by CJ Murphy
Jax felt Chance’s lips on her arm. “You promise me to be careful, all of you. No more hospital visits, we’ve spent too much time here lately.”
“Agreed. Now, how about you go back to sleep? I’ll wake you if I have to leave.”
Jax yawned. “I’d rather have you in bed with me. I’m cold, and you’re always like a furnace.”
Chance leaned over the rail and kissed her forehead. “I’ll go get you a heated blanket. Rest now.”
Jax drifted and let the lingering anesthesia quiet her mind as she fell back asleep.
***
Chance stood at three thirty in the morning and stretched her neck from one side to the other in an attempt to relieve the kinks that had developed while sleeping in an awkward position. Even with a small couch provided, Chance chose to stay in the chair at Jax’s side in case she needed anything. She remembered Jax doing the same for her not long ago. Twice, Jax had been forced to seek medical treatment for things that never should have happened. I’m going to take better care of her if it’s the last thing I do. She leaned over and kissed Jax’s lips softly and whispered in her ear. “I’ve got to go baby. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Mom’s coming to sit with you.” She looked up to see Maggie, standing in the door with Zeus. Chance had sent him home with her earlier to be fed. “I love you, Jax, with all my heart and soul.”
Jax stirred and reached up to pull her down for another kiss. “I love you, too. You and Zeus come home to me. Don’t you dare leave me alone to face my mother. I mean it. I expect to see the whites of your eyes soon.”
“I wouldn’t dream of missing my reunion with her. Now I mean it, rest.” She kissed her again and then walked to her mother.
Maggie put her hand over Chance’s badge. “I’ll just repeat what she said, you be safe and come home. I’ll be right here. She won’t be alone. Now you two get out of here. Zeus, you’re in charge.”
Zeus wagged his tail but didn’t bark. He walked over to the bed and nuzzled Jax’s hand, while Chance watched her mother check on the woman who meant a great deal to them both. Chance kissed her mother on the cheek. “Thanks, Mom. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Let’s go, Zeus.” The dog gave Jax’s hand a small lick then joined her at the door.
As soon as she’d cleared the hospital, she was on the phone with Harley. “Are we good to go as far as the warrant?”
“We are. The paperwork says we can search all areas of the barn, the house, and the three detached garages on the property. We’re looking for the clothing that both Lindsey and Jax described, any hay hooks, the motorcycles, and the truck they used to transport the bikes from the area.”
Chance nodded with satisfaction. “Which judge did you get to sign off?”
“The honorable Judge Arnold. It was a bit of a tough sell, even with the information from Rick and Tess. If there hadn’t been bodily injuries, I’m not sure we’d have gotten it. The good thing is, we did. I’ve had my trooper and Taylor watching the house and all roads leading in and out of their place. All indications are that he’s there. Are you on your way?”
Chance sat at a light in downtown Oakland. “I’ve got to stop by the house for my tactical gear. Where are we mustering?”
“I’m trying to keep this off the radar, so everyone is meeting out by the airstrip off Cortland Road. There is a maintenance garage I have access to, where we can get everyone on the same page. I’ve got seven officers: three of mine, plus Taylor, Khodi, Randy, and Carl with their K9s from your department, and Quade Peters and one other US Fish and Wildlife officer. With you and me, that gives us eleven.”
Chance glanced at her dash clock. “It will take me another forty minutes to get to my place and get suited up. I’ll send a text when I’m on my way to your location.”
“We’ll put an end to this, Chance.”
“Let’s hope we do it without any bloodshed.”
***
Chance stood with Harley, leaning against the bucket of a front-end loader. They were looking over the warrant. Harley called for everyone’s attention.
“Listen up. We’ve watched the house all night. The truck that transported the motorcycles is in the driveway, and all indications are that Leland Kurst, his father, and two brothers are there. We have no way of knowing who else might be there. All of you have had dealings with the Kursts and know they likely have some heavy-duty firearms in there. Our plan is to catch them sleeping. We’ve located a bench warrant on Ronny Kurst, for driving on a suspended license in Marion County. He failed to show up for court. If they located him, he’d be taken immediately into custody. A warrant search on the rest came up clean.”
