by Dale Cadeau
Brad walked through the gate and quickly summed up the place. People were sparse and seemed to be in some time capsule with their mode of dress. Brad thought they would fit right in with the sixties when it was at its height. Walking to the first hut he found, he went in and found a depressed looking woman sitting at a table, cleaning vegetables. She eyed him with disinterest and asked what he wanted.
“The guy at the gate told me to see you about a place to stay.” Brad looked around the hut and found it as depressing as the woman sitting at the table.
“OK, walk around and see what hut you want. All the free ones have numbers on the door. Just bring the number back when you pick one, so I can keep track of the ones still empty.” Brenda went back to peeling her vegetables
“So I can just pick anyone I want?”
“Yes, they are all around the same. Pick any one of the huts except for the one at the end of the garden, with the blue door.”
“Why is that one different? Does someone special live there?”
Brenda looked up plainly wanting him to go away and not bother her. “Not right now, there’s no one. But it’s always been kept as a shrine to someone, since I joined. We clean it and keep it in repair. No one is allowed to stay there.”
Brad turned to go. “Supper is at six p.m. sharp. If you miss it you go without. And be ready to do your part helping around the place first thing in the morning. Also, there’s no going out of the gate after eight p.m.” Saying her piece, Brenda took up her knife and pointed at the door for him to leave.
Brad walked down the gravel path between the huts. All were alike, like Brenda had said, except the last one at the end of the garden. It was in better shape and a couple of guys were raking the ground around the hut. Brad walked up to them. “Hi, I’m Brad. Can I help?”
A guy with long, stringy gray hair leaned on his rake and looked Brad up and down. “You must be new here. Find yourself a hut and stay away from this area.” The guy took his rake and started back to work.
Brad tried to get a good look at the hut, but besides it being in better shape, there was nothing unusual about it. He could see through the open door that no one was in the hut at this time.
Taking his time, he slowly walked away and circled the garden, glancing into each hut as he came to it. He knew as he neared the gate, having scoped out the whole compound, that there was nothing dangerous or a threat to Cyn here right now. There could be later, but the people he saw and had met were mostly quiet and kept to themselves. The only time they got riled was when he asked questions. Brad had seen enough and walked back through the gate and outside. The guy standing guard earlier was nowhere to be seen.
Keeping his pace slow, Brad made his way down the road in the opposite direction of the apartment building that they were staying at. As soon as he was out of sight of the commune, Brad broke into a jog and circled around the block and made his way back to the apartment. He was surprised when he opened the front door of the building to find repairmen working on the elevator and a few older women scattered around with pails and mops. He didn’t know why he was surprised. James must have decided to have it done and he always had his own timetable for getting things done. Walking up the stairs, there was still some garbage but he didn’t have to step over anyone on the way up. It seemed like any drunks had left the premises.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Reaching the fifth floor, Brad opened the door of the apartment to the smell of pizza. Another thing he noticed was the big-screen TV. Chase, Lance, and James were watching a football game on it. Angel, he could see, was standing on the balcony with the binoculars trained on the compound. Clay and Grant were huddled over the computer at the kitchen table, looking at something on its screen. All had slices of pizza in their hands. Slamming the door behind him, Brad said, “Hope you left some of that pizza for me.”
Hearing the door, Angel walked into the living room, anxious to know what Brad had found out. Lance also rose from his seat on the couch and glanced at him. James and the others kept munching on their food and didn’t look up at the noise.
“Forget your stomach for a minute,” Angel told him. “What did you find out? I followed your movements at the commune. Doesn’t look like much is going on but it’s hard to tell without being on the grounds.”
Brad walked over to the kitchen table and grabbed a slice of pizza. “Nothing is going on right now. This place is lost in the sixties. The guy at the gate guarding the place is more interested in his dope than who is going in or out. He didn’t give me any trouble as soon as I let Howard’s name drop. They seem like an uninspired lot. Mostly they kept to themselves and minded their own business. They didn’t ask me any questions and also didn’t answer any I asked.” Brad stopped and took a big bite of his slice of pizza.
At Angel’s stare, he swallowed and continued. “The only interesting thing that I did find out is the last hut or cabin that Lance told us was once Cyn’s is some sort of a shrine even after all these years. Ward must have had that done. There is cleaning up going on in and around the place. It looks like they are expecting someone.” Brad pulled out a kitchen chair and plopped down, jarring the table, which earned him a dirty look from Grant and Clay. “What! I’m allowed to sit and eat.”
Clay scowled at him. “Yes, you do, but I don’t think you learned to sit down like that at your mother’s place. I’ve met her and she would box your ears for sitting like that,” Clay told him and handed him a paper plate. “At least eat with a plate. We don’t own this place and if you make a mess, you’re cleaning it.” Clay turned his attention back to the computer screen.
“What’s so interesting on the computer?” Brad asked Angel as he walked over to the table and looked over Grant’s shoulder. “Did you find out where Cyn is?”
Lance, his body tense standing in front of the couch, told Brad, “Nothing. We didn’t find anything. While I’m glad that we now know what is happening in the commune, I still think we need someone there in case we miss her entrance to the place.”
