“Where’s your guest?”
He shrugged his shoulders.
I looked around and spotted a door. I motioned to Vincent and we went through it and down to the basement with our guns out. We left the lights out, not wanting to disturb anyone.
A sofa lay against the far wall, with a blanket tossed aside and a white pillow on one end. In front of the sofa lay a table with an empty glass. I picked it up with my gloves on and sniffed. Beer.
We went back upstairs to the kitchen.
When I got to Duran, I swiped my Snap across his face and drew a streak of blood.
“You work for Guy Coocher. Where’s Hoskins?”
That brought a narrowing of his eyebrows and a squinting of his eyes. I don’t think he expected that.
“Now, we’re going to apply a little pain. If you want it to stop, all you have to do is nod your head. But I warn you, if we remove the gag and you don’t answer the way we want, the gag will go back on and we’ll try more pain.”
Duran glared back.
Vincent ripped open the man’s shirt to expose black curly hairs on a pale white chest. Duran’s chest rose and fell with each rapid breath. From his jacket, Vincent brought out an electrical heating rod, the kind used to melt solder, and plugged its long cord into a wall socket. When the red light went on, he stuck the business end to the man’s chest.
The singe of flesh greeted my nostrils, along with a muffled scream.
Vincent pulled his rod away.
“Now,” I asked, “Is Borner Hoskins staying here?”
When I didn’t get a prompt answer, I waved my left hand and Vincent applied the rod. When he stopped, I could see from Duran’s face he believed more would come.
“We can keep this up a lot longer than you can bear it, Duran.”
The man’s wide-open eyes looked at me. He nodded.
I grabbed one end of the tape over his mouth and yanked. Duran winced.
Then I pulled the cloth out.
“Is Hoskins staying here?”
“Yes.”
I asked, “Who ordered the kidnapping of Alena Dani and her mother?”
At the mention of a name, Duran straightened up.
“What’s it to you?”
“I’m Alena’s father.”
I raised my hand to signal Vincent to apply another dose.
But Duran blurted out, “You can’t tell anybody I told you. If you do, they’ll kill me.”
I paused.
Duran looked at me with wide open eyes and furled eyebrows.
“Promise?” he asked.
I nodded.
“Coocher ordered them taken.”
Vincent asked, “When?”
“A week ago.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Coocher read Alena’s paper,” Duran said. “He wanted to prevent her from doing more research.”
“Who did you give the job to?” asked Vincent.
“Hoskins.”
“So he was the one who kidnapped both women?” Vincent asked.
“I told him to take only the daughter. He must have felt it necessary to take the other woman at the same time. I swear I didn’t know she’d be there.”
Vincent asked, “So you gave the order directly to Hoskins?”
Duran looked down. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”
Vincent turned to me. “I believe him.”
I nodded. “So do I.” I looked at Duran. “Do you have any kids of your own?”
He shook his head.
“Then you don’t know what it feels like to think your own kid may be tortured, raped, and killed by scum.”
Vincent said, “I say kill him. We got what we came for.”
I looked at Duran. This bastard ordered my daughter taken. I pulled his .40 out of my pocket, made sure the safety was off, and pointed it at Duran’s temple. It took two pulls on the trigger, the first to load a bullet in the chamber, the second to do the job. One bullet was all it took.
He collapsed with blood splattered on the wall behind him.
Vincent looked at the corpse. “If you wouldn’t do it, I would.”
I pointed at the corpse. “That bastard ordered my daughter kidnapped! She was an innocent victim!”
“You’re preaching to the choir here.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Then Vincent added, “Oh look. He’s dead. I guess that means you’re released from your promise.”
I grinned. “Yep. You can’t keep a promise to a dead man.”
Even though I used gloves and couldn’t leave any fingerprints on the gun, I decided there was some risk. I didn’t know if the man had taken steps like we would to hide the grooves in the barrel. So I put the gun into my jacket left pocket.
We left before the cops might arrive. A neighbor might have heard the shot.
On the way back over the Ambassador Bridge, I stopped and went up to the edge in the middle of the Oreo River. I waited until there no headlights. After checking to see if anyone was looking and there wasn’t, I flung the gun way out from the bridge. Not as far as I could but as far as a woman might toss it. With the river flowing fast and muddy, I figured the silt would cover it so it might be undiscovered for another fifty years.
When we got back to the ops center, we both showered and put our clothes and gloves in the wash. I didn’t want even the best forensic technician finding any gun powder residue. I turned on the clothes washer to get rid of any evidence.
#
We hit the sack. Nothing takes it out of you like killing someone. Surprisingly I didn’t have nightmares about it. But it was the first thing on my mind when I woke up.
I ate breakfast across from Vincent. Both of us wore the same clothes as the day before. I had a feeling I’d be seeing more of him until our gals were safe. And if they weren’t…. well, I don’t know what I’d do. It’s hard to think that far ahead, especially when each day brought new information.
“Lee and Alena depend on us to find them,” said Vincent.
“I understand.”
“Where could Hoskins be?” asked Vincent before he inserted a forkful of steak in his mouth.
