by K. J. Dahlen
“Then let’s figure this out people, before it’s too late to stop it,” Judge called out.
Bull went over to the bank of windows and watched over his adopted city. In all the years he’d lived here, he never knew the evil that roamed here. But he learned the hard way, hell they all had learned that lesson, evil always hides its true face until there is no longer any reason to do so.
A while later, Bull came over the where Charlie was sleeping. For a few minutes, he just watched her sleep then his eyes caught sight of the notebook and he frowned.
Taking the notebook, he moved away from her and sat down to read what she wrote. Lifting his eyes, he noted everyone else was sleeping and he had the entire room to himself. Lowering his eyes, he began reading Charlie’s letter.
My name really is Charlie. It’s the only thing that I know is really mine. I was found by the police in a small apartment in a bad neighborhood right here in Mount Pleasant when I was two. The only other person in the apartment was my mother. Her name was Joni and she was found dead on the floor. She’d been strangled. I don’t know how long she was dead before the police found her body. No one ever told me that when I was growing up. I found that much out when I was eighteen and looked up the old police files on my mom’s death. I don’t know my real last name or if I ever had one. I only know this because other people told it to me. The name my mom listed on the rental file was not her own. She put Joni Kennedy on the paperwork but it wasn’t her real name. The police found that out when they checked up on her. They never did find out her real name or who my father was. They either didn’t care to check her out or couldn’t find any information on her. Social workers let me use the name Charlie Kennedy when they took me into care. They didn’t know what else to call me.
I was put into foster care and every time I went to a new home, I was made to feel less than I was because everyone knew my last name wasn’t really mine. I had twenty three different foster homes until I was sixteen. After that I was on my own. I just couldn’t stay with people that didn’t care whether I lived or died anymore. To them I was nothing more than a check they got the first of the month. Some of the foster homes were ok and others were really bad. The social workers didn’t care they just left me there and never looked back. Until the next time they had to move me.
You learn quickly what to expect in foster care. Nothing you have is ever your own, not even the clothes on your back and every time you go to another house, you pack your clothes in garbage bags. If you had proper luggage when you got there it was gone by the time you left. I went to fifteen different schools in seven different towns around here in my lifetime and everyone knew about me before I got there. I was the girl with no real last name and everyone let me know it. Kids can be very cruel to other kids.
I never had many friends growing up but I did learn to watch for trouble and trouble always found me when I least expected it. I also learned how to street fight and protect myself. I learned those lessons the hard way and I have the broken bones to prove it.
When I was eleven, I met a girl two years younger than me and her brother who was two years older than I was. We lived together in the same house for the next three years. Maggie and I became best friends and her brother Jesse looked out for the both of us. We became a family of sorts. Then Maggie and Jesse got moved to another house. We tried to keep in touch and we did for a while but after a couple of years, we lost touch. Nobody’s fault, shit like that happens every day.
We managed to stay together as friends but seeing each other became difficult. I was sixteen at the time and for a while, I ran the streets. I didn’t finish high school as I was pretty much living on my own at the time.
Then something happened. I found out my friend Maggie was kidnapped by a monster. She was raped over several days and then thrown into the garbage dump by the man who took her. They left her for dead and they almost got their wish. She was fourteen and what happened to her shattered her soul. I found her again in the hospital and tried to stay with her as much as I could.
Jesse and I tried to find out who took her but Maggie couldn’t tell us much. She was afraid of her own shadow at the time. She was afraid the guy who took her would come back after her to kill her before the police could find him. After all, she was a witness he had to silence. I think she would have ended her pain if not for the fact the monster who took her got her pregnant. She knew suicide was a mortal sin but killing an unborn baby was much worse.
She was alone when her son was born. I didn’t get to her until almost after the fact. She begged me to forgive her and to take care of her son. We talked until the early hours and I tried to stop her from doing it but her mind was made up. She couldn’t live with the shame of what happened to her. So, while I slept, she took her own life. She swallowed some pills and by the time I woke up, she was already gone. She knew I would take care of her son and I did. I hid him with a family I knew and I know he’s safe.
Jesse and I began piecing together what happened to Maggie. We found out the man who took her was a River Rat gang member, we just didn’t know which one. Jesse joined the gang and I watched them for the next three years. They never even knew I was there. Either that or they didn’t care. Paolo always was an ass. But even then, I knew if they caught me I was dead.
At first, it was hard because I didn’t know who was coming or going from their compound. Then over time, I began putting names with the faces and I started to recognize the patterns and the people they did business with. Then one day, I saw a man that gave me the creeps. The moment I saw him, I felt a shiver in my soul. If anyone could project evil this man did. I didn’t know him from Adam but when I saw him, I was afraid. For the first time in my life, I didn’t know what to do. Later, I found out his name was Conrad Bane.
Conrad Bane has been there more times than I care to count. He showed up every time a boat arrived from Mexico. He has been coming and going a lot for the last three years. I’ve gotten close enough at times to overhear their conversations. I haven’t been caught because I know how to keep still and hide in all the right places.
