by Mark Stone
"Maybe," I admitted. "But why do I have to be the one to fess up first, Old Man?"
He squeezed my shoulder. "Because your mistake is running around this city with a kidnapped girl and a history of dangerous decisions."
"Fair enough," I answered. "I'll talk to her about things. I promise, but that doesn't mean I can just sit on my hands and do nothing. I know you're worried about me, and I appreciate that. I'm a cop though, Old Man. I'm a damned good cop and, if I let that woman stop from doing that- stop me from being me- then she really has won. I won't have that, and neither should you."
"Dammit," he muttered, looking into my eyes. "I hate it when you make sense."
"Don't worry," I answered. "It's like Haley's Comet. It won't happen again for at least seventy six years."
"Noted," my grandfather said. "I guess I won't have to worry too much about it."
"Shut up, Old Man," I said, wrapping him up in a hug.
As I did, the phone in my pocket rang. Pulling away, I grabbed it. The name “Katherine Cross” came across the screen. I gave my grandfather a look before answering it.
"This is Storm," I answered, tapping on the screen of my phone. "How are you feeling?"
"Like I got my ass kicked two days ago, but that's beside the point," she answered. "I need you to get down to the station as quickly as possible. We've had our tech guy working on the key tracker you placed on Natasha's person. It was damaged when you took it out apparently, and the signal he found was muffled and scrambled. He finally managed to get the damned thing straightened out though. Since it's not in a landfill or floating out in the ocean, we have to imagine there's at least a chance that super bitch still has it on her person." Cross stopped for a beat. "If that's the case, then—”
My heart jumped. "Then you know where Natasha Rayne is right now, and maybe even Tanya Harris." I looked at my grandfather again, almost apologetically before responding to Cross's request. "I'll be right there."
Chapter 23
“What have we got?” I asked, meeting Cross, Anchor, (surprisingly) Marcus, and a thin man in wire framed glasses I’d never seen before at the location she’d texted me after hanging up.
I had pulled into a back alley at the west end of town, where the city began drifting off into the country. Out here, many of the buildings were empty, with businesses that had either gone under or relocated closer to the shoreline. To say it was less populated than any other place I had been in Vero Beach was an understatement of drastic proportions.
Still, I had been instructed to turn off my headlights a quarter of a mile before I turned into the darkened alley, and I’d obliged. My rental car came to a stop in front of a brown van, windowless aside from the windshield and side windows at the front. The door was swung open. That was where I’d found the rest of them, huddled in a half circle, already talking things out.
“Hey there, Stormy,” Anchor said, grinning widely as he used the name only one woman had ever used for me before; the woman who- with any luck- was inside the building a few hundred yards away from us right now.
“Shut up,” I answered, grimacing at him as I settled alongside the rest of the group. “Now, like I said, what have we got?”
“This is Tyler,” Marcus motioned to the skinny man in the wireframe glasses. “He’s the man who managed to cut through the nonsense on that cheap key tracker you thought to toss in the woman's pocket.”
“Much obliged,” I answered, nodding at him.
“Same to you,” he said. “Tanya is one of my best friends, has been since we were little kids building sandcastles together. I was sad to hear she was moving away, but the idea that someone took her, just grabbed her from her house, that was hard to stomach. Putting that key tracker on this Natasha woman was quick thinking.”
I hadn’t heard that Tanya had planned to move away. It didn’t seem to matter much at this point. Still, I made a mental note of it, as I did with any new information.
“Maybe,” I answered. “But it doesn’t mean she’s actually here. I put it in her coat. She could have tossed that coat away for all we know.”
“Tossed it into an abandoned building on the edge of town?” Cross asked, daring me with darting eyebrows.
“Or tossed it in the direction of a homeless person whose sleeping in there right now.” I shrugged. “Maybe she’s using it to get us off her actual scent. Lord knows I wouldn’t put it past a woman who was able to clear out a police department, lock us in a room she had no business having the key to, plunging that room into darkness, and kicking our asses in it.”
“This is the lead we have,” Marcus responded, glaring at me. “And, given the fact that my daughter is still out there, we’re going to follow through with it.”
“I have no problem with that,” I answered. “Obviously, if I didn’t want to do the work, I wouldn’t have answered the call. I wouldn’t have sent Jack Lacey home when you offered to take me on officially. Still, I think it’s time you entertain the fact that your daughter might be missing, but it might not be against her will.”
“What are you even talking about?” Marcus asked, hurt and anger laid plain on his face.
“I’m talking about cold hard facts, Marcus. I’m talking about the fact that Tanya was seen talking to Natasha, free as a bird. I’m talking about the fact that Natasha had to have a key to lock us in that room; a key only you had access too…you, and presumably your daughter.”
“Are you trying to insinuate that my daughter might have faked her kidnapping? Are you saying she might have planned all of this?” Marcus asked.
“I don’t know what I’m saying, sir,” I answered. “But I know we need to go in there with our eyes open. I know we need to be ready for anything, including the idea that- when we find your daughter- she might not be happy about it.”