Brad, who had picked up another piece of pizza, just took a big bite and spoke around the food. “I’m going back. Doors close at eight for the night.”
Clay glared at him. “What? He asked a question. I had to answer.” Brad still spoke around his mouthful as he looked at Clay.
Clay just stood up, muttered, “Children!” and made his way over to James and joined him watching the game.
“Hey, there are no women around here. I don’t have to watch my manners around you guys.”
James spoke up, not looking away from the screen of the TV. “Maybe not, but if you don’t watch yourself, you will be doing it around women. And let me tell you, buddy. You will strike out with those manners.”
Grant and Angel just laughed at Brad’s expression. “OK, I get it. You have a woman now and she makes you toe the line, so we all have to.”
“That’s right, and for the right woman it’s worth it. But you will never find one of those special ladies if you keep that up,” James lobbied back at him.
Brad stood back up and grabbed a soda, walking to the door “I’m leaving before the compound door closes. The hippies at the commune might be better company.” Brad walked out the door.
Lance, who had been listening to the exchange, asked the guys, “Will he still be OK in the commune? If he’s pissed he might not be on top of things. Maybe I or one of you should go to make sure. This might be Cyn’s life we are taking a chance on.”
Chase’s eyes left the TV and he looked at Lance, assuring him, “That’s just him, letting off steam. Brad’s not mad. He’s hyped up on the job ahead of us. Stick around long enough like me and you will think nothing of it.”
Angel also spoke up. “Brad’s one of the best snipers the army had. He is highly strung, but that just means he is preparing himself for anything that might happen. With Brad back in place, I think we should decide on taking shifts to watch the gate.”
Grant yipped from the table. “Got her. H
er car is travelling on the highway still heading west. But she must have picked someone up. There seem to be someone with her in the passenger seat now. Hard to make out who it is at this angle. Maybe the next camera will be better.” Grant pushed his glasses back up his nose and went back to pounding on the keys.
James got up and turned the TV down. “She must have driven right through to make it that far. I’m going to check out the building before it gets too dark and see how they are coming along with the elevator.” James started for the door.
“I’ll come with you.” Clay followed him. “I wouldn’t mind another check since we called in all the cleaning and repair people.” Both left and the door closed quietly behind them. For being such large men, they moved silently and were always alert to their surroundings.
Angel breathed a sigh of relief. The feeling in the pit of his stomach died down a little now that they at least knew where Cyn was. She was still in danger, if someone was with her, but just knowing that she was still in one piece settled some of his nerves. Angel had let on he was OK to the guys, but underlying his peaceful facade was a man going out of his mind with worry. Angel walked back out to the balcony with the binoculars to watch the compound gate again. He knew there would be nothing to see for hours yet, but it kept his mind occupied. Closing the glass door, Angel took his hand and walloped the outside brick wall. God, that hurt, he thought to himself. He had to keep control. He would be no good to Cyn when she needed him if he lost control.
The guys inside the apartment heard the thud against the paper thin walls and all turned and looked at each other. They all thought the same thing. Hopefully Cyn would be OK. If not, Angel was going to lose it.
* * * *
Angel looked around hours later as the glass doors slid open and James appeared on the balcony.
“Time to take a break, Angel. You’ve been out here for hours. Let me take over for a while. I know that you have refused the others offer of help.”
Angel turned strained, red-rimmed eyes at James. “I have to do something. I can’t just sit or sleep with her out there. I know you understand, James. If it was Avery, you would be doing the same thing.” Angel turned back and brought the glasses back to his eyes. They felt scratchy from lack of sleep, but he had endured worse in the army.
James sighed at his side. “I completely understand, but you are going to be useless to Cyn and us if you don’t at least take a break. Go into the living room and rest for a while and have something to eat. I know you didn’t have any of the pizza the guys ordered.”
“I don’t think I can, James.” Angel let the glasses drop. “What if something happened while I’m resting? I can’t let myself miss anything. I missed seeing that something was wrong with Cyn before. I can’t let her down now.”
James looked at Angel and reached down and took the binoculars out of his hand. “Angel, we have been together long enough that you know you can trust me. I will think of Cyn as if she was Avery. Nothing will get pass me and you will be the first to know if something or someone turns up. Go!” James gave Angel a little shove toward the living room.
Angel nodded at James and walked into the quiet room. All the guys had bunked down for the night. Walking over to the table, Angel noticed a warmed up piece of pizza waiting for him and a cold beer beside it. Looking at James through the door, Angel knew that he couldn’t have a better group of guys at his back. Walking over to the couch, Angel sat down and let some of the tension leave him.
The next thing Angel knew, James was leaning over the couch and shaking him awake. The room was now lit up with sunlight.
“Angel. She just arrived.” James handed Angel the binoculars as soon as he reached his feet. Walking briskly out to the balcony, Angel brought the glasses to his eyes and scanned the front gate of the commune. There was a stretch limo at the entrance. He could see Cyn standing beside a man that seemed to be gripping her arm as he talked to the guy at the gate. Angel, without taking the glasses from his eyes, said to James, who had followed him back out, “That’s Howard with her. He must have been the other person in the car with her.”
