Razing Kayne

by Julieanne Reeves

  Kayne pulled his knees up, resting his forearm across them. “We don't know where the phone is yet, sport. It's turned off.”

  There was a long pause. “I don't understand. It hasn't moved in hours.”

  Kayne’s head snapped up. “What do you mean it hasn't moved in hours? How would you know?”

  “Maddy and I have been watching it on the computer.”

  “What! What computer? How?” Kayne jumped to his feet.

  “You go to this special website and put in Mama's user name and password.”

  Kayne was practically vibrating with pent-up energy, even though a moment ago, he’d been dead tired. “You can see the phone now?”

  “Well, no. It keeps disappearing and then will show back up for a moment then disappear again, but it never moves.”

  “I'm putting you on speaker phone.” Please, God, let this work. It was the first break they'd gotten.

  Kayne watched over Trace’s shoulder as he accessed the website. “Nothing.” Kayne couldn’t hide the frustration from his voice.

  “Hold on a sec,” Ash said absently, and Kayne heard the rapid clicking of keys on the keyboard. “Okay, give me an email address or a fax. I'm sending you a screen print we made earlier when it started doing the on again off again thing.”

  Trace rattled off both.

  “Maddy, fax that.” Ash mumbled.

  Thirty seconds later, Trace received an email notice just as the fax rang with an incoming call. “Holy shit, we've got it!” Trace turned the computer screen toward Kayne.

  “Ash, this is Uncle Rafe. When we're done, I got a whole boatload of feds who are gonna need some remedial training. I'm sending them to you and Maddy. Between Maddy keeping a cool head and planting the phone, and you having the foresight to record the phone’s location when it showed up on that screen, you've helped more than an entire task force of agents. You guys rock.”

  “Papa, promise you'll wake me when you get home. No matter what.”

  God, he was trying to sound so brave, so grown up, but Kayne heard the quiver in his seven-year-old son's voice. Seven incredible years old.

  “I promise.” And he could make that promise, because he knew he wouldn't come home unless it was with Jess. He would die trying to get her back.

  “I love you, Papa.”

  Kayne choked up. “I love you too, son. All of you.” He had to bring Jess home. None of them would survive without her.

  FOURTY-TWO

  Water began filling their coffin. Or what The Wolf—Volkov, Jess had learned from Ondrej—intended to be their coffin. It was now dark inside, the only light coming from down the hall through the open grate door, but they could hear the rain outside and water slowly trickling in. The temperature had dropped drastically, and Gracie wasn’t dressed for such weather. She was shivering, and Jess could do nothing but encourage her to keep moving and stay awake.

  “The cameras are not infrared,” Ondrej said. “No one can see what you are doing now.”

  “Yeah, including me,” Jess snapped.

  Jess began to work on the bolts. Fifteen minutes later, she'd gotten one free. The water had nearly reached the top of the platform it was bolted to, and she still had six more to go.

  Jess sang to Gracie and encouraged her to dance. When her voice threatened to give out, Ondrej told Gracie stories. An hour later, Jess had just gotten the fifth bolt loose when there was a noise from the top of the stairwell, and a single dim light switched on overhead. After being in the dark for so long, it made Jess's eyes ache.

  “How are we all doing down here?” Volkov stood in the hallway where the water was still shallow.

  Nina started begging to be released.

  “My daughter needs a blanket.” Jess motioned to Gracie. Now that she could see her, she realized how cold she was. Her little lips had a blue tinge to them. In fact, her entire body did, and she'd quit shivering.

  Volkov gave her an icy smile. “Not necessary. She won't be alive that much longer. It seems Krysin's wife turned on him and alerted the authorities. He's been picked up in customs. As such, I'll be taking my leave. I just wanted to say goodbye. It's a shame I won't be around to watch you all die, it would have been such a delight, but what's that saying? Live to fight another day.”

  “Please let Gracie out of the cage. Let me hold her. She can't go anywhere without me, she's too little.”