I can follow someone without getting caught. I have followed Conrad Bane many times and he’s never known I was there. Believe me if he knew I was there, I wouldn’t still be alive. I’ve seen the man in action and he doesn’t suffer fools lightly. He’s cruel and barbaric and wouldn’t hesitate to slit your throat if you crossed him. I watched his eyes on several occasions and they are cold and black as his soul. I would hate the man but that takes too much effort. I’d rather not waste my time on such worthless thoughts. I still get the vibe from him that I know him from somewhere else but I’ve racked my brain and can’t remember where I’ve seen him before.
I’ve seen the faces of the cartel men when they come in with the boats full of drugs. I’ve seen the payoffs and the Ratz splitting up the shipments.
I’ve also heard Bane being called by different names. Adhir Malik is only one of his aliases’. Just as Bane is only one of his names. I’ve heard Ritcher call him Amir Hussain as well. They were arguing at the time and Conrad Bane was not happy when Ritcher did that. It was almost as if he was afraid someone would overhear the name. I don’t know what that meant but I remember the day he did it. I know who Ritcher was from the news. Everyone in Texas knows his face as our governor. I’ve seen his picture in the paper many times but I never liked the man. He’s a sleazy person always talking about doing right for the people but he’s talking out of his ass. He’s taken bribes and payoffs the whole time he’s been in office. I think he’s got something on Bane but he’s also very afraid of the man. I think he knows he can only go so far before Bane kills him, or maybe it’s just when he know Conrad Bane doesn’t need him anymore, he’ll kill him. I’m not sure but anyone who knows Bane, knows that once you’re no longer useful to him, you end up dead.
When I saw him hanging with the likes of Conrad Bane and the River Ratz, I liked him even less.
It was the last Fourth of July. Bane a
lmost killed the man when he let that name slip. Ritcher was afraid of being found out I think. Ritcher also said something about a donation he had to hide from his committee. He didn’t want anyone to know that Bane had given him money. He was afraid they would see it as a bribe. Bane sneered at him and told him it was a bribe and that Ritcher wasn’t as lily white as he claimed he was. Bane also told him that he better be careful or their association would become news headlines. Ritcher was afraid of that.
Anyway, three days ago, I was caught by one of the Ratz. Paolo wasn’t at the compound at the time so his second in command Jermanio ordered me questioned. Three of his men began beating me but I wouldn’t tell them anything they wanted to know.
The second day I was there, another man came in, walked up to me and slit my throat. I thought I was dead for sure. When the others left us alone, the man picked me up and carried me away. I thought he was going to let me bleed out but he didn’t. He stopped the bleeding and told me I was stupid for getting caught.
My eyes were swollen shut, so I couldn’t see his face. The next thing I knew I was in a truck and we were driving somewhere. I must have passed out again because the next thing I knew I was with you, Bull.
Living on the streets, you learn a lot about who really runs the town, who you can trust and who to stay the hell away from. You learn where you can find a good place to rest for the night and where you’d better not close your eyes even for a moment.
You also learn the hard way not to cross the wrong people. Most people overlook the people living on the streets. Most of the ones living on the streets aren’t bad people, life just gave them a bad deal. They aren’t lazy or looking for a handout, they just can’t make their own way.
You may find them strange and unclean but they know better what’s going on around town than you ever will. They watch and observe what’s going on around them. They know when trouble is coming and will always find a place that is safe to go to when trouble is coming.
You may not believe me but this is who I am. I don’t lie, I don’t cheat, and I find anyone that does to be a scumbag. If I’ve learned anything from my life, it’s how to treat people the way I want them to treat me. If you want respect from me then show me some. If you want the truth from me, then be honest with me and I’ll be honest in return. And if I can’t be honest, then I don’t say anything at all.
One of my foster mothers when I was six taught me that. She told me that it was harder to remember a lie than the truth and I’ve always found that to be true. I loved that woman and I thought at least for a while that she would be able to keep me but she couldn’t. One of the kids she had in her care had a crazy ass dad and when he came for his kids Mrs. Blake wouldn’t allow him to take her. She was beaten to death that night because she stood up to a crazy bastard and he killed her. He’s sitting in jail for what he did to her but she’s still dead.
But what she did that night was teach me that you need to stand up for what’s right and that lesson is one I’ve tried very hard to carry with me every day.
I know you and your friends have no reason to trust me but this is who I am. Take it or leave it but this is me.
Bull slowly placed the book on the table beside him and ran his fingers over his face. Ever so slowly, he turned to look at the woman sleeping on the bed behind him. For a few minutes, he didn’t want to think but he knew he had to do something.
Right or wrong, he had to do to something. He picked up the notebook and walked over to where Judge was resting. He knew the other man wasn’t sleeping. His arm was up over his head and Judge didn’t sleep that way.
Bull dropped the notebook on Judge’s chest and turned to walk away. He went over to the cot next to Charlie’s and he laid down on it. Reaching over, he closed his hand over hers and held it. Closing his own eyes, he let sleep take him at least for a little while.