“Grant followed the feed until it was so long without a sighting on any of the major roots, that we figured they had to have gone to the nearest airport and took a plane here.”
Angel watched as the guy, Howard, gripped Cyn’s arm, seeming to shove her through the gates of the commune.
Pulling the glass down from his eyes, Angel turned to James. “She doesn’t seem to be doing this on her own steam. It looks like Howard is holding her up and forcing her to go in the commune. We need to get down there and see what is going on.” Angel started to go back into the living room.
“Wait, let me give Brad a call first. He’s there already. He’ll give us an update.” James pulled his cell out of his pocket and called Brad.
“Brad here, I see them. I’ve been watching the gate all night. That Howard is pulling Cyn down the pathway to the last hut. I’ll follow and give you an update in a minute.” The cell call dropped, and James closed his and turned to Angel.
“Brad’s on it. He also watched them arrive at the commune. They are heading to the hut that Cyn used to use. Brad’s following them and will call us in a minute as soon as he sees what’s going on.”
“James, you know I trust Brad completely, but I really need to be down there now. Cyn might need me. She didn’t look like she was struggling with Howard.” Angel was rocking on the balls of his feet, anxious to get to Cyn.
“I know it’s hard, Angel, but let’s wait just until Brad gets back to us. The guys are all out. If you take another look again at the road leading to the commune, you’ll see Clay and Lance on the side of the road looking like a prison detail picking up garbage. Chase is the one standing over them with the shotgun. I thought Chase should be one of the prisoners, but Clay and Lance look more of the type. Chase, with his pretty looks, would not pass as a hardened criminal. You might also see a utilities truck parked just across from the gate. Grant is the one up the pole. We have it covered. Nothing is going to happen to Cyn.”
Angel went back to the edge of the balcony. “I can’t believe I slept through all of this. I usually wake up at the first noise. I know the guys can be quiet when they want to, but for them to leave and me to sleep right through it seems strange. Did you have anything to do with me sleeping so soundly?” Angel turned and glared at James.
“How did you like the nice cold beer with your pizza last night?” James asked with a twinkle in his eye.
“You asshole. You spiked my drink last night, didn’t you?”
“I did and I’m not sorry. Cyn will need you today and you have to be at your best. I knew you would stew all night. The guys and I had it covered, so we decided, all of us”—James held his hand up as Angel made a move toward him—“that for Cyn’s sake we would let you sleep, knowing we had your back and you couldn’t do anything anyway.”
Angel backed down from James, his hands clenched at his side, almost breaking the binoculars he held in one hand. “That was my decision to make, not yours or the guys.”
“Well you can get up our ass about it later, when this is all over. Right now we have to concentrate on Cyn.”
James’s cell phone rang. Picking it up, James started to listen to Brad until an impatient Angel grabbed the phone away from him.
“Is Cyn OK? I need to know what’s going on.” Angel started with the questions as soon as the cell reached his ear.
“Cyn’s fine, Angel, she just looks a bit dazed. Howard took her into her old hut and they are just sitting at a table. He seems to have some papers in front of him and pointing at something on them. He is making Cyn look at them. Nothing is going on, other than that. If he makes a move on her, I will be in there before anything happens. I won’t give him time to make a second move.”
James grabbed the phone back from Angel. “Can you tell what they are looking at?”
“Give me a sec. This small scope is not the best, I miss the one
on my rifle. I’m in a tree beside the next hut. I couldn’t get any closer. Howard now has men stationed at the front door of the hut. I tried to walk by but was hurried on my way by the men. They might look like hippies but they both have shotguns now. I can’t see it really clear. Howard keeps getting in the way, but it looks like a map of the commune. I can just make out the garden and the huts alongside it. He keeps pointing at different places and Cyn just keeps nodding no. He seems to be getting a bit agitated but is not doing anything to harm Cyn. Now one of the women has joined them in the hut. She seems to be bringing tea or something. They are just all sitting now at the table and having tea or whatever. Hey, is that Clay I see behind a hut two down from me?”
“Yes, it probably is. Clay was stationed just outside of the gate. He probably made his move when the guard was distracted. Give me a sec. Angel is looking ready to explode. I’m going to update him. If anything changes let me know.” James closed the cell. Angel was now pacing back and forth on the balcony, every now and then looking through the binoculars.
“Sorry for that, but we have to keep our heads. We have to know what is going on and we have to concentrate on Howard and now the men with guns at the door. We know Cyn is OK and Brad won’t let anything happen to her. I know it’s hard but we also have to give them time together in the hut. We need to figure out what was so important that he would try and grab Cyn at the club, to bring her here. It’s got to be something big for Howard to take the risk.”
“Yes, I know, but I feel useless standing here while the others are out in the field. She’s my woman. I should be out there, not them. If that Howard or any of them touch Cyn, I will personally tear them to pieces. I really don’t care what they are after.”