12. Where’s the Kid?
Chapter 12
Where’s the Kid?
Bull
M aya’s made more of a difference than she knows with her idea to approach the kids in a gentle way. When we originally went in to ask questions, we were too direct. We got nowhere. We didn’t even know about Mr. Allen. The kids were too worried thinking they were going to get into trouble to remember anything important. Maya turned a scary situation into a fact-finding mission.
She’s wonderful with kids of all ages. I bet the kids in her class adore her, and she’s going to make a wonderful mother one day.
With the information I collected, Wire has been tracing the leads. “I’ve got three vehicles that match the description given to us. There’s only one car that comes up on the camera at one of the lights. I’m playing it now.” He points to the screen and slows it down to half speed. Then he freezes the frame. “Right there.”
We all look at the screen, but Rebel jumps to his feet and moves to the front of the picture flashing in front of us. He points to the back seat. It’s a tiny shoe.
“He knocked the kid out. No one saw him because he was lying in the back seat,” Rebel says.
“Jesus,” I say in a harsh whisper.
“Get us an address on this guy,” Falcon orders. “We have less than forty-eight hours.”
Wire is furiously typing away. “On it.”
“I’m going to let Kailyn know it’s going to be an all-nighter.” Phoenix glances over at me. “I’ll tell her to check on Maya.”
“Thanks,” I mumble. I laid a heavy burden on Maya by telling her about Troy, and I saw the concern on her face. I’m beginning to kick my own ass for talking with her about it, but without her, we’d still be grasping at straws. Falcon’s been the one in contact with the parents. I don’t envy his position. Troy’s mother was crying uncontrollably on the phone, so loud that I could hear her from where I’m sitting.
It’s an hour later when Wire rushes back into the boardroom. “I got the fucker.” He pushes a paper into Falcon’s hand. “Here’s the address, but I got his phone records. For over three months, he was consistently getting calls from the same number. A month ago, it all stopped. That’s when I think they wised up and started using a burner. I tracked that original number, and it’s Franklin Porter’s. He’s Dan’s silent business partner.”
“He’s Dan’s business partner?” I ask. “Why the hell would he want to get into the building? He has a free pass.” This is all pointing to more questions than answers. Dan’s a solid guy. We looked into him, and he checked out clean. Franklin never came up, until now. How did we miss that?
“What’s important is that we get Troy back first,” Rebel states. “Where are we headed?” Rebel’s halfway out the door when Falcon calls his name.
“Rebel, calm down. We do this smart. Wire, keep digging. I want to know the tie between these two guys and any possible reason for breaching Franklin’s own company and turning on his partner. Phoenix and Rebel, you’re on Allen. Follow him wherever he goes. Bull, as soon as he leaves his place, if you see the opportunity, get in and search. With any luck, that’s where he’s holding Troy, but if not, we might find a clue as to where he’s keeping him,” Falcon says, quickly dispensing a plan and setting the wheels in motion.
* * *
The run-down house is falling apart. It looks like it’s being held together by duct tape and glue. Allen hasn’t left the house all night, and I’m tired of waiting. The house is utterly silent, except for the sound of snoring coming from the living room, where I see Allen conked out on a battered sofa that’s seen better days.
Not surprisingly, he’s asleep with a gun in his hand. That says it all. This guy is guilty as fuck! I test the floorboards. They creak slightly, but Allen is dead to the world, and I move as quietly as I can through the house. All the bedrooms are empty, but in one, I find a small mattress with a backpack. Troy was here, which means this guy knows where he is.
My instinct is to rush him, grab him by the throat until he gives me the kid’s location, but I don’t know enough about the guy to know whether he’d give that information up, even when threatened with death. Most do, but I’ve seen others die with their secrets, and I can’t risk that with Troy’s life hanging in the balance.
I see Allen’s phone on the coffee table on top of a pile of newspapers. I creep closer, holding Allen steady in my sight in case he wakes up. I pray to God this is the burner phone. I snatch it up, get the hell out through the back door, and go to Rebel and Phoenix.
