by K. J. Dahlen
Trudy shrugged. “One of the features of the chat room we went to is privacy. Whatever you chat about is erased as soon as you sign out. It’s a perk for those who know how to use it. You may meet someone and have a conversation with them but there is no record of it anywhere.” She motioned at the pages lying on the table. “That’s why I printed out the conversation we had last night. It’s the only copy anyone has of what was said out there.”
Dewey sighed. “Can you help us find him?”
Trudy hesitated. Turning she went back to the table and picked up her laptop. Bringing it back to the desk, she sat down and began typing.
Dewey watched her fingers fly over the keyboard. Colten studied her method of searching and was amazed at her programing. She only paused briefly when he laid his arm on the back of her chair to watch her monitor over she shoulder as she went from place to place.
Twenty minutes later, she paused in her search and sat back. “I found where he was last night. I don’t know if he’s still there or not, but he met me at that address.”
Dewey leaned forward and studied the map on her laptop. It was an address in Port Arthur, another town not too far from Sabine Pass. “Can you make contact with him?”
“I can try. If he’s online, he’ll get it, otherwise he might not.” She went back to the keyboard and began typing.
“He might not respond if he’s waiting for the meet at six,” Colten reminded him. “He might not trust that it’s us and not someone looking for him. He said in the message he felt his life was in danger.”
Dewey nodded. “I have to take that chance. Maybe he’ll recognize the message is coming from her and respond anyway.”
Colten got up and wandered back to the table where the rest of the guys were sitting. He glanced over at Parker. “What do you know about her?”
Parker shrugged. “Not all that much. She’s a friend of my sister, Janet. Why?”
Colten barked out a laugh. “You all know I’m pretty good on a computer right?”
They all agreed.
“Well, I’m still learning, compared to her.” He shook his head. “Hell, I watched her search for Wyatt and still don’t know what she did to find him. She was going to places so fast, I couldn’t keep up.”
Dewey joined them a moment later. He was grinning. “He made contact. It was Wyatt. He’s still alive. He said he would meet us in two hours. She gave him an address of a safe place she knows in Port Arthur. We’re going in there first to make sure there isn’t going to be any trouble.”
“What kind of trouble?” Another of them asked…Danny Sheridan.
Dewey turned to gaze at his men. These were the same men under his command in Iraq. They knew Wyatt and what happened that day over a year ago. “Wyatt wouldn’t say anything online, but he’s running scared.”
“That doesn’t sound like Wyatt,” Cade Martin chimed in.
Dewey agreed. He looked at the faces of his team in front of him. Danny Sheridan, Cade Martin, Colten Ragden, Parker Wayne, and Jake Gannon. “None of us know what he’s been through or where the hell he’s been for the last thirteen months. He hinted at something bad coming our way, but he didn’t say what it was. He said he would tell us face to face. He did however, make me verify who I was, so I know the info he’s got is worth it.”
They turned to watch Trudy walk toward them. She had her laptop under her arm and looked anything but happy.
Parker glanced at Dewey then looked over at Trudy. “What’s wrong?”
Trudy glared at him then jerked her thumb at Dewey. “The jackass lied to me. He has no intention of letting me leave.”
Dewey turned to her. “I can’t let you leave yet. I’m sorry but until I know more about what’s going on, it’s best you stay with us.”
Trudy didn’t say anything, instead she went over to the other side of the table and sat down. Parker reached over and touched her arm. Trudy jerked away and glared at him. He pulled away. “I’m sorry. I know he said you could go but he’s right, until we know more it would be best if you were with us. If this all goes to shit, we can and will protect you.”
Dewey rubbed is hands over his face. “It’s only until I know what’s going on. Then I’ll be more than happy to watch you go but until then, you’re stuck here.”
“Fuck you and your promises. They don’t mean anything anymore,” Trudy grumbled.
“Let’s get on the road. I want to check out the meeting place,” Dewey ordered his men. “We’ll leave as soon as you get your gear.”
Everyone dispersed, each of them going to where they had stored their gear. Dewey, Stone, Stone’s men and Trudy were the only ones left in the shop.
Dewey walked over to a group of lockers next to the desk. Opening one, he grabbed the small duffle bag on the bottom and hauled it out. Laying it on the table, he opened it. There were a number of small weapons and several boxes of ammunition in it.
He reached inside the locker and brought out a Kevlar vest. Putting it on, he wrapped the Velcro in place, then grabbed a dark colored button down shirt. Putting it on over the vest, he unzipped his pants and tucked the tails in. Going back to the table, he grabbed an ankle holster from the bag and tied it around his left ankle. Next, he hooked another holster to the back of his belt. Grabbing a weapon, he checked the slide and the clip then shoved it into the holster. Even with all those weapons, he took out a shoulder holster, wrapped it around his broad shoulders and checked two more weapons before he put them under each of his arms.
“Got enough guns?” Trudy asked snidely.
“If I need them, I’m glad they’re there. So will you, if I need to save your skinny, little ass.” Dewey zippered up the bag and took it back to the locker. Then he grabbed something from the top shelf and went back to the table. In a small box he had several small ear pieces, complete with an attached microphone. Taking one out, he fitted it to his ear and clipped a small battery pack to his collar.