“You say that like you even know her,” Marcus spit at me.
“I don’t need to know her,” I said sharply. “I go out everyday and fight to defend and save people. You think I know any of them? I don’t. You think that stops me from doing everything I can for them?” I shook my head. “Not for a second.” I thought about the words my grandfather told me before I left to come here, about the reservations he had in terms of me going up against Natasha. He was definitely onto something. Damn. Turned out I hated it when he had a point too.
“In fact,” I said, blinking hard. “It’s not knowing them that allows me to do my job better. It allows me to keep my head clear, to keep my actions true.”
I looked over at Cross and Anchor.
“Now, I know why they’re here. They’re good at what they do. They take what they do seriously, and they’re able to separate what they feel with what they know they need, with what they know is right.”I shook my head again. “I can’t say the same thing about you, Marcus, not in this case.”
His entire body jerked forward, as if he was going to punch me; an action which would have only proven what I said was true.
“It’s not a bad thing,” I said. “In fact, it’s the definition of what it means to be human, of what it means to be a father. You want your daughter back. You’re willing to do anything in your power to get her back.” I took a deep breath. “Well, anything other than entertain the idea that the girl you raised, the girl you likely love more than life itself, has been something less than completely honest with you.”
“My daughter is a good woman,” he said, his voice weak, his words breaking with emotion.
“I’m sure she is,” I answered, a calming voice in the storm that was obviously running through the man. “And, whatever’s happened, I’m sure that good woman is still there, still untouched. But, if you want us to get her back, if you want us to do everything in our power to put an end to this, then you need to stand down.”
“What?” he asked, blinking so hard and furiously that it had to be an effort to keep tears from his eyes.
“These people respect you, Marcus,” I said, looking over at Cross, Anchor, and Tyler. “The
y work under you. They’ve probably seen you do things that have made them prouder than a mama bear during first hibernation. I didn’t have that luxury, but that also means I have that impression. I’m not clouded with the knowledge of what an amazing man and damned good chief you are. Because of that, I can say this with absolute clarity, knowing that what I’m about to say is in everyone’s best interest.”
I stepped forward, putting a hand on Marcus’s shoulder.
“You, sir, do not belong here,” I said. “The emotion you bring to the table, the absolute lack of objectivity, it’s not good for this. It’s only going to serve to get someone hurt…or worse.”
The look on his face as I spoke- like a brick wall being torn down piece by piece- broke my heart. I wanted to make this right for him, but being here made that much harder.
“You need to go. You need to take my car,” I said, tossing him the keys. “Get to a bar, and drink yourself silly. Sing karaoke, hit on waitresses. Do whatever you can to get your mind off what you know is going on here. I nodded. “If you can do that, then I promise you, the team you’ve put together and I will have a much better chance of getting a better resolution to this whole mess.”
Marcus looked passed me to Cross. Turning myself, I saw the woman nod.
“He’s right, Marcus,” Cross said pensively. “We’ll make it right, whatever it is.”
“Okay,” the man answered and, this time, no amount of blinking could keep tears from running fresh down his face. “Don’t let me down,” he said. Then, turning back to me, he added, “Any of you.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it, sir,” I answered, watching as he got into my car, and drove away, headlights still dark.
“That was intense,” Anchor said as we watched the man leave.
“Not as intense as it’s about to be,” Tyler said from behind us.
Looking back, I saw him, worry coloring his face.
“What is it?” Cross asked, her jaw tightening.
“There’s movement,” he said in a clipped fashion.
‘From the tracker?” I asked, my heart speeding up. “Where is she headed?”
“No,” Tyler said, pointing of into the distance. “Not from inside, not from the tracker.” I looked past him, at the single headlights pouring into the parking lot of the abandoned building where the tracker was housed. “From there.”
I swallowed hard, recognizing the unmistakable look of motorcycles, one after another, like a gang, like…
“The Scorpions,” I muttered.
It had to be them. They were in the bar. They treated Mikey like they owned him the same day he met Natasha. That couldn’t be a coincidence. All of this was coming together and, if we weren’t quick, it would all slip right through our fingertips.
Chapter 24
“We need to move,” Cross said, looking at Anchor but reading my mind. “Whatever’s going down is happening right now and, if I know this gang like I think I do, it’ll happen quickly.” She looked to Tyler, still sitting on the edge of the van’s open door. “I’m opening up my walkie so that you can hear what’s going on in there.”
“Roger that,” he answered, nodding. “I’ll keep mine on mute and the instant I hear anything that indicates you might need backup—”
“That indicates you might need backup?” I asked, my shoulders slumping in surprise. “I have had my ass handed to me exactly twice since I got to this town. Once by that biker gang, and the other time, by Natasha Rayne. Now you’re telling me that all of them are going to be in one place, and you only think we might need backup?” I shook my head. “You need to make that call right now, Tyler.”
