“If I could call some of my own contacts?” he finished for me. “Of course. Just give me a few minutes alone. I’ll call you in when I have an answer for you so don’t go anywhere, Detective.”
While waiting for any answer, I called Dan to see if he’d reached Sam yet. He hadn’t, so I hung up to wait for word from either Dan or the captain. After waiting several minutes, I decided to go to the vending machine for a snack. Anything was better than waiting around doing nothing, and at that time I couldn’t think of anything I could do to help find Jason.
“Detective,” the captain called as I returned to my desk. I almost ran to his office. He spoke as soon as I entered. “The FBI has an agent undercover, but he’s being watched carefully. He’s still pretty new to the organization, so his contact insisted there was no safe way to see him until the scheduled check in two days from now.” I almost shook with rage, but I kept my mouth shut.
The captain handed me a piece of paper with a phone number on it. “See if you can convince them otherwise,” he said with a smile.
“You realize I have a civilian consultant being held hostage by Mason right now?” I nearly shouted into the phone a few minutes later. “Mason plans to torture him. Your man could get him out of there with minimal injuries if you’d let us talk to him!”
“I apologize, Detective,” the agent replied. “But my man’s position is tenuous at best. If he gets caught doing anything suspicious, Mason’s men will kill him. If he’s able to protect your guy from being tortured, he will. In the meantime, you’re going to have to pursue other leads. You might even find them before you need to meet my agent.”
I rubbed my temples wearily. “You’re sure he hasn’t mentioned anything that could help us?” I asked again.
“All I know is that Mason owns several properties outside the city. He uses them as bolt holes when the police get too close to one of his organizations.”
“You sure that’s what he uses them for? Because he hasn’t shown much sign of fear and we’ve come extremely close to him during this investigation,” I said doubtfully.
I could almost hear his shrug over the phone. “That’s what we’ve guessed. My agent hasn’t been able to figure out why else he’d have them.”
I nearly pounded the desk in frustration. “Mason runs a child prostitution ring. The man who was abducted found one of his houses and shut it down. He deals drugs—we’ve stopped his people on our streets. He’s a fence for stolen property. With all that, you couldn’t think of any other possibility! We need your list to stop him from harming another person, and we know Mason has him.” I stretched the truth but didn't care.
We strongly suspected, to the point where we were sure, but we had no proof. I had to keep the agent on the defensive to keep him from thinking too hard. “What kind of operation are you running?” I asked angrily.
He tried to stammer a response, but I interrupted. “I need a list of all known properties NOW. Fax them to me, or so help me I will find some way to have your badge!” I threatened before I slammed down the phone.
Dan gave a low whistle as he walked up to my desk, mug-shot books in hand; the look on his face telling me he’d gotten nowhere. “Remind me not to get on your bad side,” he said with a small smile.
“They’ve been running an undercover OP for the last six months and all they can come up with for country properties is ‘they’re bolt-holes’. We’ve been on this case for what, two months? We’ve found out more about Mason’s activities than they have!”
“To be fair, we had Jason on our side,” Dan said calmly. “He dug up a good portion of what we know.”
His words made me pause my ranting. He was right. With Jason’s abilities allowing him to follow Mason’s men back to their ‘businesses’, we had an advantage. “I’m sorry. I forgot that they didn’t have that benefit.” I grimaced. “I suppose I’m going to have to apologize to that agent,” I mumbled.
Dan shrugged. “Nah. It was good incentive for them to start pushing a little harder. Besides,” he added with a grin as the fax machine buzzed. “It got us our list that much faster.”
THIRTY-ONE
Jason
Mason left the shed after doing nothing but using a large knife to remove my shirt, and no one else came in for several minutes. I could hear the low murmuring of voices outside the door, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I sent a small amount of power through the floor and out the door, trying to figure out what was coming. Several feet away from the shed I found a couple people gathered around a small area. Both the Bulldog and the Boxer were among them. Mason’s steps came back toward the shed and I pulled my power back, deciding to conserve energy for the moment. I heard some popping and smelled smoke, like someone was burning wood.
The sun shone in as the door was opened, blinding me for a moment as my tormenter entered once again. He was carrying what looked like a cattle brand. “Let’s get started, shall we?” he said.
“I don’t suppose I have a choice,” I muttered, eyeing the metal pole that glowed red-hot on one end. It was a circle with an ‘M’ in the middle, and I backed away as much as I could when he held it up in front of me.
He pursed his lips as if considering then shook his head. “No. You don’t have a choice, but this particular item will be used only once. You see,” he said leaning in close as if telling me a secret. “This brand will show everyone that you belong to me. The Earthshaker is mine, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
“That’s kind of premature, isn’t it?” I ignored the name. He obviously didn’t know or care that I was a Tracker, first and foremost. I did not want to admit that my powers of destruction had been rising, even to myself. “You haven’t broken me, and you’re not going to.” I spoke as steadily as I could, but I could feel the fear gripping me as my adrenaline rush caused the power to begin to take control.
My captor shrugged as if my proclamation didn’t matter. “I’m confident. You don’t yet know what I’m capable of.” He circled me slowly as he tried to decide where to place the brand. I tried to brace myself, but was unprepared when he finally chose a spot. I screamed at the sudden searing pain, my arm feeling like it was on fire even after the hot metal had been removed.