“We may have exhausted one underground source but I still have another.”
He stopped chewing and said with a mouthful, “Gancha?”
I nodded.
We adjourned to the ops room and sat at the table. I tagged Gancha Morentoss. Not surprisingly, I had to leave a message. She would naturally screen her calls.
We studied the wall on Coocher. Having the confession of Duran made our jobs easier. We could ignore Horton and RUFF.
A minute later, my comm vibrated.
“Yes?”
“I got your message,” said the voice from my past.
“I need information.”
“What?” asked Gancha.
“I need to know the current location of Borner Hoskins, also known as the Rat.”
“And in exchange?”
“Maybe dinner.”
“If you can make that a definite dinner, I’ll see what I can do.”
“Okay, make that definite.” I had to smile at that one. But at least she didn’t mention what came after dinner.
“Tag you back when I find out.”
She disconnected.
If it were anybody but Alena, I wouldn’t go to Gancha. Her inheriting a crime empire meant she had access to lots of people. I hoped she had the right ones.
I’d have to decide what to do when the time came. My first priority was getting Alena and Leanna back.
Over the next four hours, Vincent and I went over several plans but nothing popped out as doable. Time was running out. It had been four days since they disappeared. Each day increased the odds that when we found them, they’d be dead.
Then I got a tag from Gancha. I put it on Vincent’s comm.
“Two Moons Hotel. Room 234. Now about that dinner.”
“Let me check it out first. I promised you, Gancha, and you know I keep my word.”<
br />
“Luv ya,” she said just before she disconnected.
I looked at Vincent. He had one eyebrow raised. I added, “No, I don’t plan to kill her.”
“Then let’s get hopping on how to hit that hotel,” he said.
Chapter 22
Ron walked in wearing blue jeans, a matching jacket, a light pink shirt, and brown cowboy boots.
“I got off shift. Took some leave so I won’t have to go back there for a while. Thought you might need some help.”
“Thanks.”
I sent a message to Acorn to update him.
Vincent found the address and then an aerial view of the Two Moons. To think, they were just a block and a half away, across the street from Uzzo Martial Arts.
From public records, Vincent showed the layout of the motel on the wall of the planning room. Room 234 was just above the registration desk and not far from the inside stairs.
I filled Ron in on our recent activities and findings. When I got to the part about killing Duran, he didn’t flinch.
I fixed my gaze on him.
“A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do,” was his response.
I smiled as did Vincent. Ron was a true buddy and a true spy.
Ron volunteered to go along on the op to the Two Moons. As a matter of fact, he insisted and I couldn’t think of any reason to deny him. Besides, having an extra gun might help.
We spent the next two hours getting dressed in black and going over different scenarios and escape routes, while we cleaned our guns.
When nine o’clock rolled around, it was dark outside and I decided it was time. Our gals might be dead by now.
You could cut the tension in the air. We would see Alena and Leanna in a few minutes and we wanted to be ready for any contingency, including finding their bodies. Both Vincent and I hated that part but we had to face reality.
Next, we loaded our gear into the BIS van and headed out, Ron behind the wheel.
“Chima, look for a tail,” I said.
It was easier when your van could track not only vehicles but also who might be in them. From the sixteen cameras we installed on the van, three on each side, six in the rear, and four in front, we enabled Chima to get a good all-around view. She need four in front to plan where to turn. Four more cameras peered inside. And she had an impeccable memory when it came to license plates, models, and who might be in a given vehicle. She could tell if the same car followed us two weeks ago, even if they changed plates.
It didn’t take long to cover the block and a half to the Two Moons. We parked in the underground parking and pulled our face masks down. We wore rubber masks of old men. Ron and I wore bald-headed masks. Vincent chose thin gray hair.
“Silencers.”
We screwed silencers on the ends of our Snaps.
To help communication without our Z helmets, we kept our comms on broadcast.
Ron led the way to the lobby on the ground floor.
We wouldn’t have bothered with visiting the registration desk except room 234 was on the other side. Plus we needed a key to the room.
Ron went first. Next came Vincent, who shot out the camera behind the desk. I stayed out of sight until then. The less information they had the better.
Ron hopped over the counter and pushed his Snap into the throat of the sole male clerk. Then he injected him with a sleeping solution.
“This means you’ll take a nap. We’ll be long gone by the time you wake.”
He also took the master key card.
The stairs were just beyond the registration desk. I stepped out from behind a pillar in the lobby and led the way. We took the stairs two steps at a time.
When I got to the second floor, I peered down both hallways. Nobody was in sight.
“Hallways clear.”
Room 234 was on my right and we soon came upon it. Vincent and I stayed on different sides of the door while Ron swiped the master key card and turned the handle.
We three barged into an empty room. In front of the two King sized beds sat two chairs. Strips of duct tape hung on the legs of the chairs and the backs.
Ron checked the bathroom and shook his head when he came out.
We were too late.
#
Ron drove on the way back to the ops center. No one said anything but I expected that.
Once inside, I got another tag, this time from Zetto.
“Botulism in the water. Midnight tonight. I’m done here. I need an exit. Meet me at Fourth and Moss.”
