The Plantation paj-1

by Chris Kuzneski

  Greene shook his head. “Unfortunately, we don’t. And all because of Payne.”

  The sound of his name made her heart beat faster. “Is he here?” she tried to ask, but it came out mumbled.

  “Wow, I think she’s trying to talk.” Holmes stared at her jaw, which had been broken by Harris Jackson. “A good-looking bitch who can’t talk. It’s like a dream come true.”

  “Tease her later,” Greene suggested. “We gotta move before the two soldier boys find us.”

  Two soldier boys? The sound was music to her ears. That meant Jones was probably with Payne, which only made sense. They did everything together, especially when it came to the military. But how in the world did they find her so quickly? Were they brought to the island the same time as her, or did they find her on their own?

  Truthfully, it didn’t matter. As long as they knew where she was, she had a chance.

  “Okay,” Holmes said. “I’m going to untie you from the bed now, but I expect you to be on your best behavior. Understood?”

  Ariane nodded, even though it hurt her jaw to do so.

  Holmes reached for the knot near her left wrist, but before he got ahold of it, a frantic voice came out of his radio. “Jesus! Is that Jackson? What does he want now?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Greene muttered. “You take care of the girl. I’ll take care of Harris.” Greene pushed the reply button on his own radio. “Harris? Is that you?”

  “Levon,” Jackson answered, “we’ve got a major problem here!”

  Greene frowned. “What’s going on?”

  “I went down to the dock to check on the boat and . . . it’s gone!”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “All the guards are dead, and the boat is gone!”

  “What about the slaves?” Greene demanded. “Where are the slaves?”

  “They’re gone, too! I don’t know how, but the boat is gone!”

  “Fuck!” Greene shouted. “I don’t believe this!”

  Ariane watched Greene carefully, waiting to see what he was going to do next. She sensed that he might take his anger out on her. Thankfully, that never came to pass.

  “What should we do?” he asked Holmes.

  Holmes shrugged as he unfastened Ariane’s rope. “Your call.”

  Greene gave it some thought before answering. “Just wait for us at the dock. We’ll be there shortly. And try to find Theo if you can. I think it would be best if we all stuck together.”

  “Sounds good,” Jackson replied. “Make it quick. I’m in the open down here.”

  Greene turned off his radio. “I can’t believe this shit! How can two guys cause this many problems?”

  Holmes grinned at the comment. “You’d be surprised what two men can accomplish if they put their minds to it. . . . Like us, for instance.”

  “What are you getting at?”

  “I realize you’ve known Harris and Theo forever, but under the circumstances, we need someone to take the blame for all of this. If the feds get a couple of suspects in custody, they won’t be as likely to hunt for anyone else. At least not immediately.”

  Greene’s interest was piqued. “What are you proposing?”

  “How much would it bother you if we left them behind? Why don’t we get off this island while we still have a chance?”

  “Interesting,” Greene muttered. However, after giving it some thought, he detected a flaw in the plan. “But we can’t leave them here.”

  “Why not? We have the opportunity to flee, and you’re not willing to seize it because of them. My God! They’d leave your ass behind in a minute!”

  “Wait a second!” he yelled back. “I don’t mind leaving them, but we can’t. They’ll name us, say we were the force behind everything, and preach their innocence. I guarantee they’ll frame their stories to suit their needs, and because of Harris’s knowledge of the law, they’ll come out sitting pretty. Hell, they might even be given immunity to testify against us.”

  Holmes grimaced at the thought. “Damn, you’re right. So what do you recommend?”

  Greene smiled at Ariane, then glanced at his new partner. “We should leave the island ASAP. But before we do, we need to silence Theo and Harris-permanently.”

  BLOUNT’S

  comment was absurd, completely asinine. Perhaps the most outrageous, preposterous, nonsensical thing that Payne had ever heard. But that was why he was tempted to believe it. It wasn’t the type of thing that someone would make up to save his own ass.

