Heath Chapter 18 #2
“Heath, if she’s assaulted, she’ll heal.
You’ve seen what Kensy went through, and look at her.
As for the baby, it takes a lot to disturb them in there.
Hell, Sloan fell down an entire flight of stairs when she was pregnant with Caleb.
We were scared to death, but he was fine.
She was battered and in pain, but he was great. ”
I tried to absorb his words and let them give me hope.
If I lost her, I’d burn the fucking world down to find and kill not only Bolin Zhāng, but Huston and Dallia Masters.
There would be no jail for any of them. They’d fucked with the wrong family.
The Dark Patriot family wouldn’t rest until the danger was eliminated and justice served.
“We need to go get her. Does Zhāng have a home here? If not, then we’ll go and see Dallia. I’ll beat her fucking location out of them,” I growled.
“The team is verifying everything. We’ll go when we know where we should be. We can’t do it in the middle of the day. This requires the shadows. I swear to you, Heath. I won’t stop until we have her back. And you know I have sticking power.”
His determination, his vow, burned in his expression. I gave him a chin lift. I couldn’t get the words thank you outta my mouth. I don’t know how long I sat there before Jackson came out to the truck.
“There’s no sign of anything. The car is still in the garage. We’ve bagged the shoe. The tread marks have been photographed. Prints will be lifted from the door handle just to be sure. We found something else in the bushes.”
He held up a plastic bag. Inside was a rumpled piece of cloth. I must’ve given him a puzzled look because he continued.
“You can’t smell it, but it’s soaked in chloroform. And there are faint drag marks in the grass.”
Before he said more, I heard an engine roaring closer. Brakes squealed as a car came to a stop at the end of the driveway. Out jumped Johann. He appeared frantic as he ran over to us. How the hell did he know anything was wrong?
“I had Gabe contact him. We have his number,” Undertaker told me.
“What the fuck did you find?” was his greeting.
I let Undertaker explain. We were wasting time.
The longer we waited, the more that could happen to her.
Even if Zhāng didn’t intend to kill her, he could get her out of the country.
If he did that, we might never find her.
A chime brought me back to the conversation.
Jackson had walked off at some point. Johann was still talking to Undertaker, who lifted his phone.
He read something. He slid his gaze over to me and then sighed.
“We have the footage from the security camera. I want to view it first.”
“No, I need to see it. Now!” I snapped. I didn’t care if he was my boss or not.
Without another word, he held it where Johann and I could see it, then hit the play button.
It was a short clip. It showed Danae out on the porch.
She was bent over, cleaning the dead leaves and wilted flower heads off the plants.
It was something she did all the time. When I asked why, she told me it made them bloom more and look prettier.
Suddenly, a man came around the corner of the house on the side where there was no close neighbor.
It was like he’d been hiding. He vaulted over the edge of the porch.
She saw him a second before he slapped his hand over her mouth.
She struggled as he held the cloth over her face.
She kicked, elbowed, her shoes trying to find traction, but after five minutes or so, she went limp.
The man, who was dressed in nondescript clothes, dragged her through the bushes, leaving the shoe and the rag behind. A second man joined him, and he lifted her legs. They carried her out of view. Undertaker hit the stop button and enlarged the picture to focus on the men's faces.
“Makayla said the second man is the same one they’re doing the facial recognition search on, the guy with the gun. So I guess that answers that question.”
Undertaker slowly moved the photo around, then he stopped again. “Look. That tattoo on the back of the other guy’s hand. It’s a classic Triad one. It’s the Chinese character that means brotherhood, a common one among Triad members,” Undertaker explained.
“How do you know all this?” Johann asked.
“Because I had dealings in my undercover life with them. There are several more that are common ones. Many Triad members keep them hidden on their chests, backs, and upper arms to avoid attracting the cops' attention, but others wear them openly as a show of intimidation and pride. I can’t say it’s conclusive, but I think between the call and this, we can infer it was Zhāng’s people who took her.
The question is where. Heath, I know you probably won’t like this, but we need to head back to headquarters.
Let me tell Jackson we’re leaving. He’ll lock up when they’re done.
Johann, jump in if you wanna come with.”
As Undertaker got out and rushed inside. Johann got into the backseat.
“We’re going to find her. And when we do, those motherfuckers are gonna scream and bleed. They’ll beg for death before we’re done with them,” he hissed.
I could see the SEAL in him. It would be a contest to see which of us would inflict the most damage and pain.
???
Time dragged by so slowly. I almost lost my cool and screamed at everyone for taking too long more than once.
If it hadn’t been for Ben, Beau, Johann, and Undertaker, I would’ve.