“And risk spooking them?” Cross asked, her nostrils flared. “We have no idea what’s going on inside there. For all we know, they’re holding prep for a bake sale. At present, all we have on them is loitering. Look,” she said, pointing to the gang, getting off their bikes and gathering at the front of the building. “They haven’t even walked inside yet.”
“No, but as soon as they do, it’s breaking and entering,” I said. “And you need to be on the horn, kid. Get us some help, because I’ve got a feeling we’re going to be bringing a lot of people to jail tonight,” I said.
Looking at Cross and Anchor, I nodded. The pair must have taken that as a nonverbal cue to get moving, because- without another word- they started out toward the building in the distance.
“What’s our play here? We just gonna run in there, guns blazing?” Anchor asked, lagging behind us just a bit. Part of his hesitance might have been out of here, given the fact that he wasn’t an actual police officer. Still, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps the reality television star just needed some direction, or maybe he just didn’t want to take the lead and let his inexperience lead him to do something that might mess everything up.
Either one was a train of thought I could respect.
“Have you ever known me to run in anywhere guns blazing?” Cross asked, not bothering to look back at her partner. “We’re going to have to play this smart. At the moment, given the fact that we’re outnumbered and almost certainly outgunned, the element of surprise is our most valuable asset.”
“We need to get into that building and see what’s going on,” I said. “And we need to do it without being seen. Otherwise, we’ll probably end up as tomorrow morning’s front page story.”
“God, I hope they use one of my good headshots,” Anchor muttered behind me.
The expanse we needed to cross between the darkened alley and the abandoned building was a huge stretch of overgrown and undeveloped land. That was both a good and bad thing. The fact that this land was untouched meant there was likely no one looking at it, and the grass was tall enough to give us a little cover if we ducked down enough.
The thing about Florida though, was that as soon as you got away from the more developed and cultivated beach and city land, the whole place turned into a swamp.
Though there was no water here to facilitate the presence of gators, you could never really count the little buggers out one hundred percent in a state like this. More troubling though, was the almost certainty that there were snakes in this grass, venomous snakes that would strike us at the slightest provocation.
“We need to move carefully through this area,” I said, realizing that none of us would have the luxury of flashlights, not if we wanted to get to the building unseen. “This place looked like it could be rife with—”
“Snakes,” Anchor finished, grinning at me through faint moonlight in the clear Florida night sky. “Yeah. That’s why I’ve got these things.”
He raised his pant leg to reveal a bright yellow gaiter wrapped around his ankle.
“You brought protection?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“A man can never be too careful,” he answered, smiling. “Ninety percent of snake bites are at the ankle. The other ten percent at your hands. This way, I figure, so long as I don't try to go picking something up like a dumbass, I’ll be fine as china. I’m a treasure hunter by trade, Stormy. When you’re bopping around, looking for gold and whatnot, you never know where you’re going to end up.” He shrugged. “I’ve found being in tow with Cross here isn’t any less volatile. It helps to be prepared for anything.”
“That’s actually kind of brilliant,” I said, surprised at how impressed I was with this man right now. “I mean, I’ve already told you not to call me Stormy and- if you do it again- I’m probably gonna have to pound on you a little bit, but good job nonetheless.”
His grin faltered a little, but just a little, as he answered me. “Nice to know I’m good for something.”
“Good for more than you think,” Cross answered. “Get in front of us.”
‘Excuse me,” he said, turning his attention to the woman.
“I’m assuming you didn’t bring enough gaiters for the entire classroom?” she asked, pursing her lips at them.
“It’s not like I have a backpack or anything,” he answered. “These
things are big. Where would I put them?”
“Where they are is just fine,” she said, pointing down to the man’s feet. “You lead the way. Dillon and I will stay close behind you, following your footsteps.”
“Like one of those human centipedes in that horror movie?” he asked, his face brightening up a little.
“I mean, I’ve never seen those horror movies, but I’m going to say no,” Cross answered. “I’m just going to grab ahold of the back of your shirt and keep step with you. That way—”
“If a snake gets rattled and starts chomping on somebody, it’ll be me,” Anchor said mournfully.
“What can I say? The man wearing the gaiters takes the risk. Those are just the breaks.”
He looked over at me. “Stormy can wear the gaiters if he wants.”
“I will seriously break your jaw,” I answered.
“There’s no time to change, Anchor,” Cross said, grabbing his shoulders and spinning him around. “We’ve already wasted precious moments having this conversation. We’re going as is.” She latched onto his shirt, grabbing the man at his shoulder blades. “There’s no time for a pissing contest either. Call him Dillon, Detective Storm, or- in a pinch- that guy who’s no fun.”
“I’m fun,” I answered weakly, following Cross’s lead and taking ahold of her shirt completely the trio.
“You’re a practical laugh riot,” she answered. “Let’s just get over there as quickly as possible.”
“Okay,” Anchor answered, and started walking.
The three of us lumbered slowly across the overgrown land. I thought I heard hissing at one point or another, but nothing sniped at Anchor’s feet; at least not at the halfway point, which was where we were now.