27. Michael
“Stop scowling. They’re just doing their jobs.”
Eagle taps my shoulder, breaking me from my trance as he takes a seat beside me on the bench. Our backs are to the giant building as we wait for clearance to do what we need to do. From this angle, the building looms large over us.
Logan’s been sitting silent on the other side of me since Dana left. He’s leaning forward with his elbows braced on his knees and his head bowed to the ground.
Seeing as Logan and I are not in the best frame of mind, we volunteered Jack and Jessa to be the ones to handle the deputy and the second officer, and the three of us are watching in silence as they make small talk with the two remaining officers by their car. Grey hovers close by, listening in to them.
“I should have gone with them. Even locked up in the back of the other car. She should have one of us with her.”
Eagle doesn’t respond because I know he agrees. It was our mission: secure Dana and return. We’re soldiers; this is not us completing our mission.
For me, it goes deeper. I accepted it the moment Dana left me in her cabin to use the bathroom.
I don’t want her to be away from me.
We are not our parents, and she is not the sum of her father’s sins.
I should be with her.
“I’ve been thinking.” Logan straightens, then leans back against the building. “We don’t have a unit in the Pacific Northwest. This might be a great location for a third base.” I stare at him for a long minute, processing his words. Then he adds, “Of course, we’ll have to do something about the marijuana farm.”
“What?” Eagle sits up straight with his eyebrows raised high on his forehead.
“We’ll bring you up to speed later.” I stop Eagle, then look at Logan. “What are you talking about?”
Logan tips his head to the building. “Think about it. I heard the girl say they grow pot because they have no other viable option. What if a new base and enough jobs for the town, plus training positions, were to suddenly appear? I wonder what they would do then.” He stands, then faces us and the building. “Look around. This place is remote; it’s accessible by land and helicopter, and there are already a number of buildings standing.” He points at the wall I’m leaning against. “This one alone would be a great tactical training facility.”
He talks a bit more, but I drown him out and glance around.
He isn’t wrong.
This is a town that keeps to themselves, and they’re good at protecting their secrets. We’d have a built-in alarm system in them alone. We’d need hired labor to get the place set up, and then the administration positions and additional team members would cover anyone here who wanted a job. Also, the base would bring in customers to the area’s current businesses—except for the pot farm. The townspeople would definitely have to give that up. We couldn’t be caught operating so close to a grow op. A base nearby would give everyone what they want.
Eagle is listening in with both confusion and interest in his expression.
I open my mouth to give my two cents, then pinch my lips into a thin line and smirk at Logan.
“I know what you’re doing.”
Logan has snapped out of his downward spiral, and he’s trying to help snap me out of mine.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Thanks.”
He nods once, then turns and sits back down. “Still, this is a good location. I’m going to have Link look into the land.”
Jack breaks from his group, heading toward us, and we stand on his approach.
“We’re cleared. Eagle, go with Grey and load Matteo into the back of your vehicle. We’re taking his body with us as proof of death.” He looks at Logan. “You have a picture of the stiff out back?” When Logan nods, Jack continues, pointing at the two officers. “We got them to send a message to Link. He’s on standby to receive that photo for ID as soon as we get into cell range. Since we all woke up here and none of us know where we are, those two will lead us back to Dale’s. We move out in five.”
* * *
Grey starts up the car before turning to glance between Jack and Jessa in the back seat.
“It’s good to see you, Jessa. For the record, none of us wanted to keep this from you. Even Logan. He just?—”
She waves him off. “It’s good to see you too. And it’s okay. I get it. Let’s just get back to Dana. Everything else will sort itself out.” She points at Logan and Eagle’s car, which is already pulling out behind the officer’s cruiser.
Everyone falls into an uncomfortable silence. I turn my attention to the mountains around us, occasionally scanning the sky to catch a glimpse of the helicopter, but I know they are long gone. Even Dana is close to town by now.
After ten minutes of driving, my phone vibrates with notifications. We’re back in range.
I open our group message to find the image of our dead guy. Logan didn’t waste any time getting it to Link and his crew.
There’s an acknowledgment of receipt, then I spend another five minutes staring at a blank screen before Jessa pulls my attention away.
“How are you holding up, Michael?”
When I glance back to answer her, I notice an intensity in her stare. Besides Jack and Link, I was the one Jessa probably saw the most of during the last year. We often worked together to come up with new ideas of ways to find Dana.
At the time, I told Jessa and myself over and over again that I wanted to find Dana because I felt obliged to. The truth was always that I didn’t feel right after she was gone. It wasn’t guilt I was feeling; it was remorse and regret.
And every time I would tell Jessa those little white lies, she would look at me the same way she’s looking at me right now.
“I have no idea.”
The look that usually lingers on her face slips into a kind smile. “Fair enough. She’s lucky to have you fighting for her.”
“Yeah, well, I think we can all agree that we’re lucky to have her fighting for us too.” My phone vibrates as I’m mid-sentence, and I glance down to find a message from Link.
Link
Details incoming.
Stiff is Jake Kenton, DOB 05 07 1982. Multiple warrants. Wanted for murder, suspected murder, and assault in five states.
The message is followed by a grainy image of our dead guy, possibly taken from a security camera.
