Blue Steele Box Sets 2

by Remington Kane

  After memorizing Blackwood’s face, I saw that Jake and Tanner were doing the same. I then took noticed of Mr. White’s posture. White leaned forward slightly as Blackwood’s photo was enlarged, while his visible hand had curled into a fist. Whoever Blackwood was, White had personal business to settle with him.

  The middle photo grew larger as Blackwood’s photo shrank.

  “This man is Juan Alejandro. He is Mexican, of average height and build, and speaks Spanish, English and Portuguese fluently. Alejandro likes to kill his victims with a knife.”

  The final photo was enhanced and Lawson gave the blond man a name.

  “Curt Mitchell, he’s six-two and weighs one-eighty. Mitchell is a rapist who learned to kill after one of his victims sent him to prison at nineteen. He resumed raping women when he was released, but he never left a living witness behind again. Somewhere along the way the killing became more important to him. Our source says that he’s killed both men and women. His preferred method is strangulation. He uses his bare hands.”

  Lawson made all three photos equal size again, reduced them, and enlarged our pictures.

  “The attack in Odessa, Ohio last night was done by Blackwood, Alejandro, and Mitchell. They have access to Prophet’s playbook and are running with it in the hopes that another state will pay to make the violence stop. Although Prophet’s plan wasn’t the success she hoped it would be, she did receive payment from one state that gave in to the extortion. Blackwood is hoping to get more states to pay and has set-up offshore accounts while issuing new demands.”

  I smiled in understanding.

  “They’re the reason that you haven’t announced Prophet’s capture. If they knew Prophet was in custody, they would stop following her plan, correct?”

  “Yes, Blue, that is correct,” Lawson said.

  “Prophet is your source, isn’t she, Thomas?” Jessica said.

  “She is, and she’s told us that there are only three communities left on her target list. These three consist of two small towns and one religious retreat for women. They’re spread apart geographically. One of the towns and the retreat are in neighboring states, Texas and Arkansas, while the other town is more distant and is in California. Mitchell is a pilot, so it’s not inconceivable that he, Blackwood, and Alejandro could steal a small plane and fly to any of the targets.”

  “What do you want us to do?” Tanner said. “The feds must be all over this info.”

  “We’re the only ones who have this information, Tanner. Although, I do have a traditional strike force standing by. Once we know which target Blackwood and his men will hit next, that area will be surrounded with law-enforcement agents.”

  Tanner smiled as understanding came to him.

  “You want Blackwood, Alejandro, and Mitchell dead. If they were arrested that wouldn’t happen.”

  Lawson nodded. “Yes. These men have run out of chances. Those girls they killed last night along with their other victims have marked them as unfit to live in society. I want you people to get to them first… and I want them put down. If any of you have a problem with that, we’ll agree to part ways now.”

  “I won’t just kill someone in cold blood, Thomas,” I said. “Not if they’ve already surrendered to me.”

  “And I wouldn’t ask you to, Blue. But these men are animals, the last thing they want is to spend their lives in a cage. In all likelihood, it will either be kill or be killed.”

  “Since Sara and I are in California I guess that means that Blackwood and his crew could be here too?” Tanner asked.

  “That’s right,” Lawson said. “One of the targets is a town about a hundred miles north of Los Angeles.”

  Tanner and Sara Blake spoke softly to each other for a moment and I found myself wondering if they were lovers. If not, they definitely shared a connection of some type. When their conversation ended, Sara spoke.

  “There’s an assassin named Maurice Scallato who murders other assassins. He tried to have Tanner killed by surrogates while we were in London a while back. Tanner’s decided to hunt Scallato down and kill him before Scallato makes another attempt on his life. It’s why we’re in California.”

  “Ah, Scallato has come to my attention,” Lawson said. “He was the same man who survived being buried alive after that earthquake caused a mudslide.”