  “No. When they find the recordings in the house, I want your husband to hear your screams as you watched his child die. I want him to hear yours when you go next. Who knows,” —he turned to Nina— “he might even shed a tear for his dear, sweet mother.” Volkov laughed as he turned and walked away, ignoring Nina's screams.

  “How far are you?” Ondrej asked the moment Volkov was out of hearing range. He picked up the large rock he'd been using to pound on the eye-bolt that held his chains and started pounding again.

  Jess was about to answer when the sound of rushing water reached her, and she looked up to see it pouring down the stairs. Oh God. “I have two more left.”

  The bolts would not come lose. Jess tried and tried, and her fingers were bloody, and they still wouldn't break free. The water had risen a good four inches into the cage. Gracie was shivering violently and crying. Jess grabbed the cage, braced her feet, and pulled, trying to bend it out of the way. It took another ten minutes to get the side bent enough that Jess could plant her feet and pull, holding it open enough for Gracie to squeeze through. The water had risen to within a foot of the top by the time Gracie climbed free of the cage.

  God, she'd never been so happy to be able to hold one of her children.

  “Good job.” Ondrej nodded.

  Jess did feel pretty proud of herself. Now all she had to do was get Gracie warm. She wasn't sure how to do that, since she was wet and cold herself.

  “Bring her over here,” Ondrej ordered. “My chest is still dry, and I generate more body heat than you.”

  Okay, that was probably true. She didn't entirely trust him, but she didn't have a choice. Gracie needed to get warm. It wasn't until she was up close to Ondrej, and he put his arms around both of them, that she realized how cold she was too.

  “Hey, don't cry. He'll be here soon,” Ondrej said softly.

  “Who?” Jess whispered.

  “Your husband. I'd burn this world to the ground searching for you, if you were mine.”

  That made her cry harder. God she missed Kayne.

  FOURTY-THREE

  After a quick stop by the armory, Kayne, Trace, Nick, Rafe, Mark, and Joe played follow the leader and managed to sneak out the side door undetected. With directions in hand, they were heading toward where they knew Jess and Gracie to have last been. Or at least where the cell phone had last been. Please God, let them be there. Let them be alive.

  The six of them quickly piled into the chief’s borrowed Tahoe. They wanted a twenty minute head start on the Feds to scope out the scene before the alphabet agencies got in their way. Mark with his special forces training, and Trace—who had served in the Marines—felt they could still do a sneak and peek better than anyone the Feds had with them. Though Joe hadn’t admitted to it, the military grade tactical equipment he’d shown up with said more than words could.

  They made their way down back roads. When they were about half a mile out, they pulled the Tahoe off the road and called Del to let him know they'd arrived. His job, other than to keep Kayne's kids safe, was to call the PD at the designated time and tell the Alphabet-boys and girl where to locate a copy of the map. Del wasn’t happy he was being left out, but he understood he was needed where he was more.

  “While I have you on the phone…” Kayne placed it on speaker. “I need you all to hear this. I don't know what’s going to happen, but if it's between Jess and I living, it's going to be her. I need you to swear to me that you'll take care of her. I need to know she and the kids will be taken care of, and, if neither of us makes it back, those kids need to stay together. I'm asking you five to fi
gure out which one of you will take them and raise them. The rest of you are witnesses to my wishes.”

  “Fuck that,” Rafe said. “No man left behind.”

  But he nodded when everyone else solemnly agreed.

  FOURTY-FOUR

  The storm raged outside as the concrete bunker swiftly filled. In the last fifteen minutes, it had nearly reached Jess's waist. In another fifteen, it would be too high to stand.

  Ondrej looked down at Jess. “We don't want Gracie wet again. If the water gets much higher before someone comes, I want you to go back and climb up on the metal crate. It will buy you more time.”

  “We're not going to make it out of here are we?” Jess shivered. She’d never felt so helpless in her life.

  Ondrej lifted her chin and stared at her with a confidence he couldn’t possibly feel. “Yeah we will. Just stay calm. I'll figure out something if help doesn't come soon.”

  “Make sure you include me in whatever you have planned,” Nina chimed in.