The pain was enough to make me lose control, and my power released, sending up a wall of dirt through the thin wooden floor of the shed between him and I. He jumped back with a curse and I tried to solidify the wall but before I could, my control was blocked as my body bucked from the sudden electric current coming from the collar that now felt like it was choking me.
I tried to scream, but my body was starved of oxygen so only a strangled gargle escaped as my wall of earth tumbled down harmlessly. I saw Mason standing in front of me, his finger holding down the control button for a second after the wall collapsed. My vision was going black when the electricity stopped and I sagged against the bonds holding me up. Panting for breath, I glared at him, almost daring him to try something else.
“Naughty, Jason,” he said mildly. “I didn’t say you could use your power.”
I continued glaring at him as I tried to gain control enough to get my feet back under me and take the pressure off my arms. The current from the collar was much stronger than I had anticipated. Someone had revved it up to be extremely effective in cutting off my connection to my power. Mason turned away, ignoring my gasping breaths as he picked up the knife he’d used to cut off my shirt.
“I’m going to be causing you some pain, Jason,” he said. “But if you use your abilities, the extra pain is your own fault. I will only use electricity on you for that reason; you have my word. The next time, I will be turning up the power in the collar. Each time you misbehave I will do the same. Eventually, you will become a machine that I can turn on and off at will. The power you hold will become mine to use as I see fit.”
The monster turned back to me, his eyes seeming to glow with madness as he continued to speak softly to me. “Is that understood?”
/> I couldn’t speak; fear was gripping every inch of my body. I simply stared at him in horror as he once again approached me with the large knife. My shoulder throbbed and burned, and I could still smell my flesh burning. He casually swiped the knife across my belly, and I hissed at the stinging pain as he repeated, “Is that understood?”
I nodded, still unable to form words, and he gave a small nod of approval. “Good, then we can get started.”
The next several hours passed in a haze of smoke and pain as Mason was rejoined by Bulldog and Boxer to torture me. I attempted several times to use my power for escape, but each time the devil sent fire coursing through my body. I could no longer keep my feet under me and simply sagged against the now bloody handcuffs, the pain in my wrists barely noticeable against the pain in the rest of my body.
After an undetermined amount of time, he and Bulldog finally stopped. Boxer had left what felt like several hours earlier, and I hadn’t seen or felt him since. Once Bulldog left the shed, Mason leaned over me. “Use your power now. Make this shed shake, and the pain will be done for the day.”
My body shook and I tried to gather the energy to use my power, but I shook my head wearily. “C… can’t,” I said weakly, my voice hoarse from screaming.
“Try again, or there will be more pain,” he threatened, holding up the control box. Fear once again rose up and I was able to send enough energy into the ground to make it rumble. I saw him smile as the world faded to black. “Good boy,” he praised as I lost my grip on consciousness.
THIRTY-TWO
Alice
The list of properties came, followed shortly by a phone call telling us that we would be able to meet the undercover agent the next day. It was the supervisor of the agent I had spoken to earlier, and he seemed apologetic, but I wasn’t in a forgiving mood. “When we find where Mason is hiding, we’re taking him down. Your OP is over the minute we find him. We could use some help when we go in to get our consultant.”
“You’ll get it. If your guy is with him that should give us what we need to hold him and charge him with enough crimes to keep him in jail for the rest of his life.” The special agent seemed almost grateful to have something to do to help, but maybe it was just that he was happy to have an end in sight for the Mason case.
“Thank you. I’ll let you know when we’re moving and where. Goodbye.” I hung up the phone and glanced up at Dan who was staring at me. “What?” I snapped, really wishing I could stop worrying and go home to a pint of chocolate ice cream and a movie. If I were free to do that, I would know everyone I loved was safe.
“I’ve never seen you pushing people around like this. It’s kind of impressive. That being said, you might want to calm down a bit before you start making enemies of the Feds. You don’t want that. Once they’ve helped us find Jason, let them off the hook, okay? They were doing their job.”
I glared at him, but he met my gaze steadily, holding it until I finally cracked. “Fine. After we have Jason back I’ll apologize for threatening their jobs. Happy now?”
“I guess I’ll have to be, but you need to try to stay objective. Look at everything as if it were a stranger, not your friend. It might help you keep your sanity through all of this,” he said, turning back to the papers on his desk. My partner was right, as he often is, but it was going to be hard to stay professional. Jason had become like a member of my family; all I wanted to do was break down and let all my worry and fear out.
While I struggled to regain my composure, Dan got back to work. Looking over his shoulder I saw that he had maps of the area surrounding the city and was busy locating the areas that belonged to Mason. We were figuring out ways to approach each property so the planning stage wouldn’t take too long once we found out where he was holding Jason.
“All of these properties have too many possible ways out. It’s going to be nearly impossible to cover them all,” I said as I looked over his shoulder at the map.
“There are a couple that aren’t too bad, but you’re right,” Dan agreed thoughtfully. “We might have to attempt to use the undercover agent to get us in a little more subtly. If he can, we may be able to make a smaller perimeter and prevent Mason or his men from escaping.”
