by K. J. Dahlen
“What about us?” Deke called out.
Stone turned to face the large group of bikers waiting for him. “You will protect your families and your homes. This isn’t your fight. In the thirty some years I served my country, I have never once before today put civilian lives in harm’s way and I don’t mean to start now. I understand where you are coming from but for right now, I need you to protect what’s yours.” He turned to Deke. “I would ask you to protect McKenna as well. I’m giving her over to you for now but make no mistake, she belongs to me.”
Deke nodded. “You stop this prick before he gets inside and I’ll protect your woman.”
“Then as soon as Amos gets his men here, we can get started.”
“My men are on their way. Fifteen minutes out,” Amos called out.
Stone gazed at his men. “Amos seems to think we need to use bows for this mission and I agree with that. The quieter were are, the less we will attract civilian notice. We don’t want this to become a hostage environment and we don’t want Hades to get away in the confusion that brings. Don’t give him a chance to get away. We need to get this done today. We’re running out of time.”
The men walked over to the duffels as each grabbed a crossbow and a litter of bolts. They assembled at the map of the compound on the huge table in front of them. Stone walked over and pointed out where the cameras were located. “Here’s where our eyes are. I want each one of you to get into position nearby but not right on top of them. I want you high off the ground, so you can see him coming.”
Dewey brought over a large case and handed out the earpieces to the men.
“Keep in contact but not very loud. Hades will be able to hear you if you talk loud. We don’t want him to suspect we’re out there, or he’ll change his plan.” Stone stared at his men. “Good luck out there and come back safe. I know we’re hunting one of our own, but we have no choice.”
One of the men let out a scoffing grunt. “Hades stopped being one of us a long time ago, Pappy. When he walked out of Kabul, he crossed the line of no return. The Hell’s Fire Riders stand for something and he no longer does.”
Stone nodded. “Take your positions boys and good hunting. Don’t let this bastard get inside the fence. Take him out but don’t kill him. I have questions I want answers for.”
Just as Stone’s men left the clubhouse, Amos’s men came in. Amos went to explain the situation and Deke, Sam, Gator and Mountain joined Stone and Dewey by the bar. Stone and Dewey were monitoring the camera feed.
“How do you plan to lure him here?” Deke asked.
“By promising him something he wants more than he wants McKenna,” Stone announced.
“And what would that be, Pappy?” Sam asked, though his eyes showed he already knew what his answer would be.
Stone turned and stared at him. “Me. He wants me ten times worse than he ever wanted her.”
“How do you know that?” Mountain asked.
“Because I’m the one who rode his ass from day one, until he walked away in Kabul. I’m the one who called him out when he misbehaved and I’m the one who turned his ass in to the MP’s. I made his life a living hell for three fuckin years in the sandbox.” He lifted the bottom of his shirt and revealed a scar along his hip. “And I owe him for this. He damn near gutted me one night on patrol. I gave as good as he did and when he got out of the hospital, he told me one day he would finish what he started. That happened just about the time he left. I haven’t heard from him since then.”
“And you think he’ll come after you now,” Sam stated.
“Yeah, he’ll come. He thinks he’s got youth and determination going for him. He always did think he was better than me. He dismissed me as being old, but he forgot one very important thing.”
“What’s that Pappy?” Deke asked.
“I may be older than he is, but I’m also smarter than he is.” Stone shrugged. “I know him better than he realizes and I have forgotten more about warfare than he ever knew in the first place.”
“You also haven’t fought hand to hand in a long time.” Deke pointed out.
Dewey shook his head as he grinned. “Part of our training is hand to hand combat every single day. Pappy insisted we stay sharp. Pappy has some sneaky moves. I’d wager he can take this little bitch.”
“I’ll meet him one on one,” Stone assured them. He looked around at the expression on their faces. “Don’t worry, I’ll do it outside the fence. I don’t want him close to you and your families any more than you do.”
“This is nothing more than a pissing contest.” Sam growled.
“Yeah, you got that right,” Stone agreed. Then he shrugged. “One of us won’t walk away and I’m going to do my best to see that it’s him left lying in the dirt not me.” He glanced over at Deke. “I just need a place to meet him. Somewhere close by in case he does get away, so my men can take him out before he can get to McKenna.”
Deke nodded. “There’s a patch of woods just on the other side of the compound.” He motioned toward the map on the table. The woods hid the compound from view but held at least two on the cameras Dewey set up.
“Dewey I need a couple more cameras in this area.” Stone motioned to the woods Deke pointed out. “I want everyone to see what’s going down. That way, if I don’t win they can get ready. Hades dies here today at any cost.”
Dewey nodded and left the clubhouse taking with him four new cameras.
Moments later, Sam watched as each camera came online. Finally, asked, “Stone, why if we know where he is right now, don’t you go to him, instead of bringing him to you?”
“I can’t do that. That’s giving him home plate advantage. By now, he knows every nook and cranny of the building he’s calling home. He’s got the entire place wired for sound and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’s got some booby traps in place. This is better for both of us. Neither of us knows the terrain and he has to use his brain to try and get past me. Besides, he’ll think McKenna is unprotected if he can get past me. He knows I will protect her with my life if I need to. He won’t be able to see what’s beyond the woods and he’ll think I didn’t have enough time to call in backup. He may know there’s someone helping her, but he doesn’t know it’s me.”