Shit.
“Any hurry?”
“Yep. They suspect me.”
One in the hand versus two in the bush.
“We’re on our way.”
I disconnected. “Zetto needs extraction.”
Vincent, Ron, and I donned our armor. We had to change shirts to a larger size. All three of us chose dark blue. I screwed a silencer on my Snap.
Ron drove this time. When we got to Fourth and Moss, out in the countryside on the west side of Zor, Zetto was nowhere in sight.
Shit.
We drove up and down the parking lot aisles, scanning every vehicle.
“He’s not here,” said Vincent.
“Ron, let’s go to the Water Works.”
Ron stayed in the van for a quick escape while Vincent and I rushed inside.
I had to use my silenced Snap on the lock on the glass doors. I pointed. Vincent took the offices on the right side and I the left.
When we got to the end of the first floor, I saw an Exit sign next to the Basement Sign. I motioned to Vincent. We entered the stairwell and walked with our Snaps in front of us.
After scanning the rooms in the basement and finding them leading to water treatment tanks, we approached the only other door.
We took each side.
“On zero. Three. Two. One. Zero.”
We burst through the door to find a large room. Four men stood around a chair with Zetto sitting in it, his hands secured behind him, his head bowed.
Vincent and I exchanged fire several times with the men around our guy. The other guys must not have been wearing armor because they took hits. When all four lay on the ground, I noticed Vincent was down.
“How bad you hurt?” I asked him.
“Flesh wound, I think. My leg. I’ll put a StopIt patch on it. Go help Zetto. I’ll be all right.”
I rushed up to Zetto. His head hung down and I could see blood on his face. His eyes looked puffed up but at least he was awake.
The bastards.
I untied him and tagged Ron.
“We got him but Vin took a hit on a leg.”
I had to carry Zetto up the stairs. Vincent limped alongside but made his own way.
When we exited the front door, Ron had his Snap out and opened the rear doors of the van. We placed Zetto in the back seat and Vincent sat next to him.
I ran around to the passenger door and Ron took the driver’s seat. We tore off and headed back on Moss.
I watched as Vincent placed StopIt gray goo on Zetto’s bleeding wounds.
The poor man said from his puffed up face between breaths, “They found out about me. Thanks for the rescue.”
I said, “We’ll take you to the doctor’s office. Hang in there, buddy.”
Ron drove up to Doctor Alicia Newton’s office and I carried Zetto inside. Vincent limped alongside me.
Dr. Newton wore a white long-sleeved blouse and black tight skirt. I noticed because she was in different attire from when we usually met. Gone was her white lab coat and a DetectIt hanging from her neck.
She put on her lab coat and DetectIt before she examined Zetto.
“I have to keep this one overnight.”
After she looked over Vincent, she asked, “I noticed a StopIt on your leg. Can you walk?”
He nodded.
She said to me, “I still need to keep the other guy. He’s hurt much worse than this man.”
So I left Zetto in her care while I helped Vincent get into the van.<
br />
I tagged Sheila at Channel One News. “Break into any program. Botulism in the public water. Don’t drink tap water. Humans Only is responsible.”
She responded, “We already did. Got an anonymous tag. Why do you think HO is responsible?”
“We can provide a witness but you need to disguise his appearance.”
“No problem. Jake, sometime, you’ll have to explain why you are always in the middle of everything.”
“Yeah. Sometime.”
When we got back to the ops center, we three suffered downer moods. We had rescued Zetto but not our women.
Vincent rested on a bunk while I brought Acorn up to speed on the latest developments. The failed mission to rescue Alena and Leanna was the biggie. I also mentioned our rescue of Zetto and the poisoning of the water.
I had to face the possibility that Lee and Alena were dead and buried someplace where we would never find them.
#
In the dorm, I thought over my options. I had burned my bridges with Keepen and was on the hook with Gancha. Which wasn’t a bad thing.
What the hell could I do?
Everything I had tried had failed.
Was I going to find the bodies of Alena and Leanna somewhere?
The thought tore me up.
Hoskins was out there with Leanna and Alena. Coocher was king of the media.
What chance did I have?
The only lead I had was Coocher.
So, go with what you’ve got.
“Vincent, can you get me the layout of Coocher’s place?”
He looked up from his laptop in his bunk. “Sure.”
I swear the guy had a laptop growing out of his hip.
Ron, Vincent, and I went into the planning room and went over several options.
Deek tagged me. “I thought you’d like to know this before it hits the news. Stenton Duran, second in command for Humans Only, was killed yesterday. The killer tortured him beforehand. You wouldn’t know anything about that, would you?”
“Nope.”
“I hope you don’t mind my asking. Where were you yesterday?”
“Well, you’re my witness for part of the time. I visited Uzzo Martial Arts and took a walk at the Franken Memorial Park.”
“Anybody vouch for that?”
“I didn’t know I needed an alibi. Jat Keepen may remember me at Uzzo. Most of the day I spent alone, but that’s normal for me.”
Humans Only: A Jake Dani Novel (Jake Dani/Mike Shapeck Book 2) Page 13