“We won’t really be able to plan anything until we have our meeting tomorrow, but that sounds like a possibility we should bring up.” I glanced at my watch. Jason had been gone for nearly a full day already and I couldn’t begin to guess what Mason was putting him through.
“Dan, we’ll find him, right?” I asked. I allowed my doubt to show clearly for the first time since I’d found out Jason was missing. He may have seen through me before, but I had been hiding my fears behind a mask of anger; although Dan knew me well enough to know what I was feeling. I had to be confident for Hannah, Sam, and the other kids, but I couldn’t be confident for myself.
“We’ll find him,” Dan said confidently. “We’ve already made steps toward it. What I can’t guarantee is what shape he’ll be in when we do find him. When we do, we need to be strong for him because chances are good he won’t be strong for himself.”
I nodded. “You’re right. Is there anything more we can do before our meeting tomorrow? What can we look up or plan without knowing where he is?”
Dan looked at his maps and files and shrugged. “We can go over Mason’s known associates, but if we go talking to people he’ll know we’re on track to find Jason. We don’t want him to get spooked and move him before we talk to the undercover agent. What’s his name again?”
“Mark Jones. Supposedly he’s one of their best undercover agents,” I said, my voice clearly conveying my disbelief.
Dan shook his head. “You know how hard it can be to infiltrate a criminal group at any level. Don’t be too hard on him because he couldn’t get into the inner circle. Keep in mind he was able to save Sam. You should be grateful.”
I winced. “You’re right,” I said, immediately contrite. “I’m sorry, Dan.”
“It’s okay,” he said calmly. “You’re like a mother bear protecting her young. Whether it’s a threat or not, you’re ready to attack it.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Mother bear? Really? I’m not that much older than Jason. Big sister bear at best,” I said with a smile.
“Have it your way then. Just try to tame the instinct, okay? The FBI, while sometimes annoying, is on the same side. They want to get Mason on anything they can, and if they catch him with Jason…”
“They’ll be able to arrest him and keep him for murder, wrongful imprisonment, torture, and whatever other federal crimes they can come up with to charge him for,” I interrupted, a smile on my face in anticipation for seeing Mason behind bars.
Dan just nodded. “You should go home for a while. Relax with Hannah and the kids. I’ll keep you posted if anything happens here.”
I shook my head. “If I’m going, you should too,” I objected mildly. “You’ve been here longer than me.”
“I know, but I have another report to file, so I’ll go home later. The wife wants me home for supper anyway.”
“Okay. As long as you get home at some point tonight. I’ll meet you back here in the morning for our meeting.” I gathered up my copies of the files on Mason and his men and headed out the door. At my partner’s questioning look I shrugged. “I want to know everything I can about Mason and the people surrounding him before we confront them again. See you tomorrow.”
“Get some sleep,” he responded as he glanced back down at his maps and files.
I drove home, stopping at the hospital to pick up Paul—who’d refused to leave with Mendez—and check on Sam. Paul was sitting in a chair next to Sam’s bed and Sam was asleep. The guard was outside the door, so I motioned to Paul and he came out, moving quietly to avoid waking Sam.
“You ready to get out of here for tonight?” I asked. “Either Tony or I will bring you back tomorrow.”
He looked at Sam and back at me, seeming uncertain. “I don’t want to leave him alone. He doesn
’t know the cop, and he’ll be scared if he wakes up and no one is there.”
“I think we’ll be able to bring him back to my house tomorrow,” I told him. “If you want to stay here tonight, I’ll okay it with the hospital. Sam’s a special circumstance case, so I’ll make sure they make an exception to the visiting hours.”
The boy hung his head, his longish hair covering his eyes as he stared at the floor. “You’d do that for me?” he asked.
His insecurity was a little surprising considering the open hostility he’d been treating me with since this had started. “Yes, I will. Jason cares about you, and I care about Jason, so I care about you and the others. At some point, I hope you’ll be able to accept that and let me get to know you for you, and not just for Jason’s sake.” I wasn’t sure if what I was saying made sense, but it had been a wickedly long day and I was ready to crash, so I held up a hand to stall his reply. “I’ll okay you staying and be back for both of you tomorrow unless something comes up. Someone will get you tomorrow afternoon.”
“Thanks, Alice,” Paul said softly as he went back to his bedside vigil.
“You’re welcome, kid,” I murmured, watching as he returned to his friend’s side. He was a good person.
I shook myself, suddenly very tired. I would talk to the head nurse at the duty station, and then I would go home and get some sleep. Our meeting with the undercover cop couldn’t come too soon. I could only hope and pray that we’d be able to find Jason quickly.
THIRTY-THREE
Jones
I had been hearing rumors for weeks about a street kid working with the local cops to shut down Mason’s group. None of the guys I heard talking seemed to take it too seriously until he managed to shut down one of Mason’s operations. What wasn’t clear was exactly how he’d done so. But he was the one Mason blamed, so he was the one attacked in retribution. I hadn’t been part of the group who’d grabbed the kid off the street, but I’d heard about it from the guys who had been.
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