by Ken Douglas
“ Christ,” Black said, “he doesn’t sound sane.”
“ Plus,” Lila went on, “he’ll have his son Tucker up there with him and who knows who else. And I’m guessing he’ll have both his security shifts on duty, because he might be expecting you to try something. Manny Wayne is thorough and he doesn’t take unnecessary chances.”
“ That’s eight men minimum,” Black said.
“ A lot of people,” Izzy said.
“ Yes, eight minimum,” Lila said. “And we’re going to have to kill them all.”
“ What?” Izzy said.
“ That’s the only way you’ll be safe is if everybody who knows about what happened to you is dead.”
“ She’s right,” Black said.
“ But, what if we can get the girls out of there, without killing anybody?” Izzy said.
“ We’re not even going to try,” Lila said. “Manny and Tucker are horrible people. Users, takers, they’ve ruined a lot of lives and I’ve helped. This is a chance for me to atone a bit, to make sure they can’t hurt anyone else.”
“ What about the security?” Izzy said.
“ They’re not nice people either. Manny wanted men who were ruthless and that’s what he’s got. The planet will rotate very nicely without them.”
“ Still, if we don’t have to kill them-”
“ It we don’t,” Lila said, cutting her off, “they’ll come after you. Manny Wayne will never let up and if he dies, Tucker’s just the same. And if they told their security people about you, well they’d rip your heart out and eat it while it was still beating if they thought it would make them like you.”
“ I get it,” Izzy said, but it made her sick to think they were intentionally going to set out to murder eight people. She didn’t know if she could do it, no matter what kind of people they were.
“ The hard part for me,” Lila said, “will be killing the dogs.”
“ What?” Izzy said.
“ Woof,” from Hunter, almost as if he understood.
“ Yeah, the dogs, Hitler and Stalin.”
“ Woof,” again from Hunter.
“ Hitler and Stalin?” Black said.
“ Yeah,” Lila said, “But despite their names, I like them. We were close once. When I was growing up there, I used to sneak out at night, the dogs looked the other way if my treat for them was good enough. Once they sniff me out, they’ll come to me without raising a fuss.”
“ You grew up there?” Black said.
“ Long story.”
“ Don’t tell me this Wayne character is your father,” Black said.
“ No, but he made me what I am. I’ll tell you on the way.” Lila turned toward the door. “Come on, let’s go.”
Lila led Izzy to the Charger. Hunter got in back. Black got in the Jag as Izzy started up the Charger. With the car running, but still in park, Lila got out, pulled her Glock and shot out both front tires of the Jag. Then she hopped back in the car, shoved it into drive and peeled rubber as she shot down the drive. She pointed the car toward the resort’s exit and when they were at it, she stopped, put the car in neutral and turned to Izzy.
“ Holy shit!” Izzy said. “What’d you do that for? I was just starting to like you and now you do something like this!”
“ Because what I said back there is true. One of you has to survive and since Amy’s your granddaughter, I get it that you have to try and help her, though I would have preferred Black on this rescue mission, because she’s darned good with a gun and not afraid to use it.”
“ I’m not afraid to use a gun,” Izzy said, not sure she was liking Lila’s take charge attitude.
“ I know, but are you good with a gun? How much practice have you had? Can you hit what you’re shooting at?”
“ You’d be surprised.” Izzy grinned, despite the fact that she felt awful about Black, who was probably furious.
“ You can hit what you’re shooting at?”
“ Every time.” Izzy tried for smug, but she didn’t think she was pulling it off.
“ That’s good to know.”
“ So let’s get out of here.”
“ Not just yet,” Lila said. “The dog can’t go.”
“ What?”
“ Think about it.”
Hunter whined.
“ She’s right, boy, you have to stay and take care of Black.” Izzy got out of the car. “Come on.”
The dog jumped from the backseat into the front, got out of the car. Izzy scratched him behind the ears. She didn’t want to part with the dog. Hunter had become almost a part of her. It was as if he knew what she was thinking, as if he understood her. “We’ll be back, but just in case we’re not, take care of Black like you’ve been taking care of me.”