  His head snapped to Nina. “Trust me lady, you'll be the last one out. Jess and the baby are my priority.”

  “No.” Jess glared. “Gracie is the priority. Period. End of sentence. You make sure she gets out and back to her father, no matter what. Promise me.”

  Ondrej refused to agree, and so they stood there arm-in-arm, keeping Gracie as warm as possible, and glaring at each other.

  “What's he like?” Ondrej finally broke the silence.

  “Kayne?”

  Ondrej nodded .

  Jess eyed him suspiciously. “Why?”

  Ondrej shrugged. “Apparently I'm his brother or half-brother.”

  Jess gasped and took a small step back. She studied him carefully. His eyes were different, a deep-ocean blue, but his build was similar. Though Ondrej was bigger, she could see traces of Kayne in his facial structure.

  He shook his head, his expression full of regret. “I didn't know why we were coming here, or that Kayne was Volkov's son until I heard you talking about it in the cabin. Volkov never knew about me, or hell maybe he did, since family means nothing to him. I didn't even know until a few years ago, after I was already imbedded in the organization, and my handler let it slip.”

  Though it was difficult to talk about Kayne, knowing she might never see him again, Jess told Ondrej about the brother he'd never known and quite possibly would never meet.

  FOURTY-FIVE

  Mark appeared out of nowhere, right beside Kayne. “Nothing. The house is empty.” He scanned the area. “Someone’s been there recently, but there's no cars. Nothing. There's no basement, no attic. There's also no blood or signs of struggle.”

  Goddamn it all to hell! Kayne kicked a rock in frustration. “So they took them somewhere else?”

  Trace shook his head. “I don't know. I wish we knew what the fuck they were driving so we could GPS it.”

  Rafe shook his head. “Guess it's time to call the Alphabet-boys and have them take a look at their Super-Secret-Squirrel spy satellite images for the past couple hours. We might as well make them earn their keep. Maybe there was enough break in the cloud coverage to get us a plate and vehicle description this time.”

  They obviously weren't driving the one they'd used to take Jess and Gracie from the park. A unit had found that abandoned on Main Street. Jesus God, Kayne had driven right past there. The fucker had probably seen him and laughed.

  Mark cocked his head as if listening to something. “We've got company.”

  Kayne didn't see anything.

  Rafe shouted, “Y'all can come out now. There's no one here but us rednecks.”

  After a long moment, several black uniforms emerged from the woods. One very pissed off Special-Agent-In-Charge lead the way.

  “Sir,” a freckle faced kid who didn't look old enough to be out of high school whispered something in the SAC’s ear.

  Mark stepped up to Kayne “Volkov has been located. He was picked up trying to board a private plane on a private airstrip west of here. Alone. Apparently he's not talking either. He put up a fight and was shot. They're rushing him into surgery. ”

  Son of a bitch.

  Kayne walked a restless circle. “We need to look this place over again. There has to be a clue.” He didn't doubt Mark, but there had to be something.

  The SAC stepped into his path. “If any of you try and step foot in that house, I'll have you arrested.”

  “By who?” Came a voice from behind them.

  “Hey, Chief, glad you could join us.” Rafe grinned unrepentantly.

  The Chief folded his arms and glared at Rafe. “I'd have been here sooner, but it seems I misplaced my patrol vehicle.”

  “Old age is a bitch, or so I hear, sir.”

  “And you’re going to be mine, when this is over, Chatham.” The Chief gave Rafe a hard look. One that ensured serious retribution. “Come on, let’s go take a look before they mess up any evidence. They can't arrest my entire fucking police force.” He paused and looked questioningly at Mark and Joe. “Which seems to be growing right under my nose.”

  Mark just stared back, and Joe shrugged as if it were of little importance.

  Chief Tyler turned his death glare on the SAC. “We'll let y'all know when we're done.”

  FOURTY-SIX

  Jess watched Ondrej kiss Gracie’s forehead. “Okay, kitten, it's time to go with Mama.”