“But if you know him this well, don’t you think he knows you just as well?” Sam reasoned.
Stone chuckled. “Well, he thinks he does, he only thinks he knows me as well as I know him.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “But Hades only thinks he’s so fuckin clever. He’s never taken the time or put in the effort to figure other people out. He only knows how he himself thinks.”
Sam shook his head. “But that doesn’t makes any sense.”
Stone shrugged. “That’s Hades. At some point, all my men are tested by the men in the white suits. Just like you were and just like I was. Hades was tested for a second time while he was laid up in the hospital. I didn’t get the report until after he walked off his post but the docs said he was becoming more and more self-focused. His own wishes and desires were more prominent than his desire to follow orders. The doctors were prescribing immediate discharge. They also claimed he needed to be transferred into psychiatric care.”
“He’d been back with our unit for less than six hours when the call came from the brass to hold him for the MP’s,” Reaper cut in.
Stoned nodded. “His paranoia had led the doctors to reevaluate his condition. He knew he’d let something slip. Like all psychopaths, he knew when to cut and run. There was something Hades revealed that scared the docs enough to make the call. We were never privileged to what it was. We also heard three days after he walked away from his post, one of the doctors ended up dead. Nobody knows what really happened but every one suspected Hades went back and killed her because of something he told her during the Eval. It must have been something he didn’t want another living soul to know. Something he told her got her killed. After that, Hades disappeared. This is the first time in ten years, anybody’s gotten cl
ose to him.”
“Did the military ever try to find him?” Sam asked.
Stone nodded. “They hit us up for anything we knew about the man. We turned over everything we had or knew about the man but it didn’t help. As far as I know, they’re still looking for him.”
Gator walked over to the table and picked up the printout of the man in question. Walking it back to Stone, he handed him the photo. “Has the man changed so much in ten years no one would know him?”
Stone studied the man’s face again. He noted little changes but nothing that changed his appearance overall. He was ten years older and time alone would have marked him but this man still appeared to be the same man as he was ten years ago. His hair longer than it had been and his face was mostly covered by facial hair but otherwise, he wasn’t any different. “No he hasn’t changed at all. His hair is longer and he wears a beard but he’s still the same arrogant creep he always was.” He pointed out his present condition. “It looks like he hadn’t bathed in too long. His mind may be in a place he doesn’t want it to be. He’s let himself go and that’s never a good sign.” Stone paused and thought about something for a moment. “That was one of his special things. He could fit in anywhere he went. He studied the environment and changed his persona to fit in with those around him. That was how he became our point man. So, he is now portraying a street person is what I figure.”
They all leaned in to take a closer look at the photo of the killer flipping off the video cam.
Stone halted then turned to Sam. “He used to carry a small leather pouch with him. Inside this pouch, he carried his ID. I looked inside it one day, when he left it behind. Inside were several aliases. Each photo was his but the names were different. He also had four or five different passports. Again, each had a different name on them but his picture. Damnit!” Stone pounded on the table. “Why didn’t I remember that before?”
“Because the man was well prepared for anything that came his way,” Deke surmised. “He knew the day would come when he needed to escape.”
“I think he’s always known that,” Stone agreed.
Amos joined them. “He’s on the move. Dagger just called me. He’s following your man Hades. He’s moving up Front street to Main Street. Do you want us to follow him?”
“No, it’s time to challenge him and get this over with,” Stone replied. He looked over at Deke and the other bikers. “Gather your families and get ready. Keep McKenna safe.” Then he turned to face Amos. “Get your men in place. My guys are out there and while you can’t see them, they can see you. If you see something call it out on the walkies.”
Amos nodded.
Stone walked away from the group a bit then took McKenna’s phone and made the call. It rang three times before Hades answered.
“Well, this is something I wasn’t expecting,” Hades answered. “What can I do for you darlin? Are you ready to meet your fate?”
“I was wondering the same thing about you, honey.” Stone growled.
Hades paused then snarled, “Who the fuck is this?”
“Aww Hades, you don’t remember me? I’m crushed.” Stone laughed.
“Well, this is fucking great.” Hades crowed. “Is that you Pappy? After all these years, I never thought I’d hear your fuckin voice again.”
“Yeah karma’s a bitch isn’t it?”
“Karma’s got nothing to do with it,” Hades replied. “This is fate. Fate brought us back together. It’s always been about you and me…you and me Pappy. So what are you doing with McKenna’s phone? Is she with you now?”
“Yeah Hades, she’s with me now,” Stone answered in a steel like tone.
Hades laughed. “Good then, I’ll get a two for one. Maybe I’ll let her watch you die before I kill her or maybe better yet I’ll let you watch me kill her first. Which will it be Pappy? Will it be you first or her?”
“How about just a one on one? Just you and me,” Stone suggested. “We can see which of us is the better man.”
Hades paused for a moment then asked, “Where do you want to meet?”
