by K. J. Dahlen
Hawk snapped his head to glare at her. “What the fuck does that mean?”
Charlie shrugged. “People on the streets love to talk. They’ll talk about anything if you know how to get them started and you know the right people to talk too. I met an old man once, he was ninety if he was a day. His name was Silas and he’d lived in this area all his life. When I first found out about the barn being one that belonged to Bane, I asked Silas about it.”
“And what did Silas have to say?” Mustang interrupted.
“Back when he was a lad the land belonged to a family by the name of Wainwright. Wainwright was a farmer but that the land wasn’t used all that good for farming. Too many trees and the ground wasn’t rich enough to harvest good crops. Old man Wainwright wasn’t exactly the nicest kind of neighbor either. In fact he was often seen toting around a shotgun and he wasn’t exactly afraid to use it either.”
“Well, this is interesting enough but what’s it got to do with the barn?” Hawk quipped.
“Well, if you wouldn’t keep interrupting me I’d tell you.” Charlie frowned at them. “Anyway, Silas told me that he and some friends went into the woods one night with the thought of messing up Wainwright property. They were just going to cut his fence lines and make him chase his cattle but instead they found something unexpected. Old man Wainwright had himself a couple of stills hidden in the woods. He’d been making moonshine for years. Now you have to remember this used to be a dry county, no booze allowed. Wainwright was not only making shine, he was selling it too. Silas found out he had a business going selling his hooch all the way into Louisiana.”
“Ok but what’s that got to do with the barn and a way inside it,” Bull urged.
“Old man Wainwright had to have a place to store the shine until he had enough to make a run.” Charlie explained. “There is a tunnel system that goes from deep in the woods to right under the barn. I found it after Silas told me about it. I’ve been inside it. The tunnel comes out in one of the tack rooms at the back of the barn.”
“Is the tunnel still intact?” Tank asked.
“It was about a year ago. Now I know most people down here don’t have basements because the ground is too hard but old man Wainwright was a stubborn old fool. He had to have a way to store his shine. The tunnel is old but it still should get you there.”
Hawk looked at the other men. “Too bad we can’t check it out before this all goes down. I hate doing this without being prepared all the way.”
“We’ve gone in blind before,” Tank suggested.
“Once you get into the tack room, there’s a ladder on the wall just outside the door. The tack room is at the very back of the barn, so no one should see you go in or out of the room. The ladder will lead you to the top of the barn. It used to open to a silo but the silo is long gone. But if you can get high enough you can have the advantage of surprise.”
They all turned when they herd heavy footsteps coming down to their level. Judge came in to the kitchen area and looked at his men. “FBI and ATF will be ready to storm the barn in three hours.”
Hawk nodded then pointed at Charlie. “We got a way in that doesn’t require storming the front door.”
“Really?” Judge frowned. “Do tell.”
“There is an old tunnel leading from the woods to inside the barn.” Hawk explained.
“A tunnel?”
“Yeah at one time the land belonged to a moonshiner. He needed a way in and out of his barn without being seen,” Tank explained. “Charlie says she’s seen the tunnel and been inside the barn.”
Judge felt Bull’s stare. The other man was waiting for him to say something but Judge wouldn’t, not this time. They needed to get going and get things set up for the takedown. Just this one time, he would trust that she knew what she was talking about and that she wouldn’t betray them and get them all killed. He turned to stare at her. “What’s your plan for getting the Ratz and Bane to the barn?”
“Well,” Charlie drew out the word. “When I first went to the farm and found the tunnel and got inside the barn, I may have found a shipment ready to go out. I may have and I’m not saying whether I did or didn’t but I may have hidden part of that shipment and several more. I may have even broken into the safe in the office and misappropriated some large stacks of cash and a few of the ledger books I found in the safe.” She dropped her gaze down to the floor and wouldn’t look at any of them as she confessed to what she’d done. She cringed when she heard a chair being pushed back and footsteps coming toward her chair. Then she saw Bull kneeling in front of her.
Bull reached out to tip her chin up so he could see her face. Expecting to see disgust in his eyes, she was surprised to find compassion.
“Where did you put all this booty?” he asked.
Closing her eyes she sighed. “It never left the barn. I just hid it inside the walls. The drugs anyway. The books and the cash I did take that but I hid them inside a tree near the entrance of the tunnel. As far as I know, they’re still there. But it’s been about two years.”
“Why didn’t you just use the cash and blackmail the Ratz with the books?” Judge asked.
Charlie turned her head and stared at him. “Because it wasn’t mine to use. What little I have I’ve worked for. I waitress when I need money. I don’t steal or use what isn’t mine.”
Judge shrugged but didn’t say anything.
She turned back to Bull. “I can offer to tell them where everything is to get inside. Paolo really wants that stuff back. That will give your guys time to get inside and take care of business.”
“That might just work,” Hawk admitted.
“You’re putting your life on the line and I don’t like it,” Bull argued.
