Chapter 18
CHAPTER 18
G en opened the diner and left after a brief conversation with Andrew. Barry sat with Andrew, Senior, Ken, Scott Evers, and Alex Thompson as they waited for people from the Marshall ranch to arrive. Doc Wheeler showed up and was sitting in the corner. No doubt to handle him if he lost it again. The thrum of a chopper lifted all eyes.
Barry moved to the window and watched as Frank Marshall and four men dressed in black utility uniforms exited the helicopter and headed to the diner. Ken opened the door, and Frank Marshall asked, “Sit rep?”
“Kathy has been taken,” Barry stated the obvious.
“Any ransom calls?”
“It wasn’t a ransom call. He said he had her and he’d call to tell me when and where to meet him. ”
“He has her cell phone.” Frank nodded. “Ethan, open that computer of yours and get to work.”
“On it,” the man said as he dropped what looked like an old-fashioned briefcase on the diner bar and opened it. Barry rattled off her number as soon as he powered on the system inside the case. “She’s also wearing a fitness watch with a GPS.”
The man at the case swung around. “On it.” His fingers flew across the keyboard, and he touched his ear. “Brando, man. I’m tracing a cell out here in the boonies. I need an assist.”
Everyone watched as the man worked. “GPS pings. Yeah, a fitness watch. The device's home GPS location would be …” The man Frank Marshall had called Ethan switched screens and rattled off the longitude and latitude of Kathy’s home.
“Hot ping, incoming,” Ethan said. “He’s using the phone now. I’m working it.”
Barry’s phone vibrated. He lifted it, and the room went silent except for Ethan’s fingers flying over the keyboard. Frank Marshall nodded at him. He slid his finger across the phone. “Where are you?”
“Nothing is that easy. She’s going to die if you don’t do exactly as I say. I’ll drop a text with the coordinates at six tomorrow morning. Be exactly where I say at six forty-five, or I hurt her again.”
“Again?” Barry said through gritted teeth .
The sound of Kathy’s gasp and moan tore through the diner. “Again,” the man said and then hung up.
There was no rage that time. A unique, quiet certainty fell over him. He looked up at Ken. “I’m going to tear that bastard apart with my bare hands,” Barry vowed.
“Can’t say as I’d blame you,” Ken said. “But if you do, I’ll take you in.”
“If he kills her, my life is over anyway.” Barry could feel Wheeler’s eyes on him, but the man had enough sense not to try to dissect that comment. There was no middle ground now. The bastard who took her made sure of that. He put an iron fist around that rage and targeted it all toward that bastard. There was no emotional baggage on that trip. He didn’t care what people thought of him. It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but getting to Kathy.
“Okay, I have a wide radius. With cell towers this far apart, it’s as best as I can get you, and what you’re getting next isn’t exactly legal. Not without her permission, anyway. I accessed the microphone. He was talking to her while he was taking the battery out.” Ethan pushed play.
Shut up, bitch! The sound of flesh hitting flesh and a gasping moan from Kathy echoed through the deadly silent room. I can see that position from here. Time for …
Barry straightened his back and looked over to Mr. Marshall. “I need that radius.”
“Figured, but I have something better. He wants you to come alone. Then let’s figure out where his line of sight is.” Frank Marshall nodded to a man who pulled out a map of the area. “Ethan, give me the plot.”
Ethan gave the coordinates. A plot, indicated by a small circle made with an old-school compass and protractor. Barry pointed to the high ground. “He’d be there.”
Everyone nodded. “He’s watching for you, so you’ll give him something to watch. Meantime, a few of us will be moving up on him.”
“He said he’d kill her if he saw anyone.” That was Senior talking.
Barry stared at Mr. Marshall, and he saw the certainty in the man’s eyes. “He won’t see them.” Barry cocked his head. “Will he?”
“Not until they let him,” Ethan spoke while typing.
“He’s mine.” Barry was still staring at Mr. Marshall.
“If at all possible.” Mr. Marshall looked over at Ken. “I’ll brief you after the fact. Less you know, the better.”
“I’ll be on the road. Let me know what I need to know. Also, the Bigfoot in Edna’s photographs today wasn’t carrying a rifle as far as I could see.” Ken stopped on his way out of the diner. “Don’t get yourself killed. I owe you one for the headbutt.” He put his hand on Barry’s shoulder and gripped it tightly before walking out.