“There’s a piece of woods just outside of town. It isn’t far from where you are right now, yet far enough away no one will hear you scream when I kill you. “
Hades laughed out loud. ‘I’m younger and stronger than you will ever be. We’ll see you screams the loudest.” He paused then had to ask. “So have you fucked her yet? Is she as wild in bed as I had hoped for? I can’t wait to find out myself. Don’t worry, you old head about it Pappy, I’ll make sure she comes before I kill her. It will be her last act on earth before she goes to hell like the whore she is.”
Stone’s hand tightened to the point he almost snapped the phone in half as Hades ended the call with his maniacal laughter. Stone slowly turned his head to stare at the group of men a few feet away. “I’m gonna kill that bastard.”
Before anyone could say anything, the front door opened and Matthias and Jonah walked inside. Matthias stopped and looked around at the men standing there. After a moment he asked, “What’s going on?”
“What the fuck are you doing back here so soon?” Sam growled at the Boston police.
“We were on our way back when we got a call,” Jonah replied.
“We found the bastard.” Sam told him.
Matthias seemed to sag in relief. “Good, we can put an end to this nightmare.”
Matthias walked over to the table and set the box he carried down on it. Opening it, he began to pull out the items inside. He paused and looked around. “Where is McKenna?”
“She’s with the other women at my house,” Deke answered this. “Why?”
Matthias stared at Stone. “Your man Hades had been a busy boy the last few days.”
Stone scoffed. “He ain’t my boy. He ain’t my nothing.”
Matthias nodded.
“What did you mean he’s been busy?” Dewey asked as everyone joined Matthias at the table.
“He found the other two witnesses to the murder in Boston four years ago. He found them and took them out just like all the others. Only this time, he got sloppy and left evidence behind.” Matthias motioned at the box he’d carried inside. “We were met by some detectives about half way between here and there.”
“What kind of evidence?” Stone asked.
“The kind that is going to send him straight to hell,” Jonah told them.
Matthias picked up a small notebook from the pile of stuff he took out of the box. Waving it at the group he said, “This is Hades diary of a sort. In it, we’ve found a page about each and every murder he’s committed. He started killing at the age of fourteen. His first kill was a girl by the name of Grace Headly. They grew up together and Jon Ronin fell in love for the first and only time in his life. The day he proclaimed his love for Grace, she made the fatal mistake of laughing at him. They were in the woods behind her parents’ farm. He claims it all happened so fast, he didn’t remember stabbing her to death and when he was back in his right mind, he was covered in her blood. He knew enough to drag her deeper into the woods and bury her where no one would find her body. He wrote that he got home and burned the clothes he was wearing, said he even joined in the search for her the next dammed day.”
“How many women has he killed over the years?” Dewey asked.
“He’s got fifteen names in this book. The sixteenth name is on a blank sheet of paper and it’s McKenna’s name.” Matthias glared at the whole bunch of them.
Each and every man standing there went silent as they contemplated what they’d just heard.
“How did he find them?” Stone asked. “Weren’t these women in protective custody?”
“That’s something I’d like to know too,” Jonah argued. “And yes, they were protected until they weren’t and he found them somehow. He also killed the men we had with them.”
“You’ve had men with them for four long years?” Sam asked.
Matthias nodded. “Yeah, we did. As long as he was out there floating around free, w
e had men with the girls. One was in Providence, Rhode Island and the other was in Norfolk, Virginia. We didn’t even know where they were, but he found them.”
“Pappy is going to meet with him in the woods nearby. They’re going one on one,” Sam informed the Boston detectives.
Matthias glared at Stone. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”
Stone glared back at the other man. “I think it’s a fuckin great idea. One of us is not walking away and that someone isn’t going to be me.” He glanced over at Dewey then nodded at the police.
Before anyone could do or say anything else, the front door slammed open and Calico walked in with a small backpack in his hands. When he slammed it down on the table, he glared at Pappy. “Your man is royally fuckin crazy.” He snarled.
“What do you mean?” Pappy asked.
“I went to the Front Street warehouse but guess what I found?”
“What?”
“Not a fucking thing.” Calico sneered. “He may have gone into that building but he wasn’t living there. Then I remembered what you said earlier. How his trademark became being where he wasn’t expected. I looked around the area and found his lair. He was staying in the area, actually in the warehouse three buildings downs.”
“Are you sure it was his lair and not somebody else?” Deke asked.
Calico nodded. “Oh yeah, it was Hades’ lair all right.” He opened the pack. Then pulled out a small box and the contents spilled out all over the table. Several small baggies, each holding a keepsake and a severed finger sprawled out.
Gasps were heard as everyone looked at the evidence on the table. Stone, Dewey, Sam, Deke and Matthias came forward. Matthias groaned as he saw the bloody fingers. Some of them were dried to the point of being mummified but the dark brown stains on the bags told them everything they needed to know.
Sam turned his gaze to Matthias. “You didn’t tell us everything did you?” he growled.
Matthias shook his head. “The missing fingers was the one item we held back. We didn’t want the real killer to think we knew about them.” He ran his fingers through his hair. “This seals everything together. We have our killer.”