One by one the other men joined them and they each took an ear piece and clipped it to their clothing. They all wore dark clothes. When they were ready, Dewey led them all to the other building beside the shop. He ushered Trudy to one of the trucks inside and when she got in, he joined her.
“Do you need help with this?” Stone asked.
Dewey shook his head. “No, stay here and be on the lookout for trouble. If someone followed her here, we need to know.”
Stone nodded and stepped back.
The caravan of vehicles left the compound at the same time. Trudy didn’t feel right about leaving her dogs behind but Dewey locked them up before she could say anything. She was still mad about not being able to leave so it was a quiet trip to Port Arthur.
Once they got to the city, she gave him directions to the meeting place…an abandoned commercial building on the lower side of town. The outside of the building didn’t look like much the windows were all blacked out and surprisingly, still intact.
She reached inside her jacket pocket and brought out a clicker. The clicker opened one of the huge doors below a faded sign that said Shipping Area. When all the vehicles were parked inside, she closed the big doors and walked them back to the inside of the main entrance.
Trudy led the way through the main lobby to where the elevators were located. The lobby looked dirty and dust covered it, like the rest of the building seemed abandoned. Once they were at the elevators, things changed. Using a special key, the doors opened. At first, it seemed like a great dark cavern but when Trudy turned the lights on, they all could see it was a storehouse. Row after row of shelves filled with boxes laid out in a pattern in front of them. She made her way around the shelves and at the back wall, they came to another door. Using her key, she opened the door and walked inside. Turning on the lights, she stood there while the men behind her gasped at what they saw.
This was one of her places, hidden from the rest of the world where she’d carved out her own little knish. The cement floors of the old factory were cleaned and covered with rugs,
the room took up most of the first floor and its open design showed the different areas she called home. One area held her large king size bed, another was a small kitchen with more shelves holding her food supplies.
The main focus held her computers. Four different monitors and several hubs filled the desk area. Filing cabinets separated this area from the rest of the room. The rest of the area was filled with two large TV’s, three sofas and two reclining chairs. There were even two large dog beds along one wall in the living room area. The whole area was clean and uncluttered.
“Who lives here?” Dewey finally asked.
“I do, why?” She turned to look at them.
“Why would you live here, instead of a house or apartment?”
“Why do you care where I live?” she asked with a glare.
“I don’t really care one way or the other,” Dewey admitted. “It just surprised me, that’s all.”
“I do have to ask you guys keep this place a secret.” She wrung her hands together. She hadn’t wanted to bring them here but in the end, she had no choice.
“How are we going to know when he gets here?’ Colten asked.
Trudy walked over to the wall behind them and pressed a button, allowing the panel to slide open. Several small monitors turned on and gave them a view of the outside from several angles.
“How is this possible?’ Dewey asked her. She’d surprised him again. All this was state of the art and he didn’t know why she would have it.
“I used the old security cameras,” Trudy explained. “I just had to reroute them.”
“Aren’t you the clever girl then?” Cade whispered.
Trudy glared at him but didn’t say what she was thinking. She had to be clever she’d done all this to protect not only her, but her sister as well. It was a harsh word out there and when you were hiding from bad people, it was even worse.
“Let’s get ready in case he shows early.” Dewey tried to break the tension.
“I’ll make some coffee.” Trudy headed for the kitchen. While the coffee was brewing, she made a plate of sandwiches. When she brought everything out to the table with the coffee, the sandwiches were gone within minutes.
Jake and Cade settled down in front of the outside camera system and the others settled down in the living room area.
Trudy sat at the kitchen table with her sandwich and coffee and watched them all.
Parker came to sit down next to her. “So this is where you live?”
Trudy nodded. “This is one of the places I stay.”
“Why do you hide here?” he finally asked.
For as long as she’d know him this was the first time, he’d actually talked to her away from the company of his sister.
“I feel safe here. The world outside these walls can be an ugly place but no one can get to me here.”
Parker looked enraged for a flash of a second. “Did someone try to hurt you?”
Trudy shook her head. “They didn’t just try, they succeeded.”
“What happened?” he asked quietly.
She didn’t like to talk about it but she knew he needed to understand where she was coming from, so she told him the short version, “When I was fourteen, my dad threw me out of his house. I did something stupid and he thought I was to blame. My brother owed a drug dealer and I tried to get him out of it. I broke into his house and destroyed his supply. I didn’t know he had cameras and when the cops showed up to arrest me for B&E, he threw me out. He said no kid of his would use drugs under his roof. My brother didn’t tell him the drugs were his. I flipped the drug dealer and turned evidence over to the police and the dealer went to jail for three years.”
Parker sat back and listened as he clenched his fists.
“Anyway, after my dad threw me out, I had to learn to live on the streets. My sister would visit with me from time to time when she could escape my father’s scrutiny. Then one day just before my eighteen birthday, the dealer caught up with us. He’s just gotten out of prison and he came looking for his revenge. He caused her to crash her car and then he beat the hell out of both of us. If a bunch of guys on motorcycles hadn’t shown up, he probably would have killed us. As it was, I had three broken ribs, a busted ankle, several deep cuts and a concussion. My sister wasn’t so lucky. Because of the accident she was blinded.”