“See if Wire can hack into this.” I give him the cell phone. Phoenix makes the call, and while we’re waiting, Rebel keeps his eyes glued to Allen’s house.
“He’s in. There’s a trail of messages. Wire’s scanning for a location where they might be keeping the kid,” Phoenix tells us.
The waiting is the worst. It’s always been my problem. I’m a man of action, and Falcon knows me best. That’s why he insisted I take up meditation. I wanted to tear my hair out the first time I did it, and it was only two minutes long. I’ve grown since then, and now I practice it every day. I hate to admit it, but I’m better because of it.
“There was a shitty mattress and Troy’s backpack in there. He had the kid. I’m good with beating the information out of him,” I grumble.
“Last resort,” Phoenix says.
“I’m with Bull,” Rebel says. “Fucker deserves to hang by his heels and suffer.”
Phoenix’s phone rings. “We’re all here,” he answers, then holds it out in his palm and hits Speaker.
Falcon’s voice is loud and clear. “There’s an old farmhouse on the outer edge of the city. It used to be farmland that was bought out by Dan’s business partner six months ago. Good hunch that they’ve got Troy there. We don’t know how many are involved, and we don’t want Allen to get away. You three get Allen and bring him back to the warehouse. He can be the inaugural felon in our cells in the basement. We’ll regroup and go get the kid.”
“What if—” Rebel begins.
“We’re not going in blind or alone. We do this together. We don’t have time to argue,” Falcon says, cutting the conversation short.
“Phoenix, take the front. Rebel, cover the back. I’m going in,” I tell them.
“Don’t lose your cool and shoot him. We might need him,” Rebel says with a smirk.
“I’ll try,” I grunt. As I slide through the back kitchen door, I see that Allen has hardly moved, but his hand remains on the gun on his chest. I make it over to him just as he shifts in his sleep. I press my hand over his, compressing his chest, locking the gun in place. I put my gun to his temple. “Go ahead, give me an excuse to end your miserable life.”
His eyes open wide, and he tries to move, but he’s weak, and I push down harder, making it more difficult for him to breathe. “What do you want?”
“You’re not that stupid.” I call out for Rebel and Phoenix. Both rush into the room, and we soon have Allen in handcuffs and in the back seat of Phoenix’s truck.
As I follow them in my own truck, I contemplate calling Maya. I decide against it. We’re not at the finish line yet, and when I make the call, I want it to be over. For the first time, I feel hopeful about finding Troy and getting him back to his parents.
Back at Storm, Falcon takes Allen to the basement. He’s not gone for long, but when he makes it back upstairs, his fist is bloody, and his face is fierce. It’s a look I’ve seen before on him, and it’s lethal.
“Why did you get to have all the fun?” Rebel asks with a sly grin.
Falcon doesn’t respond to his question, instead saying, “He’s confirmed the location of the boy. They have a security system.” He looks over at Wire. “Pack what you need.” Then back to us: “Load up. We leave in fifteen.”
It’s a forty-five-minute drive to the old farmhouse. We’re all accustomed to the silence while on a mission. There’s a familiarity in the way we prepare for battle. It was the same when we were in Afghanistan. The quiet is our time to reflect on the plan and home in on our part of what comes next.
We shut off the headlights to the vehicle and drive in the dark, stopping down the far end of the street. We’ll walk the rest of the way. Wire knocks out the security cameras and stops the alarm from sounding for intruders. He taps into the alarm company and disables the connection. This way, we can make it inside without being noticed.
Stealthily, we move through the trees. When we reach the house, Falcon climbs through the window and, after taking a quick look around, waves us in. The place is filled with dust and cobwebs; no one’s lived here in years.
We sneak around the corner and take note that two men are in the living room playing cards. Another man calls out from the hallway, which must lead to the bedrooms, “When’s dinner coming? I’m fucking starved, and the kid needs to eat.”
“Craig went to pick up the pizza. He’ll be back in half an hour,” the guy sitting closest to the door answers. “I’ll be glad when this is done,” he adds.
