by Jordan Dane
“Oh, no,” he whispered.
“What is it?” Gabriela’s voice echoed behind him.
Ichiro couldn’t bring himself to answer. Everywhere he looked, he saw only a vast wilderness of rugged and remote terrain under the bluish haze of the moon and stars—the light they’d followed. No lights from civilization. No town or buildings. He shifted his gaze down and spied rocks they could use to leave the sewer behind, but where would they go? Which way was home?
My fault. This is all my fault. Ichiro swallowed, hard.
He couldn’t take her back the way they’d come, but a sinking alarm gripped his belly. Had he rescued Gabriela from her abductors, only for her to face certain death now at his hand?
Chapter 11
Butte, Montana
11:15 pm
“Nilah found the same fingerprints on the laptop and the Glock, registered to Delmer Whitcomb,” Ciara held out her cell phone for Mercer to see. “Here’s his DMV photo. Look familiar?”
After she showed him the ID, Mercer glared at the man sprawled on the ratty sofa and recognized mullet head.
“Nilah says he runs the Sunrise House, according to his social media sites. Get this. He went to the same high school as Scott Welch, the mayor’s boy. That can’t be a coincidence.”
“Did she find activity between his laptop and the chat room?”
The guy wearing the red CIA T-shirt mumbled under his breath to Delmer, “I told you, you shouldn’t have posted that shit.”
Whitcomb slapped him in the back of the head and glowered at Mercer.
“It doesn’t matter what you think you have,” the man spat. “I had nothing to do with whatever it is. I run a legal operation here and you have nothing on me.”
Mercer had no intention of making a court case out of Delmer’s laptop. He would confiscate the computer, gun, and cash, and anonymously hand it over to the Helena police. If Myerson was legit and not dirty, he might still make a legal case of the connection Delmer Whitcomb had to the posted assault. The weed grower would have a hard time explaining how the original assault and abduction video had been saved on his device, complete with metadata file identifications and date stamps.
But Mercer still didn’t have a real link between Delmer Whitcomb and Scott Welch, other than the fluke of the men being school chums. Mercer had work to do and if the clock ticked down for Ichiro Tanaka, what had become of the other missing kids?
“Pack up his laptop, the cell phones and cash, and that gun. I have plans for them,” he said.
“Hey, you can’t do that, man. I’ll have you arrested.”
“Good luck with that,” Mercer said. “You can claim your property with the Police Chief in Helena. After he sees the video on your laptop, Chief Myerson may want to have a chat.”
Whitcomb pounded his fist onto the armrest of the couch and cracked the frame, but he didn’t speak. Mercer took it as a good sign that Chief Myerson might be one of the good guys.
Before he gave the order for them to clear out, Mercer received a phone call. From caller ID, it came from Keiko.
“Talk to me, Lotus.”
“We tracked our target F150 into the mountains, the truck that belongs to Scott Welch, the mayor’s son. Now we’re on foot and doing a little recon. We think we’re on the family ranch. I’ve just texted you the coordinates,” she said.
His cell pinged with a message.
“Yeah, I’ve got it. What’s going on?”
“They’re doing more than raising cattle, Mercer. Welch and his crew parked outside an old mine shaft. It looks as if it’s had work done to shore it up and someone added electricity and lights and who knows what else inside.”
“What’s your assessment?”
“There are a few other vehicles parked alongside Welch’s truck, but no telling how many people are inside. I have doubts they’re having a social gathering in a mine shaft. They must have something highly illegal going on in the middle of nowhere. We haven’t seen any hostages and no sign of Tanaka, but this is very peculiar and deserves a closer look. What do you want us to do?”
Mercer did a quick estimation in his head. Normal drive time between Butte and Helena, one hour, but his team had traveled south on I-15 and cut the distance. If he put the pedal to the metal, Mercer could back up Keiko and Stetson, pronto.
“We’re heading your way. You may need reinforcements and more firepower.” He texted his ETA to her and said, “Good job. Wolf out.”
