Chapter 15 #2
They had been marking the map with a pencil, showing where the bandit-controlled towns were. There were five of them in central and southern Texas.
Clary had a terrible feeling that she knew why Unity was being targeted. “Correct me if I’m wrong,” she said, picking up the map and walking to Robert and Lucy. “But isn’t Unity somewhere around here?” She pointed on the map.
“Yes, it’s here,” Robert said. Then he let out a breath that was part snort, part sound of surprise. “How didn’t I see that?”
Clary shrugged.
“See what?” Thomas asked. He moved closer and looked at the map. “Oh dear.”
“Yes, we’re right in the middle of them,” Clary said with a nod.
“Exactly,” Rossi said. “That’s why he’s been so determined to get you out. You’re upsetting his plans.”
“Which are?” Lucy asked, pencil poised.
Rossi shook his head. “I don’t know. He wants all of that land for something, but he never told me what.”
“You’re sure?” Thomas asked. “He never let something slip?”
“Never.”
Thomas shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”
“Well, that’s too bad,” Rossi sneered.
Robert nodded. “I think it’s time that Mr. Rossi here becomes acquainted with the best accommodation we have to offer at the sheriff’s department. What do you say, Lucy?”
“I agree,” she said. “If there’s more to be gleaned, we will do so in the morning. I think we all have a lot to chew on.”
“Hold on!” Thomas protested. “He must know where Tilda and the children are being held.”
Rossi shook his head. “He doesn’t tell me these things.”
“But you know him, so where would he take them?” Thomas demanded. He took the map from Clary and held it up for Rossi to see. “Where is he most likely to take them?”
“What do I get if I help you?” Rossi asked. “I don’t want to be in jail.”
“That’s nonnegotiable,” Robert said.
“Fine, but surely you can ask the police in New York to help me? You have to get my mother to safety. Then I will tell you where the family is,” Rossi said. “Please!”
Robert nodded. “We’ll do what we can.”
That seemed to mollify him, and Rossi let Mark help him up out of the chair and march him to the door. Robert and Lucy followed. Robert paused to speak to Thomas and Clary.
“I’ll need to go to San Antonio tomorrow, Clary.
We’ll need to send a message to Mac. He will have to help us with this problem.
We can’t let Rossi’s old mother be used against him.
She’s an innocent in this whole mess. And I think if she’s safe, he will happily help us to corner El Aguila,” Robert said.
“If there is anyone who might know where the dead bodies are buried, figuratively speaking,” Lucy added, “it’s got to be him.”
Thomas scowled. “So, what you’re saying is we can’t press him even though Tilda and the children are in danger.”
“We need to gather information,” Robert said. “Going in blind could kill both us and them.”
“Luckily, we have Jeff. He and his men have been keeping their eyes on all of the bandit towns,” Lucy said. “We can interview them and find out which town Luke’s wife and children are in.”
Robert nodded. “Give us a few days to get things in place.”
“What do we do in the meantime?” Thomas asked.
“Go about your day as usual,” Lucy said.
That was easier said than done.
The next morning, Clary took Robert to San Antonio. He, Warren, and Andrew spent some time at the post office and then at the bank, and when they were back in the coach, Robert explained what the morning had been about.
“I got a reply from Mac almost straight away,” Robert said. “He said he has been making some discreet inquiries into Mrs. Rossi’s well-being, and he has a plan to get her out of the clutches of El Aguila’s people.”
Later that day, they met up with Lucy and Thomas and told them what had happened.
Thomas didn’t look relieved. “Great. Now can we go and get Tilda and the children?”
“Not yet,” Lucy said. “We’re getting the information from Jeff and his men. Once we have it, we’ll be in business.”
“We have less than a week now. If they take too long …” Thomas said, the fear he felt for his brother’s family evident in his eyes.
“I know,” Clary said, speaking softly so that only he could hear. “If it comes to that, then you and I will go and get them, but let’s give the others a chance to come up with a plan. After all, we have a few more days before time is up, and we can use those days to prepare.”