  “Okay, Bennie, my interest is aroused. But I promise you, if I smell bullshit at any point of your explanation,

  boom!

  Understood?”

  Blount nodded. “As you know, I’m not a dumb hick, but I

  am

  a local. My family has lived in these parts for generations. In fact, when this place was owned and operated by the Delacroix family, my ancestors worked the land as slaves.”

  Payne signaled for him to speed it up.

  “For the past few years I’ve been working on my master’s degree at LSU and recently started work on my thesis. I planned to show the effect that the abolition of slavery had on black families, using my family tree as an example.”

  “And?”

  “A few months ago, I came to this island to look around. This place had been abandoned for the longest time, and I thought a few photos would look good in my project.”

  “What happened?”

  “I bumped into a team of black men doing all kinds of work. I assumed that someone had bought the estate after Hurricane Katrina and was going to move in. So I went up to a brother to ask him a few questions about the new owner and discovered that he couldn’t speak English. Actually, none of them could. These guys were right off the boat from Africa.”

  Jones asked, “Everyone?”

  Blount nodded, then turned his attention back to Payne. “I didn’t want to get anybody into trouble, including myself, so I left quickly. It’s a good thing, too, because if one of the owners had seen me, I would’ve never been allowed to come back later.”

  “Why’d you want to come back?”

  “I wanted to see what they were going to do to the place, and I thought it could help my research. You see, during the course of my studies, I came across a family journal from the 1860s. It was like finding gold. It gave me a firsthand account of slave life on this plantation from a distant grandmother. Simply fascinating stuff.”

  “I’m sure,” Payne said, “but I’m beginning to get impatient here.”

  “You want me to get to Ariane, don’t you?”

  “Is it that obvious?”

  Blount nodded. “During the course of the journal, my distant grandmother admits to having an affair with Mr. Delacroix, her master. She said she did it for special treatment, but eventually, it turned into more than that. She fell in love with Delacroix and allowed him to impregnate her on several occasions. Shortly after that, the Civil War ended and the journal entries stopped.”

  “That’s it?” Payne demanded. “What does any of that have to do with Ariane?”

  “At the time, I didn’t know, but I was determined to talk with someone from the Delacroix family so I could get a look at their family tree. I figured if I was a direct descendant of Mr. Delacroix, then I would technically be related to all of his white offspring.”

  Payne started to see where this was going, and his eyes filled with acceptance. He knew that Blount was telling the truth and couldn’t wait to see how Ariane fit in.

  “I went to the local courthouse and tried to find his relatives, but every path I found ended in death. I swear, the Delacroix family must’ve been cursed because everyone in that family died so young. Anyway, when I came back here to look around again, I hoped the new owners had bought the property from a distant relative of mine and would be willing to give me an address.”

  “Makes sense,” Payne added.

  “But when I came back, I got the shock of my life. The old plant
ation was back in business. Not just as a farm, but as an

  actual

  plantation. Crops in the ground and slaves in the field, but this time, unlike the 1800s, the slaves were white.”

  “What did you do?” Jones wondered as he watched for unwanted company.

  “I tried to leave. I wanted to tell somebody what I saw out here, but before I could get my boat out of the swamps, a big man named Octavian Holmes blocked my passage and demanded information from me at gunpoint. I didn’t want to tell him the truth, obviously. If he knew that I had been digging around, he would’ve killed me. So I decided to play dumb. At that moment, I became a buckwheat by the name of Bennie Blount.”

  “Go on,” Payne said.

  “I convinced Master Holmes that I’d be useful around here. I could cook, clean, and show him around the local swamps. One thing led to another, and he decided to hire me. I figured it was perfect. I could roam around the Plantation while I got to the bottom of things.”

  “Did you?”

  Blount nodded. “Up until recently, the Posse was bringing random groups of people onto the island, mostly homeless people. They’d beat them, train them, then ship them overseas for big money. It’s a lucrative business. But all of that changed with this last group of slaves. The people that were selected were no longer random. These people were brought here for a reason. They were brought here for revenge.”