“What happens if the dad doesn’t come through?” the guy sitting across from him asks.
“He will,” his friend responds.
“And if he doesn’t?” He hesitates. “We don’t get paid unless we get those files.”
“He loves his kid. His wife is a fucking mess. He’ll show up, and we’ll get what we came for. Then we’re home free. We tell him where to pick up the boy, and we’re gone as soon as we deliver the files,” the first man with the deeper voice responds.
The room is dimly lit, but I get a better look at the three of them. The one with the plan is older, heavier set, and slumped in his chair. The guy he’s playing cards with is late twenties at best, blond, and nervous as a cat. The last guy is lean and scrawny. He’s pacing the room and looks worried. He should be, because he’s going to be someone’s bitch in prison soon.
I can hear the faint sound of crying. That’s got to be Troy.
“Go shut the kid up,” the oldest guy says.
“He’s scared,” the scrawny guy responds.
“Get him quiet, or I’ll find a way to do it myself.” The scrawny dude goes to do as he’s told.
I want to rush him right then and there, but Falcon bars the doorway. He points to the hall and motions for me to follow it down. Phoenix and I are to find Troy and get him to safety, so we head o he hallway. Rebel, Wire, and Falcon are going to round up the kidnappers.
With the element of surprise on our side, this is a much easier takedown than we hoped for. Falcon gives the signal, and we all move in. The kidnappers don’t even have time to react. Phoenix and I rush through the bedroom door, and the scrawny guy grabs Troy to cover himself. Troy is crying so loudly, the sound is echoing around the room.
“Put the kid down,” I order.
He just grips him tighter. “Just let me go,” the man says.
“Look, man,” Phoenix says, “you got nowhere to go. Put him down, come peacefully, and things will go a lot smoother for you. Your buddies out there aren’t going to be able to help you. You gotta help yourself.”
Slowly, he puts the kid down. I wave Troy over to me, and the little boy races into my arms. “You got him?” I ask Phoenix, jerking my head toward the scrawny guy.
“Yeah, get the kid out of here.”
Troy holds on tight as we rush through the living room and out the front door. Falcon, Wire, and Rebel have subdued the other kidnappers and have them face down on the floor. Wire follows me out and runs past me to grab the SUV. He pulls up sharply and opens the door, grabbing the blanket we brought with us to wrap Troy in. I sit with him in the back seat and calm the boy down.
“Hey, Troy, we’re going to call your parents. They’re going to meet us, and you’ll be home soon, buddy,” I tell him in a soft voice. His tears finally stop falling. I reach into my bag and take out a granola bar. “You must be hungry.” He nods. As he nibbles on the granola bar, I wipe the dirt from his face and check him out to make sure he’s all in one piece. The next stop is the hospital, where his parents will meet us.
The sound of sirens fills the air. Police cars pull up. Falcon meets them at the door. Falcon has a brief conversation with the cops, then comes to the car. “The guys will get a ride to the hospital and meet us there.” He looks at Troy, who is now sipping on the juice box I gave him, and says, “Let’s get this little man to his mom and dad.” Troy smiles, and I know that everything is going to be okay.
When we arrive at the hospital, Troy’s parents are already waiting for us. Troy’s father takes him from my arms and begins to weep. Our job is done.
Falcon and I wait for Wire, Rebel, and Phoenix. We reconnect after a mission to make sure we’re all safe. Falcon tells us to sleep in tomorrow, and we’ll debrief later in the day. Falcon’s heading back to Storm. The police will meet him there to take Allen into custody. It’s convenient for Falcon to have built his own apartment on the premises. Then again, I think he did it because he feels driven to make Storm Enterprises a success.
I sit in my truck and dial Maya’s number. It rings once before she picks it up. “Bull?”
“He’s safe, baby.”
She lets out a heavy sigh. “Good. Come home, honey.”
I wanted to hear those words more than anything. I didn’t want to go home to an empty apartment tonight. Tonight, I want to feel Maya next to me.
“On my way,” I tell her, then hurry my ass home.