Mercer turned to his team.
“Time to go. Now.”
***
Nearly midnight
Ichiro knew he had to get Gabriela to safety, but he didn’t know where that would be. They needed shelter and a plan. At the moment, he had neither. He’d camped with Zach Upton, but his best friend had brought all the gear, food, and water.
Staying put was not an option. Ichiro took the first steps to a sturdy rock beneath the drainpipe. With solid footing, he peered over the edge and mentally navigated a way down through the boulders. They would need shelter from the night air. Beyond that, he had nothing.
Still, he raised his hand toward her, beckoning her to join him.
“What are we doing?” she asked. “There’s nothing out there. Where will we go?”
He didn’t have any answers and he couldn’t hide the truth from her.
“I don’t know, but we’ll figure it out together. If you pray, now would be a good time.”
On her knees above him, Gabriela gazed down and the worry left her face. She closed her eyes and made the sign of the cross with her hand. When she finished, Gabriela didn’t hesitate. With his help, she crawled down to him and he held her—perhaps a little too long—but he couldn’t help it.
Ichiro knew with certainty that their paths had crossed for a reason. He wanted to know and understand and love this brave girl. Ichiro hoped he would get the chance, but before making the trek to the canyon below, he had to take precautions. They were both barefoot.
“Please sit. There’s something we need to do.”
Ichiro patted a spot on a boulder and Gabriela sat, crossing her arms from the night’s chill.
“Once we get down this mountain, I will find shelter for us. We must get out of the wind, as wet as we are. Hypothermia is deadly, but I promise you that I am a gentleman and will not take advantage of our predicament.”
Gabriela stared at him for a long moment, until a sweet smile graced her lips.
“I trust you, Ichiro.”
Tanaka grinned.
“We must bind our feet. These rocks can cut our skin and that could lead to infection. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
“For what?”
“This.”
He didn’t wait for her forgiveness. Ichiro dropped to his knees and tore her scrub pants below the knee with his teeth. First one, then the other. Although she gasped at the first tear, she did not say a word. With tenderness, he fashioned coverings for her feet. When he finished, she raised both her feet and tapped them together with a smile.
“Not exactly high fashion, but very clever. Now it’s your turn. Talk me through how you did it.”
Gabriela swapped places with Ichiro and knelt at his feet. She tore through his scrub pants and listened as he directed her. He smiled when she finished.
“You did a good job. Thank you.” Ichiro nodded. He would not sacrifice good manners in their dire situation. “We have taken a sensible first step. Now let’s see how creative we can be in fashioning shelter for the night. Come.”
He stood and offered his hand. When she didn’t take it, and wouldn’t look him in the eye, he touched her cheek until she gazed up at him.
“I know you’re scared. I am, too, but you’re not alone. Neither am I. We’ll take this one step at a time.”
Even in the dark, under the shimmering grace of the moon, he saw her faint smile. Her tiny fingers slipped into his hand and he kissed her cheek.
“We can do this.”
With painstaking eff
ort, Ichiro led Gabriela down the mountain, one boulder at a time. Her incision hurt her and they had to stop, but she never complained. When he lowered her to the canyon floor, Ichiro knew she would be exhausted.
“You need to rest. I’ll find a good place for a shelter.”
“I’ll help you.”
Ichiro gauged the direction of the wind and picked a likely spot for a shelter that would protect them from the breeze whipping through the canyon. He wasn’t knowledgeable on outdoor survival, but he spoke aloud as ideas came to him and Gabriela responded with notions of her own.
“I’ll build the basic structure if you’ll search for pine needles.”
“Pine needles?” she asked.
“They will insulate our bodies from the cold ground…and be softer to lie on.”
“Great idea. I’ll find some.”
“Don’t stray too far. I want to keep an eye on you,” he yelled after her.