Chance stepped forward. “How many of you have never been inside the Kurst house?”
Only Khodi and the second US Fish and Wildlife officer raised their hands. Chance used a whiteboard to draw out the basic layout of the house. “Single story with a basement. There are three doors, one at the front, one at the back, and one that leads out of the basement. This back door leads directly into the kitchen, and there are four bedrooms back in this hallway, right off the kitchen. The front door opens into an entryway to the living room. I suggest we put a K9 at each door. Zeus and I will be on the entry team. Taylor, I want you on that back door with Midas. Randy and Vader will follow the entry team in. Carl, you and Petra take that basement door with Khodi and Echo.”
Harley went through the rest of the plan and assigned entry personnel. Everyone went through a safety check on equipment and weaponry.
Harley held up the warrant. “These are the things we’re looking for once we have everyone in the house secured.” She passed around photos from the vandalism scene that showed the hay hook and the individual wearing the hooded sweatshirt with the logo. There were also some slightly grainy photographs from the cell tower, showing the individuals loading the bikes up. “Let’s not miss anything. I don’t need to tell you how serious this is. They nearly killed Jax St. Claire and Lindsey Hawthorne tonight. I don’t want them to have another opportunity to finish the job. Are there any questions?”
Chance watched around the room. Officers huddled in their assigned groups, discussing plans and making sure they knew exactly what they would be doing. They wanted to conduct the warrant search before the sun came up. She wanted nothing more than to go back to the hospital with news that Leland Kurst would no longer be a threat to anyone. She was pulled from her musing by Harley telling everyone to head to their cruisers.
Harley stepped to Chance’s side. “Your head on right?”
Chance grinned. “On a swivel. Let’s take care of business, so you can get back to planning a wedding for your daughters, and I can go meet the in-laws to be.”
“Deal.” Harley patted her on the back as Taylor stepped to her side.
“Sheriff, I have orders from your mothers that you are not to come home with any broken bones, any knife wounds, any bullet holes, or concussions. You going to help me keep the promises I made?”
Chance rolled her shoulders and clenched her fists. “As long as they cooperate, it shouldn’t be any problem at all.”
“How’s Jax?”
Chance rubbed the back of her neck. “Sore and beat up. I don’t know how many times they rolled, but the truck is destroyed. What I could see of it will haunt me for years. I could have lost her, Taylor. I want his harassment to end tonight. If we can prove what I suspect, he’s going to spend a very long time in federal prison. I’m positive he’s involved with those overdoses, and I’m praying we find evidence of it tonight. Once we get them subdued, it’s time to find those articles we’re looking for. If, in the course of our search, we find evidence of narcotics, we hold the scene until we can obtain further warrants. The FBI and the DEA are both looking at him.”
Taylor put her hand out and took Chance’s in hers. “Good hunting, Sheriff.”
***
Chance looked at the military-style tactical watch Jax had given her as a birthday present. She enjoyed the fact that Jax had taken the
time to talk to Taylor and Sarah about what would be important functions, one of which she used now. The low light feature helped her maintain her cover, as they amassed around the Kurst property at two minutes before five a.m. The single-story farmhouse was unimpressive and in desperate need of repair. She watched the windows, a few of which were covered with cardboard. Shingles from the roof littered the yard and lay among the broken-down lawn equipment and disabled vehicles. Randy and Vader stood at her side as one trooper held a large shield and another a heavy battering ram. Harley stepped to her right.
“You ready to shake things up a bit?”
Chance nodded and thought of Jax lying in a hospital bed. “More than ready. Everyone is in position. This is your call.”
Harley touched her throat mic. “We’re a go.”
The front entry team moved to the door, and exactly at five, Harley announced their presence.
“Search Warrant!”