Hunter looked up at her, met her eyes and Izzy could almost believe he was about to cry. She held an open hand out and the dog nuzzled it, then he turned and ran back into the resort, she watched him, till he made the turn toward the cabin and was out of sight.
“ I swear,” Lila said, “that is one smart dog.”
Chapter Eighteen
Mouledoux piloted his unmarked up the mountain under a cloud covered sky. But even in the almost pitch black, he could tell he was passing stately homes, most with locked gates in front of their driveways. One of the hazards of wealth, if you had it, others wanted it, so it had to be protected. That and a lot of rich people just plain didn’t like associating with the great unwashed.
He grabbed a glance at the dashboard clock. Thirty minutes to midnight. He’d made good time, despite the fact that he’d had to keep it under fifty during a lot of the drive through Northern California, because the road was warmer than the land it sliced through, so animals liked to rest on it. Twice he almost hit a deer. A coyote shot in front of him just outside Susanville and he’d missed it by inches, its eyes glowing with the reflection of his headlights. And he’d killed a couple rabbits. Bugs Bunny, it seems, wasn’t as adept at getting out of the way of a moving vehicle as were Bambi and Wile E.
As he passed a sign marking the altitude at six thousand feet, it started to snow. Early, he thought. Maybe it was a sign, but good or bad, he didn’t know. Soon enough he’d be in Mansfield Wayne’s lair and he’d find out if he’d made the right choice. He really only had two and he’d been grappling with the decision the whole trip from Oregon. Should he call it in, report Peeps, and come up to Wayne’s with the cavalry. Or should he come alone, play it by ear and maybe save his partner’s ass.
He hung a right at Radium Road, as per his instructions. There were no homes on this road, stately or otherwise. It seemed deserted, spooky, as it wound up the side of the mountain. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t below freezing, so the snow was melting as fast as it the road, but the landscape on both sides of it were getting a dusting. Tall pines lightly covered in snow reminded him of Christmas and he wondered if he’d blundered so badly coming up here that he’d be unemployed, or worse, incarcerated by the time the holidays arrived.
Maybe he should turn back. Maybe he’d made the wrong decision. The road curved around a bend and Mouledoux saw lights up ahead. Mansfield Wayne’s estate. He slowed, pulled over to the side of the road, killed his headlights. He’d made the wrong choice, he was sure of that now. He’d been stupid. Wayne had two kidnap victims up there, his partner was complicit in the crime and here he was, Mississippi Bob Mouledoux, joining the side of the bad guys.
Sure, he’d told himself, he wasn’t really, he was going in to try to rescue his partner from the dark side, but that would never fly with internal affairs, his chief or anybody else who might review this afterwards. Heck, he’d never believe it himself. The whole world would think he’d sold his badge for thirty pieces of silver, just as Peeps had done.
It was too late for Peeps, Mouledoux saw that now, but it wasn’t too late to save himself. His partner’s ship had sailed and was sinking fast and only an idiot would board it now.
He picked up the mic to call it in, b
ut the radio was dead. No chatter, no static, nothing, just dead. How was that possible? He’d been listening to police chatter all the way from California.
He reached for his phone, touched the button to wake it from sleep, but it didn’t leave it’s slumber. He pushed it again, got no joy. He pushed the reset. Nothing. Like the radio, it was dead. That too made no sense, as he’d been using a car charger. The battery should have been full.
Nothing for it now, but to go back down the mountain till he could find a landline. That’d take about a half hour, maybe a bit longer in these conditions. Maybe he could stop at one of the homes that didn’t have a locked gate in front of its drive. Yeah, that made sense.
He was about to turn around when someone rapped on his window. Startled he went for his weapon when the passenger window exploded with the sound of gunfire, raining him with safety glass.
“ Don’t!” a man in black shouted as he poked a mean looking riot gun through the space where his window once was. “I blew your window out with my handgun. I just as easily could’ve used this and taken your head off.”
Mouledoux pulled his hand away from the shoulder holster.
“ Hands on the wheel!”
Mouledoux did as he was told.