  The water had now reached chest level. Stretching the chain as far as it would reach, Jess found and carefully climbed up on the cage. With one side missing, it was far less sturdy than she would have liked, so she knelt for the time being. They had to figure a way out of here soon. They had to.

  Jess fought back tears. She just wanted to go home; to see her other children. She wanted to feel Kayne's arms around her again. To feel his body weighing her down as he covered her, rocked into her, and made slow sweet love.

  They'd created a life together, and she'd sacrificed so much to be with Gracie, but she didn't regret it. She could never regret her decision. She hoped Kayne understood. She hoped he knew how much she loved him; that she was doing everything she could to get his daughter back to him.

  A loud clap of thunder preceded a sudden rush of water. Jess frantically stood up and fought to keep her balance. She looked desperately to Ondrej. They were out of time.

  Jess gasped when Ondrej laid his manacled hand against the concrete wall and slammed the rock he'd been using on the wall into it. He howled in pain and did it again before dropping the rock. Gracie was wailing, and Jess felt like joining her. She didn't understand what Ondrej was doing. A moment later, he disappeared under the water.

  It was a good minute before he came up gasping for air. “I can't find the fucking rock. The water currents moved it.” He panted as he swam with one hand toward her.

  “You're loose?” Jess reached out and caught his arm. “How?”

  “I had to dislocate my thumb. Hurts like a son of a bitch; it's probably broken, but I was able to get my hand through the cuff. I'm going to have to try and do that to you too. I'm sorry, it's the only way.” Jess looked at the rising water, took a deep breath, and held out her hand. Unable to speak, she could only nod.

  After the third try, Ondrej still hadn't succeeded in doing anything more than damaging his own injury further and knocking them off the cage twice. He didn't have the strength in his non-dominant hand or the leverage to do what needed to be done.

  Jess hugged Gracie tight, kissed her forehead, and look Ondrej in the eye. “Take her. Please. Get her out of here, and get her to Kayne.”

  Ondrej shook his head. “I'm not leaving you.”

  “You have to. She won't be able to hold her breath, and you still have to get through the tunnel. It's almost filled. Please, I'm begging you. Don't let my daughter die.”

  Ondrej studied her for a moment, then nodded. “I'm coming back for you. Do not give up.”

  Jess nodded because there was nothing else to do. She knew Ondrej couldn't find help in time and get back to
her.

  “Tell him I love him,” Jess whispered, handing Gracie off to Ondrej. “Tell him I said With My Last Breath. He'll know what it means.”

  Ondrej rested his forehead against hers for just a second. “You tell him yourself. I'm coming back for you.”

  “Thank you,” Jess whispered, brushing her hand over the crown of Gracie's head. “Thank you for saving her.”

  He nodded once, and then with Gracie wrapped in the arm of his injured hand, he began swimming against the current until he reached the tunnel. “Don’t you dare give up. I’m coming back.”

  And then he was gone.

  Nina shook her head. “You are a fool. You will die down here, and it will all have been for nothing.”

  Nina was wrong. It had been for the most important thing in the world: the love of a mother for her child; the love of a good man. She was giving Kayne what she felt he valued most—his daughter.

  FOURTY-SEVEN

  Kayne wanted to throw something. “How could there be no sign that Jess and Gracie were ever here?”

  “We know she was here—her prints are on the outside wall by the front door.”

  They'd scanned dozens of prints through the automated finger print system. Since Jess had worked for the police department, she'd had a file. Now, one of the Alphabet-Soup agents was trying to crack a password to a computer that had been left up and running. It had some type of RF receiver hooked to it. They had an officer enroute with an RF locator, hoping they'd find the source, instead of relying on gaining computer access

  Rafe looked skyward. “All this goddamned rain has washed any tracks away.”

  The six of them currently stood on the back porch with the Chief, under the watchful eye of a couple federal rookies who’d been told to keep an eye on them. They all turned in unison at the sudden shouting, and then agents were running towards the edge of the woods.

  A man ran toward them, holding Gracie and shouting Kayne's name.