“Now, down to the plan. Scott, you’ll be the spotter for Alex. Alex, pick your position, and let us know when you arrive.” Mr. Marshall pointed to one of his men. “Comms.”
The man produced a small box with earpieces in it. “ They aren’t contoured for your ears, but at the moment, I don’t care if they’re uncomfortable.” Ethan pulled one out from the box. “They’re all in listen mode except for this one. Scott has his own comms.” He hit a small button twice on the earpiece and handed it to Barry. “You’ll be heard by everyone. When you talk, we’ll hear it.”
Alex held up his hand when the box was passed to him. “I have mine, too.” He pointed to his ear, and Barry did a double-take at the mechanic.
“How will you get to some unknown location in just forty-five minutes?”
Alex adjusted his leg. “We’ll leave here, gear up, and have the night to move into our best guess positions; you won’t.”
“An ATV,” Andrew said. “Fucker didn’t say how he was supposed to get there.”
“Who has an ATV in town?” Mr. Marshall asked.
“Declan,” Alex said. “I fixed the throttle on it a week ago. He’s keeping it at the bar to use to pull the grills around.”
“Scott?”
Scott Evers stood up and headed out the door. “On it.”
“Now, here’s the plan. Scott and Alex will take overlook.” Mr. Marshall looked up at Alex. “You are our last line of defense. If this plan goes to shit, you take that bastard out.”
Alex nodded. “I’ll head over and get my weapon. Tell Scott I’ll meet him behind the diner. I’m assuming we’re leaving from the ranch?”
Senior straightened and ran his hand over his face. “Excuse me, fellas. I’m not a military man. This talk isn’t settling well.” He sat down. “Take him out?” Senior sighed.
“Consider it the same as taking out a predator that has been killing your stock, and then remember that the bastard has Kathy.” Mr. Marshall stared at Senior.
“I know.” Senior nodded his head. “I know, and I agree. I never thought I’d hear or concur with such a plan, but I do agree. I just … What happens when he’s dead, and people start asking questions? I don’t know if I want Andrew, Barry, Alex, or any of the other younger ones in on this. They have their entire life ahead of them.”
“No one is going to know about this.” Marshall looked at each man in the room, including Wheeler. The doctor gave a slight shrug to his shoulder as if the talk was something he’d heard before. “Now, if something happens and someone is injured or worse, Guardian will step in. Until then, we’re working on our own accord. This is not a sanctioned operation; this is a community coming together to rescue one of its own. Alex, you and Scott will leave from the ranch.”
Barry heard the ATV coming down the street and pulling up in front of Phil’s garage. Scott got off and started to fill the gas tank.
Mr. Marshall tapped the map. “Now, for the details. Dixon and Drake here will be on standby with the helicopter. Close enough to be there quickly, far enough away the bastard won’t think we’re looking for him. Andrew, Doc Cassidy here, and a few fellas living out on the ranch will be your backup. This is what we’re going to do.”
Barry listened to the plan. He would be the distraction so others could move closer and into position from the general area they’d be located in by morning. It wasn’t perfect, but there were so many unknowns that a perfect plan couldn’t be devised. He realized it sucked, but there was no disputing the fact.
“Everyone will leave from my ranch, that is, except you.” Mr. Marshall pointed to him. “Does anyone have questions?”
Ethan waited for a moment, then said, “Not a question, but the GPS isn’t registering. Brando has it monitored. If it comes up, we’ll know.”
Barry snapped, “Why would that happen?”
“The battery is dead, or it’s shielded. It doesn’t matter. We’ll be able to get him pinpointed with his phone call in the morning,” Ethan said.
“That would be the plan,” Mr. Marshall said. “Barry, you’ll leave from town.”
“I’ll leave from her house.” He nodded.
“It’s dark and late now. The town knows something is up, but we’re not saying anything about what’s happening.” Mr. Marshall looked at him .
Barry nodded. “Ken is informing Kathy’s parents. I’ll go to her house and keep my mouth shut.”
Mr. Marshall looked over at Senior, who stood up and put his hands on his hips. “I haven’t heard a thing, won’t say a thing.”
“Then we’re heading to the ranch. We have some work to do, and getting out there on horseback will take some time. Getting closer on foot, even longer. Use those comm devices. Don’t forget them.”
Mr. Marshall said it to everyone, but Barry looked down at the earpiece and answered, “I won’t.”
The men all shook his hand on the way out, and he thanked them for their help. As the last one filed out, he felt rather than saw Doc Wheeler behind him.