The next few moments were total chaos as they stormed in the front and back door. Lanny Kurst was easily subdued, while Ronny made a run for the basement and was apprehended by a waiting team. Leland and Danny Kurst put up the greatest struggle. Chance chose to concentrate on Danny and leave Leland to Randy and one of the troopers, to prevent any of her personal feelings from giving Leland any cause to claim brutality. She heard Randy calling out Dutch commands for Vader and felt confident Leland would soon be in custody.
“Danny, stop fighting me! You’re making this harder than it has to be. Submit, or I’ll engage the dog!” Danny continued to kick and strike at her and left her no choice. “Zeus, stellen!”
The second Zeus sunk his teeth into Danny’s arm, he screamed out in pain. “You fucking bitch! Get this dog off me!”
“Comply! Put your hands behind your back! Get on your knees!” Chance watched Danny fall to the ground and try to put his arms behind his back. He was hindered by the sixty-two-pound attack dog with his teeth sunk into his arm. Zeus, houden!” She told the other member of her team to subdue Danny while she found a light switch and turned it on. She could see Harley and Randy struggling with Leland, who was swinging a baseball bat with great force. Vader had gone in for a grab at Leland’s leg with the bite command that Randy gave him.
Chance leveled her Glock at Leland. “Leland, drop the bat! Drop the bat!” She felt Harley move to her side with her own gun drawn on Leland yelling the same command. It was important for them to stay out of the danger of crossfire if they were left no choice but to use deadly force.
Quade Peters came up to Chance’s side with his taser gun in hand. “Drop it, Leland, or I’m going to hit you with the taser!”
Everyone watched as Vader continued to hold onto Leland, who took a swing at the dog. Randy disengaged Vader, and Quade announced the taser warning again. Leland looked directly at Chance and flipped her off. Quade pulled the trigger and shot the taser directly at his target, who dropped the bat and jerked as he fell to the floor.
Randy held onto Vader’s collar, and Chance turned back to see Zeus still holding Danny in place with the sheer ferocity of his snarl and display of his teeth. Her adrenaline was running high and her heart was pounding. They needed to call EMS to have Leland checked after he was secured.
Harley grabbed her radio and called for all the officers on scene to sound off with their status. One by one, each officer advised of their status, condition, and position. Harley nodded at Chance and they bumped fists. “Well done, Sheriff.”
“Job’s just started. Let’s find what we came for so we can give some good news to my fiancée and your daughters.”
The house had been swept for anyone else present during the initial entrance and again after all four individuals were moved to the living room and cuffed. Randy and Vader, along with two very large troopers, guarded the individuals in custody. They began to systematically search the house, room by room. Every drawer and cabinet that might hold a hay hook was opened, and every article of clothing examined for the distinctive sweatshirt. Other officers were busy conducting a search out in the garage and storage shed.
Taylor moved a chair to the closet and began pulling items from the top. She turned and handed a leather saddlebag to Chance. “Odd spot for a motorcycle bag, don’t you think?”
Chance slid the strap out of the buckle. “With these guys, nothing would surprise me.” When she opened the flap, her blood boiled. “Pay dirt, at least on one item.” She held a hay hook in her gloved right hand, praying to find chips of paint from Jax’s truck on the end. “Now, if I find the bike and the fucking sweatshirt, I’ll bury him under the jail.”
Taylor jumped down. “We can dig two spots, one for him and one for Brad.”
“I’m with you there as well. Okay, let’s find the rest.” Chance and Zeus continued to search the room.
Khodi called from the basement. “Sheriff?”
“On my way, Khodi. Keep looking, Taylor.” Chance walked through the living room on the way to the basement stairs. Sarah was walking in with her Lifepack 10 to take an electrocardiogram on Leland.
Sarah pointed at Chance. “You okay?”
“I’m good, make sure he’ll live to see the judge.”
“You got it.”
Chance hurried down the steps to find Khodi back in a corner of the basement with Quade.
“Sheriff, I don’t know what’s behind this panel, but Echo is giving a passive alert to drugs.” Khodi pointed to Echo, who was making the same indications he’d done when they’d been at the overdose in Davis. Zeus had joined him in the alert position, indicating narcotics.