Charlie reached her hand up to cup his jaw. “Don’t you guys do that every day too? I know you’ve been out of the Special Forces for a while now but you put your life on the line every time you went out on a mission. You did it for our country and didn’t hesitate for any reason. Well, I’m doing it now for you and all those kids out there that are dying because they made a bad choice. Doing drugs is just that, it’s a choice you make every day. They are looking for escape but there is no escape from the reality we have to live with every day. This is one thing I can do that might make a difference in someone else’s life. I can’t walk away from that any more than you can. I’m no hero but I can do this.”
Bull smiled. “I think I’m falling in love with you,” he whispered softly so only she could hear his words.
“I think I’m falling in love with you too,” she whispered back. “If we survive this will you do something for me?”
“What’s that?” he kept whispering, so the guys wouldn’t hear.
“Take me somewhere and make love to me for a week. I kind of sort of liked what we did before in that little room right over there.”
Bull smiled. “I kind of sort of liked it too. It would be my pleasure. I was going to do that anyway.”
The men in the room waited as they kept whispering.
Charlie leaned forward and rested her forehead on his briefly. Pressing her lips on his she broke contact and said, “Let’s get this done.”
“Okay, show us where this tunnel starts,” Hawk suggested. He had printed off a map of the area and Charlie took the next few minutes to show them where to go. Rolling up the map Hawk asked, “How are you going to make contact with this Paolo jerk?”
Charlie shrugged. “Don’t worry about that. If one of his men sees me walking around, they’ll call him and he’ll come to get me. Then he’ll want to take me where he won’t be disturbed to ‘talk to me.’ ”She made quote signs around the phrase talk to me. The guys didn’t like it but it was her plan and they needed her to get caught in order to get inside the barn and get the other players in place.
“How do you plan to get Bane out to the barn?” Bull asked. “What if he doesn’t show?”
Charlie smirked. “Oh, he’ll show up. I have something he wants and he wants it ba
dly.”
“What? What do you have that he wants that bad?” Bull demanded.
“I’m not going to tell you that.” Charlie shook her head. “All you need to know is that I have something he wants to get back at any cost. That’s all you need to know. Don’t worry, he’ll come.”
“OK we need to leave now, so we can get into place.” Judge ordered his men. “We need to be there by the time they bring you in. I’ll have to wait outside until everyone else gets there but a couple of these guys will already be in place. We want to be able to take down everyone in the group.”
“Have your people come in from the back and go through the woods. That should give them some cover until you storm the barn,” Charlie suggested. “If they come from the road, they’ll be seen and you’ll lose the surprise.”
Judge tightened his lips but didn’t say anything.
Bull wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her to the stairs. “We’ll be up checking the cameras to see where the Ratz are hanging out.” Bull hustled her up the steps.
Hawk chuckled under his breath.
Judge snapped his head around to glare at the man. “Show me where we’re going so I can pass the info along to FBI and ATF.” He growled.
Hawk pointed out the way to the barn and how to come in the back way. Then he pointed out strategic places to set up shooters to keep everyone contained in the barn. “Ok who’s going in and who’s going to be outside?” Hawk asked.
“I think Bull, Tank and Wild Child should go in and the rest of us stay outside,” Judge told them. He looked at the two men standing there. “Just remember, they will have guns and they will shoot back.”
Tank and Wild Child nodded.
When Bull and Charlie came back down Judge told him he’d be inside with the other two. Then he looked over at Charlie. “Did you find them?”
Charlie nodded. “Yeah, I know where they are. How long before your friends get here?”
Judge checked his watch. “About two hours now.”
Charlie exhaled. “Then let’s get the show started.” Turning to Bull she said, “You’re going to hear some shit in there when I confront Paolo and he’s gonna get pissed. He’ll probably hit me but don’t jump the gun. Wait for your cue from the rest. It could get ugly before the end. I’m just warning you.”
“I think I can handle it,” Bull assured her.
She shrugged. “Ok.”
“Come on, let’s roll,” Judge announced.
* * * *
A little bit later, the car rolled to a rolling stop and the back door opened. When Charlie stepped out of the vehicle, the car pushed off, disappearing down the street and around the corner. Charlie’s mouth was dry and no matter how much she swallowed. Glancing at her watch, she knew she had to give them time to get into place so she ducked into the shadows of a nearby doorway. From what she’d seen, she knew the two Ratz wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon.
Carlos and Miguel had never been very ambitious and tended to watch from wherever they were standing. She’d been there for about twenty minutes when she decided enough time had passed and she knew she had to move or run away. Taking one step then another and another, she found her way to the corner.
She had two more steps to go when she heard the two men talking. They were right around the corner. Each step she took, took her closer to them and with each step, the fear inside her grew. She stopped at the corner.
They were coming closer to her and she knew she had to do something. Right or wrong, she couldn’t take the tension anymore. Without a second thought, she stepped into their line of sight. She turned her head and looked at them then turned around and started to run but the Carlos and Miguel were on her before she could get very far.
Carlos grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back. Charlie screamed as loud as she could at the pain but her voice wasn’t very loud. “What’s the matter honey? Can’t scream very loud with a slit throat?”
They both laughed as Miguel twisted her arm behind her back. “Paolo is gonna want to talk to you bitch.”