“ Okay, mind and you live. Nod your head if you understand.”
Mouledoux nodded.
“ That’s good. With your left hand, open the door, keeping your right on the wheel.”
Mouledoux opened the door.
And two beefy hands grabbed him by the collar, jerked him out of the car. A giant of a man threw him onto the road, which wasn’t nearly as warm as he’d imagined it to be when he was avoiding all those animals. The giant pulled his hands behind his back and in a flash of a second he’d been handcuffed with cold metal cuffs, the old fashioned kind that unlocked with a key.
The other man was on him now, a knee in his back as he reached into Mouledoux’s jacket and pulled out his weapon, then he frisked him the way only a professional can. The man found and took his shield and creds.
“ He’s a police officer.” He got off Mouledoux’s back.
“ He the one Mr. Wayne is expecting?”
“ How about it mister, is Mr. Wayne expecting you?” the one who’d shot out his window said.
“ Yeah.” Mouledoux figured the less he spoke to these men, the better off he’d be.
The giant pulled him to his feet.
“ Can’t be too careful,” the man who’d shot out his window said. “Weird shit’s been going on.”
“ Like what?” Mouledoux said. Then, “And can you take the cuffs off?”
“ Yeah sure. I’m Weed, they call me Weedy.” He unlocked the cuffs.
“ And him?” Mouledoux nodded to the giant, who stood seven feet, six if he stood an inch. He had lightning bolts tattooed on both sides of his neck, which set off his monster of a chin, but the massive square jaw and the tattoos were understatements, compared to the flattened nose that dominated the middle of the giant’s florid face. And, of course, he was hairless.
“ That’s Lugar.”
“ What do you feed him?”
“ Ha,” Lugar said, “good one.” Then, “Don’t let my looks fool you. I’m plenty smart. I’m also a mean son of a bitch and I don’t feel pain. Born that way. I can be your best friend or one motherfucking horrible nightmare. Better for you if we’re friends.”
“ Got it,” Mouledoux said. “Meanwhile, we’re standing out in the snow.”
“ Yeah,” Weedy said, “let’s get inside.”
“ You wanna give me back my piece?”
“ Not just yet,” Weedy said.
“ So, we’re not really pals yet, are we?” Mouledoux said.
“ Not yet.”
Mouledoux decided to end the conversation and walked with them, Weedy in front, Lugar behind, to the gated drive. The gate wasn’t like the decorative gates guarding the estates he’d seen as he was coming up the mountain. This one was made of sturdy chain link and had razor wire on the top of it, as did the twelve foot fence that surrounded the property. The place looked more like a prison.
“ Fence is electric.” Weedy pulled a remote from his coat pocket, pushed a button and the gate slid open. Mouledoux half expected a gatehouse and a guard but there were none. There were, however, cameras mounted on both sides of the gate.
“ Pretty thorough,” Mouledoux said.
“ But not tonight,” Weedy said. “Cameras are on the fritz. Phones, both landline and cellular, are out. Cable too, so no internet or TV. But what’s really weird is the radios don’t work, either.”
“ But you got electricity?”
“ Yeah,” Weedy said. “Lights, the fence, this, he held up the remote, they all work. But communications, video and audio, between us and the outside, are all out.”
“ That’s impossible,” Mouledoux said, remembering the radio in his car and his phone.
“ Yeah, impossible,” Lugar said.
“ You check the radios in your cars?”
“ All on the fritz,” Weedy said. “So, you can see why we’re just a little nervous about who comes calling tonight. Why we might want to shoot first and ask questions later.”
Mouledoux thought about telling them about his radio and phone, but didn’t. It was his job to ask questions and get information, not to give it.
“ Bobby!” Peeps shouted out from the front porch as they approached the house. Next to his partner were two men, Mansfield and Tucker Wayne. They looked every bit in the flesh liked they did live at 11:00 and in the Reno Gazette.