Jake Kenton.
His name sits in the pit of my stomach like a rock.
“Jake Kenton.” I say it out loud as I glance back at Jack. “This doesn’t add up.”
“What do you mean?”
“Matteo asked Piper if Jake Kenton was there, and she gave him the impression they were working with him. But she told us they neutralized the assassin. They weren’t working with him. They used his identity to lure Matteo to the mining compound.”
“Okay.” He draws the word out slowly as he tries to follow, but we don’t have time.
I hold up my hand, showing four fingers. “There are four assassins on the contract. We have our dead shooter from the street.” I put down a finger. “We have the assassin who attacked Dana in her shop.” I put down another finger. “We have Jake Kenton.” I put down a third finger, leaving one up. “Piper’s team should have never been counted in the four hits. Matteo would have confirmed their identity if they were one of the contract killers. Jessa hired her, not Matteo. We still have one more assassin out there.”
“Shit.”
“Grey, speed up so I can get the deputy’s attention. We need to warn the sheriff.”
Grey swings out, passing Eagle and coming up beside the deputy, and I motion for him to pull over.
When we all stop, I hurry to the driver’s side of their vehicle. The officer rolls down his window as Logan joins us from their car.
“I need you to get a message to the sheriff. We believe there is one more assassin after Dana.”
The deputy reaches for their radio from the passenger side. “This is Pete for Wayne. Come in.”
A few seconds pass before the radio crackles.
“This is Wayne Talbott. Go.”
“Wayne, I have the guys from Cypher with me. They’re sayin’ they think there’s one more hitman lookin’ for Dana.”
There’s silence on the radio for a few long seconds.
“Thanks for the heads-up. See you at Dale’s. Out.”
The sheriff’s response fades through the radio as I turn to run back to our vehicle.
The officer drives with more urgency now. While I’m thankful, it still isn’t fast enough for my liking.
I turn my attention to being useful and text Link.
Where are you with hacking the contract?
Link
It went to the back burner once you went missing.
Get back on it. We have one hitter unaccounted for. I need an ID and a photo ASAP. This is top priority.
Link
I have an idea. Give us some time.
Time.
One of the many things I don’t have.
The sun is hidden by the top of the mountain as we pass a road sign for Rocky Lavender Farm. There are little purple flowers all over it. This must be the front for the grow op Dana told us about.
This is a shit show.
A chuckle bubbles up from my chest, but I hold it in.
Leave it to Dana to hide out here.
Life is anything but boring with that one.
Grey steps on the gas and flies past the deputy, saying, “I know where we are now. He can follow us.”
I’m pacified as the landscape starts looking familiar. We’re getting close to Dale’s.
I spot Eagle and Logan speeding up in my passenger side mirror.
I check my phone every few seconds as we race through the little town.
Dana’s shop sits as dark and silent as the buildings surrounding it.
I know she loved it here. Hardships aside, she had her own coffee shop in a small town. This was what she wanted to do once she and Jessa were released from Zane.
Grey pulls right up to the front, not bothering with a parking spot, and I rush out of the vehicle with my team on my heels.
Inside, Dale is sitting on a stool behind the bar, and all eyes look up as I walk in. I don’t waste any time making my way over.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Yeah. A little off, but I’ll be fine. I’m happy to see you’re all still here. We were gathering supplies to come looking for you until we heard the sheriff on the radio. What the hell happened?” Dale sets a fistful of shot glasses on the bar, nodding his head toward the guys behind me.
“It’s a long story. But first I need to check on Dana and Kaley. Are they in the back?”
Dale’s face pales. “Why would they be here?”
The room tilts and starts to spin as his words echo in my head. I grip the edge of the bar to steady myself. “They left with the sheriff before we did. They should already be here.”
We didn’t pass a single soul on the way here, and I certainly would have noticed if it was Dana and two cop cars.
The cops out here are grossly unprepared for a professional hit.
I spin on my heels.
Logan is the closest to me.
“Get in touch with Link.” He nods and rushes out of the bar.
My men separate down the middle behind me when I start talking to the deputy. “They never made it. Get on your radio.”
Pete turns so fast he almost knocks his officer over, and he runs out of the bar with me on his heels and opens the door to his cruiser.
“Wayne, it’s Pete. Come in. Over.” He meets my glare with wide eyes of his own. There’s no response, and he tries again. “This is Pete. Wayne, Vance, come in. Over.”
“Was GPS ever installed in your vehicles?” I ask as he waits for a response.
Their cars have to be at least fifteen years old, so I know it didn’t come standard.
He shakes his head. “No. Bein’ all the way out here, we get the bottom of the barrel for our fleet.” He returns to his radio, repeating, “This is Pete. Wayne, Vance, come in. This is an emergency. Over.”
Worry etches along the deep lines in Pete’s forehead. He bounces his leg on the ball of his foot, waiting for a response that my sinking gut tells me isn’t coming.
My phone vibrates in my hand. Link’s team was able to open the contract by further hacking Blake Turner’s email.
Link
Your last contractor is Denver Moore, DOB 06 03 1968.
Then an image appears.
The blood drains from my head as my world spins.
This is my worst nightmare.