In the expanse of Ponderosa pines eclipsing the moonlight, Ichiro looked for fallen limbs and tore at low branches using his body weight. He used anything to create a solid framework and wedged rocks to keep the structure sturdy.
“That’s starting to look like something.” Gabriela said as she walked up behind him with another load of pine needles in her arms. Ichiro rushed to help her.
“You did a great job with the pine needles. This should be enough.” He tossed the nest of needles onto the floor of their makeshift lean-to and spread the bundle with his feet. “Now let’s find green branches, anything that will cut the wind.”
After he leaned the last thick tree branch against his framework, Ichiro stepped back to inspect the shelter. It would have to do.
Before he helped Gabriela inside, he knelt on the ground outside the lean-to and grabbed a stick. In the dirt near the threshold, he drew a protective talisman, a curved symbol.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“A symbol from my Shinto faith. It’s the sign of the magatama. It stands for the avoidance of evil or the magic of good fortune.”
Gabriela looked pleased. After she knelt by him, she took the stick from his hand and drew a symbol of her own—the sign of the cross.
“I’m Catholic and this is a Christian symbol. The sign of the cross can be a prayer or a blessing. I’d say we have things covered.”
Ichiro stared at her face and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. He gestured for her to crawl in first and he followed. When he crossed the threshold, he plumped the pine needles and made sure Gabriela had most of them, but before she closed her eyes, he had something to say.
“I know we barely know each other, but—” His face flushed with heat and he couldn’t meet her gaze as he lay down beside her.
Ichiro did not want to disgrace her.
***
Gabriela rolled over and smiled, but Ichiro would not look her in the eye. She’d never seen such a shy boy, yet she liked the way he made her feel—like a young woman.
“You want to spoon me. Admit it?” she teased.
“What?” He grimaced. “No. I mean, I didn’t…I wouldn’t—”
“It’s okay, Ichiro. I understand. We both need body heat.”
When his handsome face grew somber, her eyes stung with the emotion bubbling from deep inside her. Fear and adrenaline had coursed through her body without release, until now.
Her eyes watered and she said, “I’m glad you’re here. You make me feel safe.”
“I do?”
“Yes, you do.”
Gabriela rolled over and nuzzled her spine into his body. The pine needles comforted her with their softness and scent, but not enough to make her forget Ichiro lying next to her. She hadn’t given much thought to what it would be like to have sex with a boy—not like her obsessed friends—but lying next to Ichiro, she hoped her first would be someone sweet like him.
She’d never been this close to a boy. Her cheeks warmed at the thought, especially after he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Her body ached and her hands and feet were sore, but he made her forget. She caressed his arm and closed her eyes.
Gabriela fell asleep with Ichiro Tanaka as her blanket.
***
With yellow eyes, the gray wolf stared through the darkness, hearing the close sound of its pack. The alpha male crept through the pines with its head low, on the hunt. Its predator brain never stopped foraging, with every sense honed for the kill.
It had a ravenous pack to feed.
The large wolf eyed something in the shadows of the canyon that didn’t belong. It smelled of oily sap from fresh cut pine branches. Its muzzle raised into the night air, where the scent carried. With the pine oil, another trace hit its snout and that triggered its predator instincts.
The wolf raised its head and pricked its ears, listening.
Its females whimpered and paced, eager to feed, but the wolf remained still until a quiet murmur drifted on the wind. The animal took two steps and cocked its head, with its eyes alert and vigilant. From a distance the beast stalked with great patience and the pack followed its lead through the trees. The gray wolf salivated and licked its chops, its keen eyes eager for any sign of movement.
The wolf smelled prey.
Chapter 12
Welch Ranch
After midnight
Armed for a siege, Mercer lay on his belly in the dirt, surveilling the scene through night vision gear. A deserted mine shaft had been modified with a sturdy metal door at its entrance, as Keiko had reported. Dim lights were concealed near the threshold, unobtrusive to aircraft. He counted six vehicles. No telling how many people were inside.