“ Mr. Mouledoux.” Mansfield Wayne stepped forward, hand outstretched. Mouledoux took it as Wayne said, “Come this way.” Mansfield led him along a covered porch that wrapped around his mansion to the back. “I like my privacy, Mr. Mouledoux, but I like to sit outside as well and I don’t like to look at that awful fence.” He sounded like he did on television, authoritative, in command, in control.
“ Wow!” Mouledoux said when he saw the view. The backyard was football field large and it bordered on a cliff. Off in the distance and far below he could see the lights of Reno. Rich people definitely lived better.
“ You should see it on a clear night,” Wayne said. “The lights below, dark here, more stars above than you can possibly imagine. It’s breathtaking. I thank God I’m alive to enjoy it.”
“ I can understand that,” Mouledoux said.
“ And we want to keep him alive,” Tucker Wayne said, “because he does so much good for his community and he’s got so much more to give. Can you understand that as well, Mr. Mouledoux?”
“ Sure.” Mouledoux couldn’t help but notice that Peeps, Weedy and Lugar hadn’t followed them to the back of the house, weren’t enjoying the view with the three of them. He was alone with the Waynes. He could take them, of that he was sure, but he wasn’t armed, so taking them down now would only get him killed, because he’d never get past Weedy and Lugar, not to mention Peeps and whoever else Wayne had guarding his little mountain fortress.
“ Peeps assures us you are onboard,” Tucker said. “Is that true?”
“ Depends.” Mouledoux hated that he had to play like he was on the take, but there was no other way now.
“ You will be paid handsomely, Mr. Mouledoux.” Tucker said,
“ Call me, Bobby,” Mouledoux said.
“ That fast,” Tucker said, “you’re not going to ask how much?”
“ Bobby’s a smart man,” Mansfield said. “He knows we’re fair.”
“ So, why do you need me?” Mouledoux said.
“ Two reasons, Bobby,” Mansfield said. “One, outside of you, me, Peeps and Lila Booth, nobody else alive knows about Dr. Isadora Eisenhower. And two, Peeps says you’re awfully good with a gun and before this night is through, there’s a better than even chance we might need your services.”
“ It looks like you’ve got the bodyguard business pretty much squared away.”
“ Looks can be deceiving. I�
�ve got six men on duty, my whole staff, plus Peeps and now you. Plus, I’ve got Eisenhower’s granddaughter, which might work in our favor, but with all this, I’m not underestimating the opposition,”
And all of a sudden Mouledoux understood. With all his wealth, with his bodyguards, with his electric fence, with his fortress house, with all this, Mansfield Wayne was afraid.
“ That Lila Booth,” Mouledoux said, “she must really be something.”
“ Yes,” Mansfield said. “But Eisenhower has proved to be something too and with the fact that she apparently can’t die, that makes her very dangerous, very frightening.”
“ And now your communications are out.”
“ That’s disturbing too,” Mansfield said.
“ So what do you want me to do?”
“ Same as us. We wait.”
“ Dr. Eisenhower, wake up.”
“ I wasn’t asleep.” Izzy had been resting with her head back, watching a cloudless sky and shadowy pines flying by, as Lila steered them through the night, driving faster than Izzy had ever driven.
“ We’ll be in Susanville shortly, ten miles. I want to stop by your son’s and talk to your daughter-in-law for a few minutes.”
“ I’d rather not.”
“ We need to,” Lila said. “I’d like to know who took the girls.”
“ My son and I don’t talk.” The last thing Izzy wanted to do was to show up at Johnny’s in the middle of the night.
“ Why not?”
“ It’s complicated.” But was it really? Sure she and Roxanne didn’t get along. The woman hated her actually, but over the years Izzy could’ve worked it out. But she hadn’t. After she’d won Amy in the custody battle, she’d shut her son and his witch of a wife out of her life.
“ I’m sorry to hear that.” Lila turned to Izzy, flashed her a quick smile, then put her eyes back on the road. “Really, I’m sorry, Dr. Eisenhower, but I need to get some kind of idea what we’re up against. I need to know who took your granddaughter, because Manny has people he can call on, dangerous people. He’s done it already, sent some black op types after me in that helicopter. If Black wouldn’t have been there, I wouldn’t be here now.”