  “That’s him,” Tanner said, “and now we have word that he may be in Sicily. I’m willing to help, Lawson, but we have a late flight to catch tonight too.”

  Lawson took out his phone and used the memo function to write a note to himself.

  “I’ll look into Scallato and see if my overseas contacts can give you any help in locating him.”

  Sara brightened at the news. “Thank you, Mr. Lawson, we could use it.”

  “Tell me where to look for Blackwood and I’m yours for the day,” Tanner said.

  Lawson smiled. “Thank you for agreeing to help. We’ll be splitting up into three teams. Tanner, you and Miss Blake will be Team One, Dr. White and her husband will be Team Two, and Mr. Caliber, you’ll be joining Blue and form Team Three. The first team to make contact with Blackwood and his men will call in the others. I have a jet standing by for the teams here, while Tanner and Miss Blake will have access to a helicopter.”

  “What if we don’t find them?” Sara said. “There are many places to hide even in a small town.”

  Lawson smiled apologetically.

  “I’m sorry, I should have made it clearer. Prophet’s playbook had a list of sites at each area where her men could stage themselves before they attacked. You’ll be checking out those sites. Once a team has verified that a staging site has been used, we’ll know what their target is. If you and Tanner locate them in California, I’ll send the other teams in to help.”

  Tanner shook his head. “I’ll handle Blackwood and his men alone. Besides, if they’re not here I won’t have time to fly to another location and help out before I have to leave for Sicily.”

  Jake scoffed at that.

  “I won’t need your help, hit man, and what are you going to do if we don’t get a chance to shoot Blackwood and his guys in the back with a sniper rifle? Your kind is only useful if you can sneak up on someone, right?”

  Tanner sent Jake Caliber a placid smile.

  “If we do get a chance to meet later I’ll give you a personal demonstration of what I can do with just my fists.”

  Jake laughed. “You’d shiv me in the ribs as soon as I got the upper hand in the fight. I don’t know why Lawson picked a criminal to help us, but understand something, I don’t trust you.”

  I watched Jessica turn sideways as she glared at Jake with an angry expression.

  “Tanner saved my life at the risk of his own a few months ago, so maybe you shouldn’t judge the man before you get to know him.”

  Jake looked taken aback by the passion in Jessica’s voice.

  “He really saved your life?”

  “Yes.”

  Jake looked at Tanner and shrugged.

  “Maybe you’re not the scumbag I think you are.”

  Tanner smirked. “What’s that mean, that I might be a different type of scumbag?”

  “Hey, I was trying to apologize for jumping on your case,” Jake said.

  “Why don’t we just try to stay out of each other’s way,” Tanner said.

  “Fine by me,” Jake said.

  “It’s not fine,” Mr. White said. “We may have to depend on one another before this is through. I need to know that you won’t let each other down. I had a run-in with Blackwood once; he’s not to be taken lightly.”

  “I think my rep speaks for itself, White,” Jake said.

  “And we’ve already worked together,” Tanner said. “Don’t worry, White. Caliber and I don’t have to like each other to get the job done. If Sara and I locate Blackwood and the others, we’ll put them down before they can hurt any more kids. What they did inside that sorority house… they’re unfit to live.”

  Jake grinned.
“Tanner, you and I finally agree on something.”

  Chapter 33

  My cousin, Jake Caliber, embraced me in a bear hug and then held me out at arm’s length to look at me. I felt bad about being pulled off the case in New Jersey. However, I knew that with the cadaver dogs and their handlers doing all the work I would have just been standing around anyway. I’d much rather be on the hunt than be idle, and I loved seeing my Cousin Jake.

  “Married life agrees with you, Blue, but I thought Mother said you were pregnant.”

  “I am pregnant; I’m just not showing yet.”

  “You will, and you really do look happier than I’ve ever seen you.”

  “Married life is great, but what about you, have you and Kelli set a date for the wedding yet?”

  “We have, expect to find an invitation waiting for you when you get home.”