“What happened to the drug dealer?”
Trudy smiled. “No one really knows for sure but he’s never been seen since that day.”
“And the bikers?”
“They became my best friends.”
“Boss,” Cade shouted. “I think he’s here.”
Everyone scrambled to the monitors. They all watched as a man and a woman made their way along the outside of the building. At one point, the man stopped and looked directly into the cameras, showing his face. Dewey and the others gasped in astonishment.
“It is him,” Parker whispered. “Hot damn, he made it.”
Dewey tore his eyes away from the monitors and looked at Trudy. “Can you bring him in to us?”
Trudy got up and went to the front door, closing it behind her. A few minutes later, she opened it again and ushered in the other two. Turning around to view the men in front of her, she found six guns pointed at the three of them.
“Explain to me why you are standing here, instead of being dead in another country?” Dewey asked harshly.
Wyatt held up his hands carefully. His eyes never left Dewey’s. “I am alive only by the grace of God. The day everything went to hell, I was taken prisoner in all the confusion after the bombs went off. I was beaten, blindfolded and dragged through the desert for three days before we stopped. I didn’t know where I was or how many prisoners they took that day. I didn’t know if you guys were dead or alive yet. We were in a small village somewhere in the mountains when they took the blindfold off. I was chained to the floor like a dog for three more days before they came to talk to me.”
“Who are they and what did they want?” Dewey asked his former teammate.
“They were Taliban and they wanted information about US troops and where they were going.”
Dewey stared at him for a long time before he asked, “Did you give it to them?”
Wyatt snorted. “I am a SEAL Captain, I didn’t give them shit.”
Dewey nodded. “That’s good.”
“But they didn’t really need my info,” Wyatt explained.
“Why do you say it that way?” Dewey frowned.
“They got all the information they needed and more from one of their own.” Wyatt snarled.
“What are you saying?”
“They put a sleeper in our group. Someone we would have trusted, to get whatever info they needed to know.”
“Who would have betrayed us like that?” Cade shouted.
“The bastard we knew as Patrick Rivers,” Wyatt spat.
“What the hell are you telling us?” Parker demanded.
“I never learned what his real name was but he was at the same village I was. I saw him two days after we arrived. He was dressed as they were and I heard him speaking the same language they used. The same fuckin language he claimed not to know. I was beaten on a daily basis but he wasn’t. He roamed free and I learned he was one of them. I couldn’t believe it at first. I mean Patrick was one of us. We all went through SEAL training together.”
“What happened then?” Dewey asked. “You can lower your arms. Come on over to the table and finish your story.”
Wyatt sat down and the woman he was with sat next to him. She hadn’t raised her head since they got there.
Trudy went to the kitchen and got a couple cups of coffee. Sitting them down in front of Wyatt and his friend, she joined the others at the table.
Wyatt took the cup and handed it to the woman then took the other cup and raised it to his lips. Taking a sip, he groaned at the brew. “God, this is great coffee.”
“Get on with the rest of the story,” Cade prompted with a growl.
Wyatt nod
ded. “I learned a month after we got there that Patrick had just walked away from his post. He’d allowed the Taliban to get into the camp and after the bomb went off, he just walked into the desert with the rest of them.”
“How would that be possible?” Dewey asked.
The woman beside Wyatt raised her head to speak to them, “It wouldn’t really be that difficult to do.” Her dark hair and eyes sparkled under the florescent lighting of the room. One side of her face bore a jagged scar but the rest of her was beautiful.
“And you are?” Dewey asked.
“My name is Alea Jarden, I lived in that small village they brought Wyatt to,” she admitted. “I helped Wyatt escape.”
Dewey nodded. “Why are you helping us against your own people?”
Alea shook her head. “My people only want peace. We are not killers or Taliban but simple farmers. When the Taliban moved into our village, life became very hard. They used and abused us to the point where life no longer had meaning.”
“What do you know of Patrick?” Parker asked.
“The man you call Patrick is not American by birth. He is Iraqi,” she explained. “The Taliban leaders called him Serif, but I don’t think that is his real name. He told them he came from one of the lower towns. He bragged about how easy it was to fool your military.”
Dewey glanced a Wyatt. “How did you escape and what took you so long to come home?”
“They held me for four months before Alea could get me out. At first, I was headed to the nearest base I could find, then something happened and I had to go back. I heard chatter around the village that Patrick was coming back to the States to finish something that he started years before the war. The Taliban deemed it important and I had to find out what it was.”
“And did you find out?”
Wyatt shrugged. “I got into his house and grabbed some papers but I have no idea what they are. They are written in code and I can’t read them. The code is something Alea has never seen before either.” He reached around to the pack he carried on his back and opened it. He handed Dewey the entire stack of files. “We had to wait until we knew what was going on before we could come back. I didn’t want anyone to know where we were, so we didn’t come back through regular channels. No one knows I’m still alive and we have to keep it that way until we can figure out what these papers mean.”