“We’re locked and loaded on the ridge, Boots. Where are you and Lotus?” Mercer spoke into his com unit, knowing they’d be within range.
“We took a front row seat, Wolf.” Stetson’s drawl came over his ear piece. “Thanks for the assist, amigo.”
When Mercer spied Keiko and Stetson, he exchanged hand signals with them and whispered their position to Ciara and Kujo.
“Lotus and Boots have secured a position below us.” He pointed and when they nodded, he said, “I see a secured door. Reaper will handle the breach.”
“That would be me,” she said to Kujo. “C4 strips should do the trick.”
“After the breach, I’ll be first through and deploy the bangers. Kujo, you bring the dogs in behind Reaper. I don’t want them impaired by the blast.”
A flashbang stun grenade would give six seconds for them to gain the advantage over anyone disoriented by the detonation. An intense flash blinded anyone in its path and the concussion of the explosion damaged ear drums and affected the equilibrium.
Mercer directed Reaper and Kujo to fan out and handed over the leash for his partner, Karl. The dog turned its massive head to stare back at him—one last time before he headed out—something endearing that his beloved dog always did whenever he left Mercer.
See you soon, buddy.
Crouched low with an M-16 in his hands, Mercer crept toward the mine shaft to secure a better position, but as he approached, he heard a sound. It stopped him dead.
“A siren’s going off inside,” he said over his com unit. “Stand down until we know what’s happening.”
Mercer took cover near one of the vehicles and kept his eyes toward the entrance. The metal door flew open and three armed men ran out. He recognized the mayor’s son, Scott Welch, as one of the men. The way Welch ordered the uniforms to search the grounds, Mercer suspected they were hunting for someone.
“Do not engage. I repeat, do not engage.” Mercer could have ordered his team to kill the armed guards, but until they breached the facility to see what these men hid inside, he didn’t have a right to kill.
“Damn it,” Welch cursed, loud enough for Mercer to hear, and ran a hand through his hair. The man paced as his guards came up empty.
“I knew that chink would be trouble,” he said to one of his men. “They couldn’t have gotten outside. The door alarms would�
�ve gone off.”
Mercer heard every word.
After the cadre of armed men vanished behind the secured door, Lotus was the first to speak.
“Those bastards talked about a chink. I’ve got money Tanaka’s still alive. Any takers?”
Mercer smiled.
“Welch said, ‘they couldn’t have gotten outside.’ I’m banking there’s more than one missing.” If Mercer had any doubts about finding Tanaka alive, they vanished in a resurgence of hope.
“Let’s move in while they’re distracted. Breacher up.”
Mercer called for Ciara to set the explosives, strip shaped charges adhered to the door and positioned along the door hinges and lock to blast the door apart. An explosives breach ratcheted up the danger stakes and jacked with his team’s adrenaline. Ciara had pre-cut lengths of shaped charges and stuck the explosive strips to the door. When she was done, she called out a warning.
“Take cover.”
Mercer and his team inserted ear protection and used the vehicles outside as a shield to protect them from the detonation. In seconds, a thundering blast erupted. Dirt and billows of smoke rode the wave of the concussive force. Mercer didn’t wait for the dust to settle.
“Go, go, go!” He gave the order and took lead.
With bangers in hand, Mercer deployed two stun grenades through the breach and stepped through with his M-16. The cowards inside didn’t know what hit them. The stun grenades blinded them with a burst of light meant to give them ghost images on their eyes. The loud blast disturbed fluid in their ears and caused them to lose balance. The uniformed guards groveled on the floor, disoriented and blinking back tears.
Mercer and Ciara shuffled into the facility with weapons aimed. In their wake, Stetson and Keiko tossed aside the weapons of the fallen men and secured their hands and feet with plastic zip ties. Kujo brought up the rear with the dogs on leash.
“What the hell is this place?” Mercer gaped at what looked like a hospital. It smelled medicinal. “I’ve got two surgery rooms…and a ward.”