Chapter 9 #2
His Remi had been buried alive, and she still sometimes had nightmares about it. And she’d only been in that box for minutes. Flash and Kelli had been there for nearly a full day now. Yes, a bus was way more roomy than the box Remi had been forced into, but still…buried was buried.
He took a step toward Errol, and surprisingly, it was Smiley who took hold of his arm and held him back. Safe stepped in front of his team leader and took over the interrogation as smoothly as if they’d done it many times in the past.
It took Kevlar several moments to regain control.
He heard Errol trying to give the others directions as to where he and Brant had buried the bus.
All he could think of was getting there as soon as possible.
There was a possibility that Flash had found a way out of that bus, but given how Errol was describing the area, and what they’d done to try to make sure no one could escape from the buried vehicle, Kevlar wasn’t so sure.
When Errol was done talking, he asked, “What now? What are you going to do with me?”
“You’re coming with us. You’re going to tell the police everything you just told us. Without leaving anything out,” Safe said.
Errol winced.
It was a crapshoot if the local authorities would do anything to the man. Unlikely that he’d be prosecuted. But since the team’s goal in coming to Jamaica was to find Flash, Errol’s future wasn’t their concern.
Now, Brant? That man had to be found and needed to pay for what he’d done.
What he’d planned on doing to as many tourists as he could.
According to Errol, he had plans to use the buried bus many times over.
Apparently, once he’d received money from a family, or a group of families, his plan was to wait until his captives had passed away, remove their bodies, then play his sick game all over again.
Errol Brown was a patsy. A small-time punk who’d gotten mixed up with the wrong person.
Kevlar was itching to head to the jungle.
It was obvious they’d put the bus in a place known to locals but difficult to access.
The easiest option would be to take Errol with them, make him show them exactly where they’d stashed Flash and Kelli.
But they had enough info to find the bus without him, of that Kevlar was certain.
No. He’d prefer Errol be taken into custody right away by the Jamaican authorities, and he didn’t want to have to worry about the man trying to get away when they did find this damn buried bus, and their attention was focused on their missing teammate.
Everyone would give Flash a ton of shit for getting kidnapped. Personally, Kevlar couldn’t wait to tell him “I told you so.” He was the one who’d warned against coming to Jamaica in the first place.
Once they made sure Flash was all right, of course. Wasn’t hurt, or was getting any medical attention he needed.
Then they’d make fun of him for getting hurt in the first place. It was just how the team was. It was a coping mechanism. A way to release tension.
Suddenly needing some air, Kevlar turned and headed for the door.
The second he stepped outside, all conversation from the neighbors stopped.
Their visit was obviously being gossiped about.
Kevlar had a feeling everyone on the island would know about it in the next day or so. Which meant they needed to move fast.
If Brant Williams got word that they’d been here, and Errol had been taken away, he’d get spooked. But Kevlar wasn’t willing to split up his team. Flash was the most important thing right now. If Brant disappeared, they’d find him. Eventually. There was nowhere the man could hide.
It took longer than Kevlar wanted to bring Errol to the police station and force him to give a full confession to the authorities. He wasn’t feeling confident that the police would do much to him, other than make him pay a fine and send him on his way with a slap on the wrist.
Eventually, they had no choice but to leave Errol in the custody of the local authorities.
They’d done all they could to see that he was punished for the kidnapping.
One of the officers had demanded to come with them when they went into the jungle to try to find Flash and the woman who’d been kidnapped.
It made sense; Errol couldn’t be charged without proof.
But Kevlar was still annoyed. He didn’t want anyone tagging along.
He simply wanted to find his friend without having to worry about being politically correct.
He could almost hear his commander in his head, telling him to do things by the book, to not ruffle any feathers, to not turn this into an international incident.
But to Kevlar’s way of thinking, it was an international incident.
Keeping a Navy SEAL’s kidnapping a secret wasn’t a smart plan.
It wouldn’t be good for Jamaica, since they relied on tourist dollars.
He couldn’t stop thinking about Remi, and how she’d been kidnapped and buried alive.
There were too many similarities to what happened to her and what was going on with Flash for him to remain rational.
The trip to the jungle was long…and more difficult than Kevlar anticipated.
They got lost once or twice as they tried to follow Errol’s verbal directions to where the bus had been buried.
Many of the dirt roads looked the same and, of course, the terrain didn’t help.
The minivan they’d rented was taking a beating, but Kevlar didn’t care.
The officer following them looked bored. Every time Kevlar looked behind them to see if he was still there, the man was on his cellphone. Amazingly, one time, it looked like he was smoking what Kevlar thought was a joint, but he couldn’t be sure.
Before long, he was kicking himself for leaving Errol behind. Even though bringing him would’ve added more stress to the situation, he could’ve led them straight to the damn bus. They should’ve waited to turn him in after Flash and Kelli were found…but it was too late to change that now.
His stress levels were sky high, especially since it was creeping toward evening.
They’d lose the sunlight soon, and if that happened, if they hadn’t found the damn bus, they’d have to wait until morning to start the search again.
The thought of his friend having to spend another night underground was unacceptable.
Finally, they got to a point where the road abruptly ended, just as Errol said it would.
Anticipation rose within Kevlar. They’d done it! Found the place Errol had described, where they’d made Flash and Kelli get out and walk into the jungle.
All four doors opened at the same time, and the six SEALs climbed out, eager to find their teammate. The officer got out of his car and leaned against the door.
“I’ll wait here,” he said.
Disgusted, but not caring anymore what the man did, Kevlar followed the tracks on the forest floor that had probably been made by whatever large piece of equipment Brant had used to bury the bus.
Kevlar had no idea how the man had done it. Or when. Yes, they’d obviously used heavy machinery, but the logistics of the entire operation were mind-blowing. Ultimately, though, the how didn’t matter right now, only the where.
They walked for around half a mile, and looking around, all Kevlar saw was trees and vines. The forest floor was covered in vegetation. A tropical rainforest. How the hell they were going to find anything buried out here was a real concern.
Until he saw it.
Exactly as Errol had described.
Three large tires stacked on top of each other.
Two had the rims still attached, which would make them extremely heavy.
Kevlar knew that from experience. He’d had to change a tire on large trucks a time or two.
Three of them on top of that cover would prevent anyone under it from being able to escape.
Running toward the tires, he said in a voice much calmer than he felt, “Preacher, grab the other side. Safe and MacGyver, get the second one. Smiley, I’ll help you with the last.”
No one argued. They got to work doing what needed to be done.
No one spoke out loud about what they might find when they opened that manhole cover.
True, it hadn’t been all that long since Flash and Kelli had been kidnapped and buried alive, but depending on what condition they were in when they were left, and what supplies, if any, were inside with them, they could be facing the worst-case scenario.
Taking a deep breath, Kevlar reached for the first tire.