  “What kind of revenge?”

  “Revenge for the black race. Theo Webster, the brains behind the operation, traced the roots of the Plantation’s four founders and determined their family origins. Three of the men came from slave backgrounds, but Levon Greene didn’t. His family came to America after slavery had been abolished. Anyway, Webster determined the names of the slave owners that had once owned the ancestors of the other three men. Then, tracing their family trees to the present day, he located the modern-day relatives of those slave owners.”

  “And the people that were kidnapped were the relatives?”

  Blount nodded. “Ariane and her sister are distant relatives of Mr. Delacroix, my great-great-great-great-grandfather. That’s why they were brought here, and that’s why I’m related. I realize it doesn’t make her my first cousin, but she is my relative. I even have the data to back it up.”

  Payne shook his head. “Don’t worry. I actually believe you.”

  “Great,” muttered a relieved Jones. “Now that this Ebony and Ivory reunion is over, do you mind if we get out of here? We got some people to save and not much time to do it.”

  Payne lowered his gun from Blount’s chin. He was finally convinced that Bennie was on his side to stay. “Mr. Blount, would you please show us the way inside the house?”

  Bennie grinned. It was the first time in his life that a white man had ever called him mister.

  CHAPTER 51

  WHEN

  the truck arrived at the western dock, Harris Jackson breathed a sigh of relief. Even though he realized he wasn’t safe until Payne and Jones were caught, he felt a lot better with Holmes and Greene by his side.

  “Hey, Harris,” Holmes called, “where’s Theo? I thought he was supposed to meet us here.”

  “He’ll be here any minute. He said he had to go to the house for something.”

  Holmes nodded as he searched the dock for a trace of the missing boat. There were no clues except for a number of dead guards that littered the ground.

  “These guys are good,” he admitted.

  “So, what are we gonna do?” Jackson wondered. “The boat’s gone, half the slaves have escaped, and Payne and Jones are still running around killing our men. Is there any way we can salvage this?”

  Greene gave Holmes a quick smile before speaking. “Sure we can. Remember, that’s the reason we wore our masks at all times. None of the slaves can identify our faces, so they won’t be able to give the cops our description. Once we leave this place, we’re home free.”

  A flash of panic crossed Jackson’s mind. He had revealed his face to Ariane Walker and Susan Ross when he tied them up inside the house.

  Holmes noticed the tension in Jackson’s eyes. “What’s wrong? You look upset.”

  “I took my mask off in the bedrooms, and two of the whores saw my face.”

  “You idiot!” Greene blurted. “Thinking with your wrong head again, huh?”

  Annoyed, Jackson took a step toward Greene. Even though Greene outweighed him by sixty pounds, he wasn’t about to back down. He had to stand his ground now, or Greene would tease him forever. “What’s your problem, man? Why do you have to ride me so damn hard?”

  “Because I feel like it.”

  “And why’s that? What’s your problem with me?”

  Greene stood his ground, reveling in the thought of a confrontation. “Here’s my problem. I’m fed up with all your perverted games, your groping and raping. That shit is wrong, and it’s gotta stop.”

  “Oh, yeah? And who’s gonna stop me?”

  “Who’s gonna stop you?” Greene smiled at Holmes. They had discussed this moment back at the house, and Greene had volunteered for the duty. “Me, my Glock, and I.”

  Greene pulled his trigger and the thunderous blast echoed off the water and the surrounding trees. The bullet struck Jackson in his forehead and plowed into his brain with the finesse of a bulldozer. Then, as if in slow motion, Jackson slumped to the edge of the dock and hung there for just a second before he tumbled into the water with a loud splash.

  “Nice shot,” Holmes remarked. His nonchalant tone suggested that Greene had just made a free throw in a game of HORSE. “Try to keep your elbow in more. It’ll improve your accuracy.”

  “Thanks. I’ll have to remember that the next time I kill someone.”

