CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
They were more than a little relieved to see Iris’s smiling face the next morning, putting out warm biscuits, sausage gravy, pecan rolls, eggs, and two types of sausage. The coffee was hot and strong, and she seemed to have a skip in her step.
“ Good morning. You guys need to check your tablets. We’ve got the location of the manufacturing site,” said Tanner.
They all pulled their tablets from beneath the table, and Iris looked at them curiously. Alistair turned to her, pointing.
“How far is this, Iris?” he asked.
“About sixty miles. It’s not really all that far, but it will take you a while because of the winding roads. To get where that thing is flashing, you’ll have to hike. There’s no road.”
“Of course there isn’t,” smirked Tailor.
“Let me fix you some food to take with you. You boys need weapons? I’ve got a few shotguns in the basement. They need cleaning, but they’ll work.”
“You should really keep your weapons clean, Iris,” said Gator. “I’ll clean them for you before I go. You never know when you might get an intruder.”
“You boys worry about you, and I’ll get the food ready.”
“If this is where they’re making this shit, we’re going to have to move in from all sides to prevent them from running. We’ve got twelve men, but they might have a hundred. Take everything we have,” said Alistair.
“We shut this down,” said Dan. “All of it. Blow the whole thing and send a message that it won’t be tolerated. Then we hunt for the Steiners. If we can’t find them here, we’ll find him at the red-carpet event.”
“Can you guys hear me?” asked Clark.
“Loud and clear, baby,” said Alistair with a grin.
“ They filled me in on everything that was happening there. Victoria played the voice for me of the man you heard, then played a clip of a movie for Lance Stone. I remembered. I didn’t remember initially, but he was there. Lance Stone was there. I glanced up in all the chaos and saw a flash of his face in the firelight. Then he was gone. It didn’t dawn on me who he was. When she played the movie clip for me, I realized that I heard and saw him. The other guys remember as well.”
“It’s probably one of those situations where it’s so out of context it doesn’t make sense at the time. You just needed a reminder, babe,” said Alistair. “Now, at least, we know why he wanted all of you dead. You must have seen him first thing as you left the chopper. That’s why he knew you all would recognize him.”
“I remember he had a weapon on him, but that’s all,” said Clark.
“We’ll get this taken care of,” said Alistair. “I’ll call you when we’re back at the inn tonight.”
With their food in hand and well wishes from Iris, the SUVs took off up the mountain toward the location the drone identified as the manufacturing site. They knew they would have to walk in once they hit a certain point but stopped well before that, hiding the vehicles in the brush.
None of them were worried about a long hike. They were used to long runs and walks with fifty to eighty pounds of ruck on their back. This would be a piece of cake.
At first, Alistair and a few others were concerned about the distance for Alec and Tailor. They should have known better. The two men not only kept up with them but, at times, were well ahead of them. If anyone saw them coming, they’d think they were two Bigfoots traipsing through the mountains.
Holding up a fist, Dan signaled for the others to kneel.
“It’s just up ahead,” he whispered. “Be watchful of booby traps and trip wires. Circle the location, and we’ll close in on them. Once we have them secured, we’ll blow the entire thing.”
The other men nodded, moving off in pairs to encircle the camp. Fires were burning bright, clearly indicating these men didn’t believe anyone was smart enough to have found them. As they moved closer, Alec heard Roper’s voice telling the men they’d be paid with the drugs this week and cash the following week. It seemed most of them were on board.
“I’m gonna kill him first,” growled Alec.
“I count fifteen,” said Sor.
“Same,” said Rett. Alistair nodded at the other men, moving quickly toward the center of the camp.
“Then let’s have some fun.”
Alec and Tailor moved toward Roper first, knowing that he wasn’t using the drugs and was the most capable of running. He was so shocked by the appearance of the two men he didn’t even notice the others closing in on them. Hoping to not fire any shots, they were lucky that the men were clumsy and most likely drugged.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Do you have any idea who you’re dealing with?” snapped Roper.
“Yep. I’m dealing with Bernard Steiner, brother to Milton, a.k.a. Lance Stone,” said Alec, staring at the man. His eyes were so big they thought they might pop out of his head. “Where is he?”
“Fuck you,” he said with a sneer.
“Not nice, little man. Where is your brother?” asked Tailor.
He turned his head to the side, staring at the other men in their group. Silently, he was counting heads to ensure there wasn’t one person that might save them all. The look on his face told them that they’d gotten everyone.
“What do you want?”
“Your brother,” said Alistair. Dan, Gator, Kev, and Matt stood over the zip-tied men, all lined up like sitting ducks.
“Like I said, fuck you,” he said, looking the other way.
“No problem. You’ll die never knowing what happens to this story.” Roper laughed, shaking his head. But Tailor wasn’t amused. He took a step forward, pressing his own weight down on Roper’s leg. When he finished screaming, he spoke again.
