Chapter 24 Wraith
Wraith
“He’s with Shadow.” Carnage taps my arm. “He’s safe.”
“Pax is gonna have my balls.”
“Doesn’t he already?” Carnage waggles his eyebrows. “You’re so whipped.”
“Can’t even deny it.”
“It’s awesome,” Stealth says quietly. “I’m happy for you.”
“Thanks, but it’s still weird. He’s not a hundred percent comfortable with what I do for a living.”
“Eh, if he really wanted to leave, he would have by now.” Carnage shrugs. “He’ll make peace with it eventually.”
I hope he’s right.
Our phones buzz at the same time and we all turn our attention to them.
Specter: We’re moving into position now. We’ve already taken out a couple of guns on the ground.
Ah, so they did have plenty of security.
Specter: No sign of kids but lots of activity around the boat. Be ready for anything.
Carnage looks up from his phone, scanning the surroundings with narrowed eyes.
“It’s too quiet. Either we have bad intel or something else is going on.”
“I agree.”
Stealth creeps forward from behind a dumpster, peering into the darkness. “I think I see some movement at the far warehouse. Let’s go check it out.”
After putting our phones on silent, the three of us move towards the farthest building, and the closer we get, the more obvious activity we can detect.
Stealth gestures with his index finger towards a van that has a man standing in front of the sliding door.
Then Carnage points out two men standing near the warehouse doors.
“They’ve either got a shipment in that van or they’re waiting for one,” Stealth murmurs.
The sound of crunching gravel gets our attention and we duck down as a car pulls onto the scene. It comes to a stop next to the van and several men get out. Once that happens, another guy pulls the van open, and from here, it looks like it’s filled with stacks of something. I’m guessing drugs.
Stealth, earning his name, slinks off without making a single sound. We know better than to follow him, so we hang back and wait for his cue. I can’t even make out his body as he seamlessly blends into the night.
Carnage taps my leg, pointing as another van arrives. My phone lights up in my hand and I swipe the screen to read the chat.
Shadow: Who has eyes on Boone?
I pull my head back.
Me: What do you mean? I thought he was with you?
Shadow: He was. He’s not now. Dammit. He’s not with you?
How the fuck would he be with me? My heart races. Jesus. If something happens to him…
Shadow: We’re on our way there. There are no kids at the docks. What’s the situation?
Me: Several guys around. Vans with drugs we think. Stealth went to get a closer look. We’re in waiting mode.
Shadow: Fuck.
Yeah, fuck is right. Where could Boone have gone? Then I remember how he slipped away from us at the motel, how he eluded me at the game, how he’s always one step ahead.
Me: Okay, I thought about it. Boone probably knows or suspects something. He took off to help. Keep your eyes open. Something will happen.
And then it does. The van in front of us opens and Boone is pushed out onto his knees. One of the men who had gotten out of the car steps forward, kneeling down and saying something to Boone that we’re too far away from to hear.
Stealth is back in a flash. “We gotta move now.” On his phone, he messages the chat.
Stealth: Kids are in the warehouse located at the south end of the property. You’ll know it because there are guards in front of the door and dim lights inside. Boone is here with the boss. We’re moving now.
Shadow: Thanks
All hell breaks loose as Carnage, Stealth, and I burst from the shadows, shooting anyone in our path. I keep an eye on Boone, who wisely crawls out of the line of fire, and I make my way over to him.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“They were tipped off or something,” Boone says. “This isn’t how they work. We should’ve been there in time to get the kids off those boats, but we weren’t. I knew if I wanted to find out where Phil and Mike were, I had to jump in.”
“You could’ve been killed.”
He shrugs. “I know, but I figured you guys would save me, and if you couldn’t at least you’d find the kids.”
“Stay put. Please, Boone, do not get yourself killed.”
“I’ll do my best.” He grins. “Phil ran behind those shipping containers. I haven’t seen Mike yet.”
“Thanks.”
With my gun raised and cocked, I dart through the darkness looking for anyone who isn’t one of mine. It’s dark as fuck out here, without a single light to guide the way, which just means we have to be more careful.
Suddenly, there’s a hand on my shoulder, but I already recognize it. I turn to see Specter.
“We’re here too. No activity down at the dock.”
“Everyone is here, according to Boone.”
He nods and we move as one, stumbling upon a man cowering behind a stack of pallets.
Specter doesn’t hesitate to put a bullet in his head, and we continue on.
We creep up behind three men hiding behind a building just as Ghost and Phantom catch up with us.