  Holmes glanced at his watch and realized time was running short. “That might be sooner than you think. We have to take care of Webster before we leave. Why don’t you give him a call and see what’s keeping him?”

  Greene nodded. The adrenaline from killing Jackson surged through him, practically making him giddy. “Breaker, breaker, one nine,” he said, laughing. “Theo, do you read me?”

  There was a slight delay before Webster answered. “I’m here, Levon.”

  “Where’s here, Theo? We’ve been waiting for you at the dock.”

  Another pause. “I’m up at the house. I figured we’d have to flee, and I wanted to pack a few things before we left.”

  “No problem.” This would work out well for Holmes and Greene. They needed to stop by the house before they left the island anyway. “I’ll tell ya what, why don’t we swing by the mansion and help you out with your things?”

  Relief filled Webster’s voice. “That would be great. I wasn’t looking forward to going down to the dock by myself. I’m not very good with guns.”

  A wide grin returned to Greene’s face. “Don’t worry, Theo. I am.”

  PAYNE

  patted Webster on his head, then took the radio from his hands. “You did great. You sounded very natural.”

  But he refused to speak. Instead, he slumped in his chair and pouted about getting caught.

  “What now?” Jones asked as he chewed on his first food in what felt like days. “We got them coming here, but what are we going to do with them when they arrive?”

  Payne flicked Webster on his ear. “I say we make a trade. I’ll gladly give up Theo here if they give us Ariane. As far as I’m concerned, anything we get after that will be icing.”

  Jones swallowed a mouthful of apple and decided it was the best goddamned piece of fruit he had ever eaten. “Speaking of icing,” he said as he searched the pantry for anything that resembled cake. A box of Twinkies was the only thing he could find. “Once we get Ariane to safety, will we have time to hunt down Levon?”

  “I don’t care what we do as long as you understand that she’s the number one priority here. After that, I’ll back you on anything that your heart desires.”

  “Cool,” he mumbled as he stuffed half a Twinkie int
o his mouth.

  While Jones chewed the yellow cake, Blount entered the kitchen from the security office. “They’ll be here any second. I just saw ’em pull their truck onto the road from the dock.”

  Webster stared at Blount in disbelief. It was the first time he’d heard Bennie speak normally.

  “What kind of truck?” Payne wondered.

  “Flatbed. Both guys are in the front, but it appears they have some hostages in the back.”

  Payne prayed one of them was Ariane. “Were they guys or girls?”

  Blount shrugged. “Kind of looked like females, but don’t quote me on it.”

  Jones continued eating Twinkies as he ran several different scenarios through his mind. Finally, he came across one that he liked. “Okay, fellas, this is how we’ll play it. Instead of picking these guys off from a distance-which I could do with my eyes closed-I think it’d be best if we dealt with them up close and personal.”

  “Why’s that?” Payne demanded.

  “First of all, if I kill these guys long-range, there’s no one to stop their speeding truck. I mean, the last thing we want is for Ariane to smash into a tree with a bomb strapped to her leg.”

  “Good point.”

  “Secondly, I get the feeling Holmes has been running things, and if that’s the case, it’d be foolish to kill him without interrogating him first. There’s no telling where he has slaves stored, and if we shoot him, there’s a chance we won’t be able to find them for a very long time.”

  Payne groaned at the possibilities. “Isn’t a face-to-face confrontation kind of risky?”

  “Definitely. And if you’d prefer, I’m still willing to pick these guys off with a scope. Of course, keep this in mind: Ariane

  might

  be one of those hidden slaves.”

  THEY drove straight to the house, across the grass of the main yard. Once they had stopped, Holmes honked the horn, hoping Webster would come to the front door. It worked. He immediately swung the door open, sticking his head out of the narrow crack.

  “Can you guys come inside and give me a hand? I’m not strong enough to carry this stuff.”

  Greene looked at Holmes and frowned. He didn’t have a clean shot from his current position, and by the time he raised his weapon, Webster would be able to duck inside the house.