Mike opted not to give any details about his part, beyond a few instructions to Jake, Mel, Vlad and me.
“Jake,” he said, “you bring the boys back to Mel, and bo
th of you get them right down to the river crossing. Lance, you and Vlad will cover them from our side. I’ll be back when I’m done.”
“You’re going to have some work tomorrow,” Lonnie said aloud, looking at David.
“I know we will have to set a meeting with Nate, if he’s still alive,” added Joy. “I’m betting he won’t be cocky at all this time around.”
Next World Series (Vol. 3): Families First [Second Wind] Page 28