  “How’s your grandfather doing?”

  Jake grinned at me. “The old man has a new girlfriend who is about my mother’s age.”

  I laughed. “Oh, that’s great. I won’t be surprised if he makes it to a hundred-years-old. Age never seems to slow him down much.”

  The two of us were parked on the side of the road about a mile from our destination in the southwestern section of Arkansas. Jake had driven there from an airfield to rendezvous with me, while I had arrived just minutes earlier. Our target was the easiest to reach, even though it was as secluded as the other suspected hideouts. We only needed to make a quick hike through a thick stretch of trees and we would reach the clearing where the cabin listed on the map was located.

  After checking our weapons and donning hiking boots, Jake and I headed for the cabin.

  We came upon it after twenty-five minutes, the last ten minutes of which we slowed our approach to look for signs of danger. However, one look at the clearing and we both relaxed. It had rained in the area overnight and the muddy ground around the cabin was undisturbed. The only marks on the ground’s flat moist surface were those made by birds or small creatures, such as squirrels.

  “It looks like Blackwood isn’t here, but let’s go take a look anyway,” Jake said.

  “Oh yeah,” I agreed. “And don’t forget, Lawson wants us to remove any supplies Prophet left stashed here too.”

  “Right,” Jake said, and then he went silent as he moved toward the front of the property, while I made my way around to the rear.

  Within minutes, we were inside and were certain that no one else had been in the cabin for some time. We gathered up the supplies Prophet had hidden beneath the floorboards in the kitchen, while making two trips to carry it all away. When I used one of the satellite phones to call Lawson, we both heard the concern in his voice over our discovery.

  “Plastic explosives? Are you certain that’s what they are, Blue?”

  “Yes, Thomas. There were even typed instructions on how to assemble triggers for them.”

  “I’ll alert the other teams that they might be facing more than guns. Tanner and Miss Blake just informed me that they’ve neared their destination, but they have to make a long hike to reach it. Meanwhile, Dr. White and her husband are still en route to west Texas. We should know within an hour or so whether or not Blackwood is there. Head back to your jet and I’ll call you when I know more.”

  After we packed up our vehicles and changed out of the muddy boots, Jake and I decided to stop in the nearby town to get something to eat and have a beer. The jet that Jake had flown in on needed a minor repair before taking flight. We had time before we needed to be back onboard. Also, we were both curious to see the little picturesque town close up.

  After parking in the center of the tiny downtown area, we headed toward the town’s only watering hole, a tavern named, The Mirage.

  “Lawson said that Prophet chose this town because of the quaint look it has. She thought that seeing this community ravaged by a gang of serial killers would shock the nation,” Jake said.

  “Her whole plan was to make people demand that she be paid to stop the attacks, instead, people pleaded with officials that she not receive a dime,” I said.

  “Yeah, but she did get that one payment for a quarter of a mil; that’s why Blackwood and the others are following her plan. They’re also as insane as Prophet.”

  We left our cars and walked into the local tavern for a quick beer. On the way inside, we passed a pair of large motorcycles. As we headed for a booth near the windows with our eyes still adjusting to the dim light, our way was blocked by two large and bearded men.

  One of the men placed a massive hand on Jake’s shoulder while the other man stood before me, blocking the way forward. The man looked me over while licking his lips, and I could see a glint of lust in his dull eyes. The pair were obviously brothers or some other close relation, and there was gleeful anticipation showing in their grins.

  Jake was tall, but these two were a pair of giants. They were dressed in jeans and matching black leather vests. A look around the tavern revealed that the other patrons’ features were full of fear, while two women had tears streaking their faces.

  “What do you two want?” Jake asked them.

  The hand on his shoulder tightened as the man leaned down and spoke to him.

  “We want to spend some time with your woman; she’s a hot one.”

  Jake looked over at me.

  “It looks like that beer will have to wait.”