* * * *
Bull jerked awake and for a moment, he wasn’t sure what startled him. Turning his head slowly, the first thing he saw was Charlie. She was twisting and turning lost in what looked like a nightmare of sorts. She appeared to be screaming but no sound came out of her mouth.
Bull frowned as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the cot. He moved over to her bed and sat down beside her. Gathering her small body into his arms, he held her for the longest time. As soon as he gathered her into his arms though, she settled down and fell asleep again without opening her eyes. Whatever her nightmare had been, his touch had made her feel safe enough to let it go.
A few minutes later Bull raised his eyes and found Judge looking back at him. The other man didn’t say a word but his eyes said he wasn’t comfortable with seeing Bull hold her. Bull frowned and stayed where he was for a while longer then carefully laid her back on the bed. He got up then and walked over to the windows. The early dawn’s light was just chasing the night shadows away and as he looked over the town below him, he saw the quiet.
“What are you looking for out there?” Judge asked softly.
Bull shrugged. “I don’t know. Trouble maybe? Whatever it is it’s coming for us. We can’t hide from the Ratz forever.”
“Do you believe what she wrote last night?”
Bull didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I do. She has no real reason to lie to us. She also didn’t have to tell us about her life. I don’t think she did that just to get our pity. She wanted us or rather you to know who she was. You may not have trusted her but it goes both ways and you damn well know that. You expected her to trust you but you didn’t want to give her that same trust.”
Judge shrugged. “I’ll have Mustang run the names she provided and see if what she says is true. I’ve heard the name Amir Hussain before.” Shaking his head he muttered, “I can’t believe Ritcher is nothing more than a stooge.”
“He’s a lying sack of shit.” Bull growled. “We blamed Haling for the bad intel five years ago but maybe it was Ritcher we should have been blaming all along. If he were on Bane’s payroll back then, he would have wanted us gone before we broke up the drug route that paid him millions of dollars under the table so well. Maybe that ambush was his idea of a way to get rid of us before we found the drug pipeline and his younger brother Salim.”
“Been thinking along those lines myself,” Judge admitted. “Ritcher was the one pushing for us to be retired and disbanded after the ambush. He claimed it was the PTSD we were suffering from but if I remember correctly, he was the one pushing the doctor for that diagnoses from the military doctors. Now I have to wonder if it was something else entirely. In fact he signed the fucking orders himself.”
“He left shortly after we did and got into politics,” Bull reminded him.
Judge snorted. “Yeah, he fit right in with all the other liars and bull shitters, didn’t he?”
“Maybe too well.” Bull nodded.
Chapter Six
The sun was high in the sky when Charlie opened her eyes. She’d been awake for a while by then but hadn’t wanted anyone else to know it. She laid there and listened to what they were doing.
From eyes barley open, she watched as the six men gathered more information. The one they called Mustang was busy on his laptop as were Tank and Wild Child. Judge oversaw everyone and Bull stood over by the bank of windows overlooking the city. Hawk was pinning papers on the wall behind the security cameras.
There was very little noise and everyone looked busy. Charlie woke up this morning and for a moment, she didn’t feel the fear she usually did when she opened her eyes. She knew she’d had a nightmare the night before. She could still feel a lingering fear in her soul but for some reason she could push it aside. She remembered being half awake and suddenly feeling safe. She didn’t know what happened but for now, she felt safe.
Her eyes searched the room for Bull and she found him still standing at the windows looking out over at the city. She lifted her hand to her throat and felt the wound she had there. It wasn’t as sore this morning and she didn’t seem to have a fever so she thought that was
good.
Looking over to where Mustang was sitting, she noted papers had been taped to the wall behind him. Frowning, she narrowed her eyes to try to see what the papers said but she was too far away to read them.
Feeling a full bladder, she tried to sit up. Her whole body hurt from the beating she taken and she groaned as she got into a seated position. Barely a sound passed her lips but it was enough to alert Bull she was awake. He rushed over to her side and assisted her. When she made a motion to get to her feet, he held her steady while she got her balance.
Looking into his eyes, she mouthed the words, “Gotta pee.”
Bull chuckled and helped her walk to the bathroom. Helping her inside, he turned to leave while she took care of business. “I’ll wait outside.” He closed the door behind him.
Pulling down her sweatpants, she relieved herself. Pushing herself off the toilet, she took stock of her injuries in the mirror above the sink. Her long black hair was matted with dried blood and sweat. Her turquoise eyes were dull from pain and lack of real sleep and the skin underneath was bruised. Her jaw was black and blue and one eye was still swollen where Jermanio had struck her during his questioning.
Looking further down, she noted the fresh bandage wrapped around her throat. It was unmarked by the blood that stained the shirt she’d worn earlier and Charlie tugged at the bandage to see just how badly she was cut.
When she saw the thin red line across her throat from the knife that cut her she realized something. The cut was nowhere near, where it should have been to end her life but remembering the pain and all the blood she couldn’t help but think the person who cut her hadn’t wanted anyone else to know she was still alive. Then she remembered his voice and she knew who it was.
Pulling the bandage back up into place, she washed her hands and stumbled to the door.