“Look, Doc, not now.” Barry shook his head. “I don’t want a sit-down.”
“I know. I wanted to tell you that you have everything you need to get this job done. You lost it when you found out about Kathy. But here, now, you’re completely capable of handling this situation. If he baits you, recognize it. No matter what condition Kathy is in, you know what the next step in the plan will be. He can’t take that away from you. There’s a plan. Now, it’s up to you to execute it.”
Barry narrowed his eyes at the doctor. “You’ve done this before.”
“This isn’t about me.” Doc Wheeler extended his hand. “Bring her home. ”
He shook the offered hand and left the diner. He’d bring Kathy home or die trying.
Barry stopped at the top of the large swell and looked at the compass he’d strapped to the gas tank of the ATV. The night had dragged on. Sleep was never going to happen. Instead, he busied himself cleaning her house. He wanted nothing of the struggle to be there when he brought her home. Fuck the evidence. The only thing they’d need it for would be to prosecute the fucker. But if he had his way, the man would never face a jury. Barry glanced at the compass again, adjusted his course, and took off again. “You’re about a half mile from the checkpoint.” Ethan had talked to him throughout his journey, giving him time hacks and information about the others. The plan was solid, but for it to work, Fish’s brother needed to concentrate on him. Hopefully, showing up on the ATV would be unexpected enough to pull off that trick.
“Do we have a visual yet?” Ethan asked as Barry powered up the next hill.
“Negative.” Alex’s voice came over the communications device.
“You’ll need to keep him on the line as long as you can, Barry,” Ethan reminded him.
He knew what he had to do and didn’t bother to respond to the reminder. He shot down the hill and followed the bottom wash out to the east a bit before he came up over the hill. The ATV launched over the top of the hill and landed hard. Barry held on and powered up the gas, tearing up the prairie as he landed. A cloud of dirt and dust spit into the air behind him. They told him to make his arrival noisy, so he would. He located the flat of land the map had said was the place he was supposed to be. He gunned the engine and flew across the semi-flat land before slamming on the brake and spinning the ATV in a circle. Dirt and dust flew all around him. He cut the engine and stood up on the ATV.
He lifted his arms and shouted, “I’m here, motherfucker!” If that didn’t get and hold the bastard’s attention, nothing would. His phone vibrated in his pocket.
“Where are you, you son of a bitch?”
“Temper.” The voice he’d memorized taunted him.
“I’ll show you more of it, you bastard. Quit hiding and face me like a man.”
“Like you did my brother? Looked at him in the face and then left him.”
Barry ass-planted on the ATV. “How …”
“How did I know? He recorded his death for me. He left it on his cell phone for me to discover. The military didn’t even bother to power up his cell before they shipped it and what was left of him back home.”
“Keep him talking. Wait! Never mind, we have a fix on the GPS. He must have moved her,” Ethan said, snapping Barry out of the thrall the words had thrown him into .
“I told them as soon as I could. As soon as I came out of my head, I told them.”
“But it was too late, wasn’t it? You saw him. Admit it!” the man roared into the phone.
“I fucking admit it! I couldn’t talk! I was locked in my own fucking head. I didn’t speak for almost a year! Check the records!”
“I don’t need to check anything. I watched my brother die. You left him. You and that waste of flesh captain. And they gave him a fucking Medal of Honor for his bravery. How brave do you have to be to leave a man behind?”
“All personnel, the coordinates are being sent now.” Ethan’s words were as sweet as honey, and yet she was in danger. He had a job to do. The next step. Concentrate on the next step.
“I want to see her.” Barry moved the conversation on. His mind was reeling. He knew he’d seen Fish. He knew it. The realization he wasn’t seeing things freed him and weighed him down at the same time. If only he could have said something. No! The next step. It was all that mattered.
“Oh, you will. Due east four clicks. Stop at the base of the small bluff, get off the machine, and raise your hands in the air.” Barry dropped to the ATV and hit the ignition. He gunned the machine and spun it toward the east, holding the gas and brake simultaneously. He sent a cloud of dirt into the air and dropped into the next valley. If he couldn’t see the ridgeline, the fucker couldn’t see him. He looked up, saw nothing but the hill before him, and shifted the ATV into neutral. Revving the engine, he counted to five and then kicked it back into gear, launching back up the hill. It would be his standard operating procedure for every hill big enough. He was wasting time without looking like he was wasting time. It would give his backup time to get into place. He hoped.