Chance looked around the room, noting the dimensions. The basement seemed like it didn’t span the entire length of the upstairs structure. It seemed to be at least a third smaller. She needed to proceed with caution as the warrant they’d obtained did not mention the search for any drugs. She nodded to Zeus, who swished his tail at her and let out a sharp bark. “Good boy, Zeus. Good boy, blijven.” She gave him the command to stay and pointed to a wall of junk and scuff marks on the floor in front of it.
“You know, in my grandmother’s house, she had a cold storage area that was little more than an area dug into the soil to put potatoes, onions, and her home-canned goods. She called it her root cellar, and it had some outside ventilation from a pipe. This house is about the same age. Wanna make a bet there’s one of those behind that junk somewhere?” Chance looked at Carl, who had just come down the stairs with his dog Petra.
“Sheriff, you know what that means.” Carl pointed to his K9, who was trained in explosive recognition.
“I do. Let’s get everyone out of here. We may need to call out some specialized troops. Unless I miss my bet, behind all of it is some kind of door. Don’t use your radios. I need to find Harley.”
Carl nodded. “You got it, Sheriff.”
Chance made it upstairs and located the supervising trooper. “Harley, we need to get everyone out of here. Petra hit on some kind of explosives in the basement.
“Shit. Everyone out.” Harley waved her arms toward the door.
Chance agreed. “I’ve got two dogs in the basement alerting on narcotics, and Petra alerting for explosives. I told them to leave everything in place, not to move anything. We still haven’t found the sweatshirt or the second hay hook. Can you call your bomb squad guys in to check this out, before we start digging around and trigger something?”
Harley wiped a hand over her face. “Good Lord. Yeah, I can do that. It shouldn’t take Micah that long to get over here. Get everyone out to the property edge. I need to check on a few things.”
Once they were all outside, Chance checked with Sarah. She was just removing the pads from Leland’s chest. “Sarah, tell me he’s well enough that he doesn’t need to go to the hospital.”
“His vitals are stable, and his EKG is normal. Jax okay?” Sarah continued to pack up her gear.
“She will be now. Harley, I need to talk to you. Can you step over here with me a second?” They stepped away from th
e group in custody. “Sarah said Leland is fine for now, but I think we should run him by the ER to be checked. That way he can’t come back and say we didn’t give him medical attention. I don’t think it’s worth a trip in an ambulance, so someone needs to drag his sorry ass over there in a cruiser.”
Harley nodded her agreement. “With these guys, you can’t be too cautious. Once we get that done, we can question him. Don’t be surprised if he lawyers up.”
“I’d say count on it. If he’s in as deep as I think he is, his buddies in Baltimore aren’t going to be very happy about his recent activities. We need to be able to tie the bike to him directly. Let’s make sure whatever we charge him with, it’s ironclad.”
“And welded.”
Harley started punching in a number on her cellphone, as Chance sent a text to her mother.
Raid is over, suspects in custody. No injuries. Tell Jax I love her and will be back as soon as I can.
“My bomb tech will get his equipment and be here in thirty minutes. I need to call the judge and make sure we don’t screw anything up. If we find drugs, I want the charges to stick. Two dogs trained in separate facilities showing indicators of narcotics is pretty strong evidence. If that is a root cellar, it could be big enough to hold a bike and the drugs. The law says we can enter or open anything large enough to hold what we’re searching for. I need to make sure the judge agrees on the basement. On the bright side, take a look at this.” Harley held out the camera. The display showed a motorcycle missing a piece of its fender. “They found it behind a stack of hay bales, under a tarp in the garage.”
“You don’t say.” Chance turned to Leland and narrowed her eyes. “I’m not leaving until we get in that space. The icing on the cake, for me, would be finding that sweatshirt with his DNA on it and flecks of paint from a demolished Toyota. I want nothing more than to be able to hand his ass over to Huttonsville on a silver platter.”