The men start to run, but Ghost and Phantom are on them so fast they barely make it ten feet before they crumple to the ground, hit by our bullets.
“How many of them are there?” Specter mutters as we continue.
My phone lights up in my hand again and I look at the screen.
Shadow: Got Boone. Whisper too. Heading to the warehouse. There are at least ten more guys out here. Watch your backs.
We make our way to where the vans are parked and find Carnage already beating the fuck out of two guys at once. Ghost and Phantom jump into the mix while Specter and I continue forward.
“I’m going this way.” Specter nods to the left.
“Cool.”
I take a few steps forward, pausing when I hear the scattering of pebbles, but as I peer into the darkness, I see nothing. Just gotta get to the warehouse.
But I don’t make it another step before a gun clicks against the back of my head. I turn slowly.
“Drop the gun,” the man growls.
As my eyes adjust, I realize who it is. Phil Connelly. I recognize him from the picture Whisper sent to the group chat.
“Hey, Phil. I was hoping to bump into you.”
“I said drop the gun.” He’s trying to sound tough, but I detect the slightest quiver in his voice.
“Hmm, no. I’d rather not. Why don’t you drop yours?”
“Who are you guys?”
“Karma.” I lift my arm and shove his sideways, successfully knocking the gun to the ground.
Then I sweep his legs out and smile as he tumbles over. From there, it’s easy enough to press my gun to his forehead.
“Tell me everything about the Mistone operation.”
“Or what?” he spits.
“Or I’ll beat it out of you. You can make this quick and easy for yourself or you can make it hurt. Either way works for me.”
“Fuck you. I ain’t telling you shit.”
“Wraith.” Carnage comes out from the shadows. “You good?”
“Perfect timing. Phil here is reluctant to speak. Perhaps you could loosen his lips.”
“Phil, as in the leader of this operation?” A savage grin spreads across Carnage’s face. “Is it my birthday?”
“Early gift this year, bror.” I move my gun under Phil’s chin. “Trust me, man. You’d rather tell me than let Carnage get it out of you. We call him that for a reason.”
“I’d rather die,” Phil snarls.
“Oh, you’re going to.” I stand, chuckling as Phil attempts to scramble away. “You got this?”
“Sure do,” Carnage says before descending on Phil.
I walk away to the sounds of pained screams and groans, hurrying back to the warehouses. I take out two more guys on my way. By the time I get there, the vans have been pulled up to face the building and the headlights are flooding the area with light.
Ghost, Phantom, Stealth, and Specter are dragging bodies to the empty warehouse next to us, so I dip inside the warehouse with the doors open.
I hear frightened cries and confused voices, so I head in that direction, finding Whisper, Boone, and Shadow in a large room with at least twenty or thirty people in it.
I jump into action, helping gather victims together, assuring them that we’re here to help and get them somewhere safe. This is more than the Angel Shelter can handle at once, so I can only assume Shadow has a plan. He always has a plan.
Spotting a kid huddled in the corner, I approach slowly. “Hey. We’re here to help.”
He looks up at me with wide, terror-filled eyes, and my heart breaks. He’s a kid. He can’t be more than thirteen or fourteen.
“What’s your name?”
He stares at me for a second before very softly saying, “Theo.”
“Hi, Theo. I’m Wraith. We’re gonna get you somewhere safe, okay?”
“What about those other men?”
“We’re handling them.”
“Are you the police?”
“No.” I offer my hand and the small teenager takes it, allowing me to help him to his feet. His blond hair is tangled and messy, and he looks like he hasn’t had a solid meal in days. His dirty jeans are barely clinging to his too-slim hips. “Where do you live?”
“Red Falls.”
“Red Falls? That’s, what, eighty miles from Mistone?”
“We’re in Mistone?”
“We are. How did this happen?”
Theo shakes his head. “It was so fast. These two guys came around and offered us sandwiches and a few bucks. They said they were from a new church and were doing community work. They invited us down to a youth group. Said they would have food and drinks and we could hear what they were all about.”
“How did they find you?”
“Just hanging out. There’s not much to do in Red Falls, you know?”
I do know. Red Falls is one of the lower income areas afflicted with a lot of crime and drug activity. These kids were obviously targeted.
“Then what happened?”
“We showed up in a field and there were a lot of kids there from around town and the surrounding city. Some of the farm kids were there too. Those guys had vans and said they would drive us to the church, but they served us some punch and cookies first. It all seemed really nice. There was a guy there with a guitar and one of them was carrying a Bible. I don’t care about church and stuff, but I thought it could be cool. Something different to do.”
“Yeah.”