Carlos reached for his phone and called Paolo. “Hey boss, we got her. We found her walking down the street like she had nothing to fear. What a dumb bitch.” One looked at the other and nodded. “Paolo wants us to bring her out to the warehouse. He said he would meet us there. He don’t want no interruptions for their little chat.” They both laughed. They knew just like she did that Paolo’s little chats usually involved more pain than words.
Twenty minutes later, Carlos drove to the dooryard of the barn they had fortified into a warehouse. Miguel opened her door and dragged her out of the back seat.
They had bound her hands behind her back with duct tape when they got to the car. They hadn’t bothered duct taping her mouth, as she couldn’t speak very loud anyway.
Miguel dragged her along behind him not caring whether she stumbled or not. When they got to the doorway Charlie knew she didn’t dare look around in case she gave something away, so she kept her eyes on the floor until Miguel threw her down to the ground.
She ended up down on her face in the dirt. Without being able to break her fall, she ended up slamming down hard. The breath had been knocked from her lungs and as she struggled to breathe, she saw a pair of fancy cowboy boots come to a stop in front of her.
The boots nudged her over onto her back and she found herself looking up into a pair of cruel dark eyes.
“I’m so glad you could join us again puta.” Paolo growled. He looked up and motioned for a couple of his men to get her to her feet.
Charlie tossed her hair out of her eyes and glared at Paolo. She stared at the man without fear as he pulled a knife out of his pocket and flipped out the blade. “What do you want Paolo?” she asked almost bored.
“I think you know what I want chica,” Paola stated. “The same as I wanted the last time.”
“If I didn’t tell you then what makes you think I’ll tell you now? What makes you think I have anything to tell you anyway?”
Paolo nodded. “Oh, I know you have something to tell me.”
“Oh yeah, why is that?”
“I have you on film. After your last break in, we put in security cameras and we got you on film inside the warehouse. Now all you have to tell me is where the drugs and cash are. I told my boss I would recover the merchandize and I will.”
Charlie smiled. “And what if I told you I destroyed it? I don’t think your boss would appreciate that. He’d be out way too much money.”
Paolo sneered. “There’s no way in hell you destroyed it. I think you still have it.”
“How about if I trade you for it?” Charlie asked. “You’re right, I still have everything I took from here but I want something in return.”
Paolo laughed and several of his men laughed as well. Then he stopped suddenly and gave her a look. “What do you want?”
“Information. All I want is some information.”
“What kind of information?” Paolo frowned.
“About four and a half years ago, one of your men kidnapped a little girl off the streets. She was only fourteen when he took her. He beat her and raped her and left her for dead on a garbage heap.” Charlie flipped her hair again. “I’ll tell you where the stuff is if you tell me the bastard’s name.”
Paolo smiled. “Why do you want to know his name puta?”
“Because I’m gonna kill the bastard.” Charlie glared at him.
Paolo threw his head and laughed. “You amuse me chica.” He told her when he was finally able to stop. “Why do you want to know?”
“Because she was my friend,” Charlie said. “She was a gentle child and whoever took her destroyed a big part of her soul. Whoever the bastard is that took her and used her deserves to die a slow and painful death.”
“She was woman enough to take my monster.” Paolo ribbed as he grabbed his crotch.
“It was you?” Charlie screamed. “You did that to Maggie?”
“If she was just a little g
irl with long dark hair and green eyes, yeah I did her,” Paolo admitted. “And she liked it well enough. I had her begging me.”
“How many times did she beg you to leave her alone? Did she beg you to let her go? Did she beg you not hurt her anymore?” Charlie asked.
Paolo shook his head. “Actually, after the first time, she didn’t say much at all. All she would do was cry and carry on like I was killing her. The dumb bitch.”
“Untie me you bastard.” Charlie growled. “Give me one good shot and I’ll tell you what you want to know.”
Paolo just glared at her for a moment then nodded to one of his men. Someone stepped up behind her and cut the duct tape that held her wrists. Charlie stepped away but didn’t go to where Paolo was standing yet. Instead, she moved away from him but still kept staring at him.
Paolo motioned for her to come closer. “I thought you wanted one shot at me chica. Why you walking away from me? I’m standing right here. My men won’t stop you. Come get me puta.”
Charlie smiled. “I know you plan to kill me after I tell you what you want to know. Maybe I just want to live a few more minutes.”
Paolo shrugged. “Won’t do you any good but I’ll give you a few more minutes.”
“Good.” Charlie nodded. “Cuz maybe I got more to say, but not to you.”
“What you got to say to anybody else?” Paolo sneered.
“Your boss, Mr. Conrad Bane. I got something to say to him and believe me when I say, he’s gonna want to hear what I gotta say.”
“How the fuck do you know he’s my boss?” Paolo frowned. “Nobody knows who runs this business.”
Charlie laughed out loud. “You really are a dumbshit if you believe that.”
“How you know it’s Mr. Bane?”
“Everyone knows Conrad Bane backs the River Ratz. They know he deals in drug and gun running too.” Charlie assured him.
Paolo stared at her for a moment then reached for his phone. He spoke briefly the waited for a minute. Looking over at Charlie he said, “He wants to know what you got to say?”