“You don’t understand. He’s untouchable. The whole world loves Lance Stone, and the fact that he’s making a drug to make the world thinner, healthier, is only going to make him more revered.”
“Not when it kills everyone who takes it.”
“You won’t kill us. You’re feds,” he grinned.
“You’re out of luck, Roper, old boy. We’re not feds. We’re much, much worse. We operate under no guidance from the federal government or military. We operate by our own rules and regulations. You killed a Marine. A brother. And you’ve tried to kill three more and a female pilot, also a Marine. That’s gonna make you dead,” said Alistair.
Roper’s face paled, and he looked at the men on the ground, shaking his head.
“Which one of you sold me out? Who was it?” he yelled.
“No one here sold you out, you piece of shit,” said East. “We’re just very good at what we do. Now, you can make this easy on yourself and tell us where your brother is, or when we blow this entire operation to kingdom come, you’ll be tied right in the middle of it.”
He laughed, shaking his head at the men.
“It won’t make a difference. Not one little bit of difference. We’ll build another and another and another until we get this shit legal.”
“And we’ll blow all of them, and you will never get this shit legal because we’ve found out what’s in it and why it’s so addictive,” said Alec.
“Addictive?” said one of the men. “You said it would only help with weight loss.” Roper looked away from the man, the others staring at him.
“Are you all on this shit?” asked Alistair. All but one nodded the affirmative. “They have you mixing the components for the weight loss drug with opioids. This shit is as addictive as fentanyl. You won’t be able to get off of it by yourselves.”
“We didn’t know!” yelled one of the men. “We thought we were producing something that was helping people. I swear to God, I didn’t know. My mom died of a fentanyl overdose. I wouldn’t do that to someone else.”
Tailor looked at Alec, then at the rest of the younger men. He stepped back a few steps, dialing a number and talking for several moments. When he was done, he returned to the group.
“You’re going to get the chance of a lifetime here,” he said. “In about thirty minutes, a bus headed to county jail will be coming up the mountain. Right behind is another bus for a rehab facility. You can choose one or the other. If it’s rehab, we’ll pay for it. You’ll still have to appear before a judge about all of this, but if you’re honest, you’ll get leniency.”
There was silence at first. No one was jumping to take the offer. Tailor just stared at the men, confused by the reluctance.
“You’re fools,” smirked Roper. “They won’t take rehab.”
“Shut up,” said Alistair. “They’re grown men who can speak for themselves. Speak up. Do it, or I’ll let this fool speak for you.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to go to rehab,” said one young man. He appeared to be between twenty-five and thirty, wearing a wedding band. “I knew something was wrong with the drugs. I just wanted more and more and couldn’t figure out why. I want to be clean. But then what?”
“Then what?” frowned Alistair. “Then you get to choose the life you want to live.”
“What life? My wife and kids were starving before I got this job. You destroy this, I have no other alternatives other than the mines, and I won’t work there. I refuse.”
“You’re telling me the only jobs in the area are mines and illegal drugs?” said Sor.
“I’m saying that’s our only options,” said the man.
“There are other options,” said Garr, holding up his phone. “I’m looking at job postings right now, jobs that don’t require college degrees. You have opportunity to do anything you want to do. You choose the bus you want to get on, and we’ll not only pay for the rehab, we’ll have someone help you with job placement.”
“Why? Why would you do that for us, mister?” asked another man.
“Because everyone should be able to have a good job and support their family. Not this. Not this bullshit,” said Alistair. “And definitely not the bullshit this asshole is selling when his brother is sitting somewhere in a huge mansion, making millions on shitty films and destroying other people’s careers.”
They let them stew on that for a bit while they pushed all the barrels, boxes, crates, and pill bottles to the center of the grove area.
“Buses are at the bottom near our vehicles,” said Rett. Alistair looked at Roper, and he just stared at him.
“Last time. Where is your brother?”
“Last time,” he sneered, “fuck off.”
“I admire your devotion and brotherly love. I hope your brother honors that at your funeral. He obviously doesn’t give a shit about you since he seems to enjoy placing you in harm’s way and not himself. In fact, he’s hoping you take the fall for it all, which, unfortunately, you will.”
Tying him to the center of the debris, Garr, Gator, and Leif set the explosives and began marching the other men down the hill.
“You’re just gonna blow him up?” asked one of the men, staring at them with shock and horror.
“He had his chance. He chose his future. You get the chance to do the same. If you’re lucky,” said Leif.
Exactly three minutes later, the sky was lit up by the biggest explosion anyone had seen since the last mine collapse. The men all gasped, not believing what had just happened. When they reached the road, they spotted the two buses. Alistair looked at the men.
“Well? What will it be?”