“Okay, that’s a good plan,” Thomas muttered. “We’ll give them a day or so and then go.”
Lucy and Robert were stashed away in the sheriff’s office for those two days.
Clary and Thomas had their hands full, trying to keep Luke in bed.
Give the man his due; he was definitely devoted to his family.
All he could talk about was his wife and children and how he needed to go and save them.
However, with all of his injuries, not least the broken ankle and ribs, it was impossible for Luke to do anything.
It didn’t stop him from trying, and Clary finally threatened him with being tied to the bed. That settled him down, and things went much smoother from then on.
On the third day, they had their information, and everyone met at Thomas’s house to work out a plan of action.
Clary had spent a lot of time at the house in the last few days.
She had helped Thomas to care for Luke and was quite fond of the man.
He had something of Thomas’s sense of humor, but where Thomas was a softer, kinder person, Luke could be hard.
He was stubborn, angry, and went into bouts of blaming himself for the whole mess.
After having left the brothers alone together for no more than two hours, Clary had learned that she couldn’t do that. They needed someone to help them. If she left Thomas with Luke for any length of time, there would be a fight. That meant calling in the troops.
Evelyn and Mildred were happy to help. They took turns caring for Luke, cleaning his wounds, feeding him, and making sure that he stayed in bed and took his medication.
By the time the third day rolled around, Clary could see that Evelyn was taking strain.
But Mildred seemed to be fine. She had the patience of a saint.
That evening, as everyone sat around the parlor again, Clary passed some pastries around.
Luke joined them for the meeting despite being very weak and sore.
“All right,” Andrew said. “Knowing what El Aguila is after to a certain extent certainly feels a lot better. I’ve been racking my brain, trying to work it out?—”
“Yes, Andrew, but this man’s family is waiting for a rescue, and time is running out,” Michael cut in impatiently. “You had a week, right, Thomas?”
“Yes, one week,” Thomas said.
“If the signal doesn’t go up that the mine office has been destroyed, things will go badly for Luke’s family,” Michael said. “So, we need to get a rescue plan in place.”
“The biggest problem we’ll face is El Aguila’s numbers,” Jeff said. He looked weathered and worn from his many trips out into the wilderness. “He still outnumbers us three to one.”
That took a moment to sink in. Three to one were horrible odds.
“Can we sneak in and save them?” Clary asked.
Jeff shook his head. “I don’t think so. They’re under pretty heavy guard. George only just managed to get out without being seen.”
“Okay, then we’ll need to draw El Aguila’s forces to us,” Andrew said. “This town they’re in, it’s close by?”
Jeff nodded. “Yes.”
“Okay then, we draw his forces here,” Andrew suggested. “He always likes to flex his muscle when dealing with us. Let’s use it to our advantage. While we deliver a message for El Aguila, a small group can get into that town … What was it called?”
“Torrent,” Jeff said.
“Right, then a small group can enter Torrent and extract the family,” Andrew concluded.
“But how do we lure him here?” Ethan asked. “And do we want that? Wouldn’t it be better for us to make some trouble for El Aguila in one of his own towns?”
That was met with a short, thoughtful silence. Then Thomas nodded. “Yeah. That should work. Take the fight to him for a change.”
“Precisely,” Ethan said, pointing at Thomas. “If we choose to attack a different town close to that one, like Still Fountain, we could draw out his forces that way, ensuring they aren’t in Torrent when we go in for the rescue.”
“That is a good plan,” Andrew agreed. “A really good plan. Well done, Ethan.”
Ethan smiled. “It seemed quite logical. It would have to be planned carefully so that the extraction team can get the hostages out and the diversion team can also get out without anyone on our side dying.”
Despite the terrible odds for either team, Clary was keen to give it a go. “I say we do it.”
Thomas nodded. “And we’re on the extraction team.”
“Wouldn’t have it any other way,” Andrew said.
And just like that, all the waiting and the agonizing over everything was done. They had a plan, and it was going to work.