  In California, Tanner and Sara reached the abandoned farm that Blackwood and his men might be using as a staging area. The farm was located by traveling on foot and staying low inside a dry trench that had once been a stream. There was an old fire tower located nearby and so stealth was essential. If Blackwood or one of his men were on watch inside the tower, they would spot a vehicle approaching from miles away.

  From where they stood among a copse of trees, Tanner and Sara could only make out the top portion of the farmhouse. They decided to approach it from separate angles. Differing from the forest they had just traveled through, the terrain surrounding the farm on two sides was flat, but held fields of weeds and knee-high grass. They were wearing bullet-proof vests and had armed themselves with scoped rifles. After agreeing to meet at the front steps, Tanner and Sara split up and made their way toward the house.

  Sara used her scope after every hundred feet to check for movement in the home’s dust-covered windows. She saw none, nor did there appear to be any other signs of recent habitation in the old two-story farmhouse.

  To her surprise, when she came upon Tanner at the front of the home he was standing and staring at the structure with an odd look on his face. After taking a glance at the front steps and seeing no shoeprints in the dirt that coated the stairs, Sara walked over and stood beside Tanner.

  “What is it, Tanner? Why do you look so strange?”

  Tanner raised an arm and pointed at the home.

  “This house… I grew up here.”

  Chapter 34

  In Arkansas, I sized up my opponent as Jake stared into the face of the huge man whose hand gripped his shoulder like a vise.

  “She’s not my woman,” Jake said. “She’s my cousin, and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll take your hand off me.”

  The man laughed at him as he tightened his grip again. In response, Jake jabbed two fingers into the man’s eyes. At that same moment, I kicked the other man between his legs. At first, the giant didn’t react, then a sick expression came over him and he groaned loudly and hugged himself as I changed position.

  Meanwhile, the other man was shouting that he’d been blinded, he hadn’t been, but Jake had jabbed him hard enough to cause tears to eclipse his vision. Before he could recover, Jake drove a boot heel into a knee and the man lost his balance. While the giant was down on his knees, Jake slammed an elbow against the side of his head several times, which caused the man to pass out.

  The man’s brother recovered enough from my kick to threaten Jake.

  “You’re gonna pay for that.”

  Jake grinned
at him. “Look behind you.”

  The bearded giant turned his head just in time to see my foot coming toward him. The second blow to his privates did more damage than the first one had. He moaned, vomited, and fell flat atop the floor.

  That’s when the door opened and filled the pub with light, as the town’s chief of police entered. He was an older man with a weathered face and alert gray eyes. When he saw the two big men lying on the floor, he took off his hat and smiled. He looked first at Jake, and then at me.

  “I can’t wait to hear this story.”

  “What do you mean you grew up here?” Sara asked Tanner.

  Tanner’s arm had been extended as he pointed at the farmhouse, but his gesticulation turned into a sweeping wave of the hand that took in the entire structure.

  “This house, it looks just like the home I grew up in down in Texas.”

  “You grew up in Texas?”

  Tanner appeared annoyed at himself for having revealed part of his past, but then he shrugged.

  “Yes, I was raised in Texas and our ranch house looked the same as this place. I want to see the inside.”

  The door on the old house was unlocked. They entered cautiously as the muted sound reached their ears of rodents scampering for cover. What little furniture remained in the home was dusty and falling apart. Tanner and Sara swung their flashlights around as they stood in the entryway, then, Tanner raised his left arm and pointed at the staircase.

  “It’s just like my house, including the large landing that leads to the second floor.”

  Tanner began walking down the home’s short hallway with Sara following behind him. They passed through a door on the right side that opened onto the kitchen, where a table with three legs lay on its side. Around the table were six chairs, but only two of them were sitting upright.

  Tanner walked toward the back and Sara saw that the door in the rear wall led to an enclosed porch. A door to the left of that door led to what had been a dining room, but there was no furniture in the room.