And deep down, as a professional who’d been through tracking down others in the past, I knew the process and how long it took.
But that was different. I wasn’t neutral or only marginally connected to the victim.
My woman and unborn child, my future, were the ones taken.
Johann had to be kept under wraps at times.
We were both deeply involved in the planning.
The techs had come back to say that Zhāng had no permanent home that they could find here in the States.
He stayed when he was in the area at a luxury hotel, or lately, it seemed with the Masters.
These past few months, it has been with them exclusively.
There was always the chance he’d had her taken to an undisclosed location.
But we knew his private jet was still at the airport, and no flight plans for the next day or two had been filed.
We went with the notion that he wasn’t leaving yet.
And if he didn’t have a hidey-hole, he’d take her to the Masters’ estate.
The only other option to consider was that she had been stashed somewhere at the Masters’ import-export warehouses and piers.
That was what the coordination was about.
We couldn’t go to one and then the next.
Both had to be hit simultaneously to avoid tipping them off.
And that manpower had to be gathered and briefed.
While several field operatives worked for the Dark Patriots, several were away on assignments.
As soon as they heard that Danae had been taken, Sean and the others got on the horn.
And they brought in those who could get here within a few hours.
None of the motorcycle clubs we were friends with were nearby.
The closest was the Iron Punishers in Bristol, Virginia, and it was a seven-and-a-half-hour ride.
I hadn’t counted on help from them, but I forgot something.
We had resources that few others had, and they grew when Hadley joined the Patriot family.
Four hours after the call went out, a crowd of hardened bikers walked into headquarters. Their faces were grim, and those still around the office had stopped what they were doing to watch them enter. When I saw them come in, I almost cried.
There stood not only several Iron Punishers but also Warriors from Dublin Falls.
Among the Warriors were Storm, Voodoo, and Blade.
Voodoo was a cousin of Blade, who was with Ben’s sister, Cassia.
Justin was their cousin. As if that weren’t enough, Justin had come in earlier.
He couldn’t go out into the field, but he had a brain we could use.
“Who the hell are those guys?” Johann asked.
“Those are just some of the Iron Punishers and Archangel’s Warriors, our friends and family,” Ben replied.
The bikers nodded and asked what they could do.
It seemed that Mayhem, the Punishers’ enforcer’s old lady, Astrid, who was a pilot for the Patriots, had flown them all up in one of Hadley’s planes.
It eliminated a large portion of those hours we didn't have to wait for them to ride here. Eyes were already out watching the warehouses at the port, while others had the estate under surveillance. If there were unusual activity, they’d let us know.
Weapons were selected and checked over. Chuck was overseeing that process.
No one was taking any of his babies unless he was sure they were handled right.
Maps and aerial surveillance photos, as well as government-level satellite shots, were obtained and studied.
Plans were solidified. I concentrated on what I could and counted down the hours.
We weren’t going in until later tonight.
At eight o’clock, into the war room we’d made of the sixth floor, walked a lone man.
He carried himself like a man who knew the weight of authority.
His spine was straight. His muscular body wasn’t diminished by his silver hair, which highlighted his rugged yet attractive face.
His shrewd gaze took in everything and everyone.
He went straight up to the four Patriot bosses.
I was standing not far from them. He shook their hands.
The bikers in the room gave him chin lifts, or raised hands.
He returned them. What was he doing here?
As if he read my mind, he turned and came to me. He held out his hand. “Heath, I’m here to help. Hated to hear this shit. We’ll get her back,” he said in his booming voice.
“Thanks, I wasn’t expecting you to be here,” I admitted.
“When one of the Patriots has a problem of this nature, you’d better bet your ass I’ll be here. We’re taking out the trash. You must be Lt. Commander Kern,” he said, holding out his hand to Johann.
“Yes, I am. No disrespect, but who are you, sir?” He asked as he shook hands.
“Johann, this is Anderson. He works with the Patriots sometimes,” I explained. I didn’t go into detail because it was hard to explain who Anderson was or who he worked for.
“Anderson,” Johann partially whispered. His tone and the look said he’d heard of the name. It was the same awed reaction he had to Undertaker.
“I’m friends with this motley crew, and I guess family by association. I’ve heard about you, Commander. If you decide to get out of the Navy soon, you should join the team here. If not with them, I have a few other ideas, but that can wait.”
Suddenly, a woman popped up behind Anderson. I recognized her. She gave me a small smile. “Hi, Heath, I’m sorry we’re meeting again like this. Diablo said they’ll be ready if they’re needed. They wanted to be here, but you know the time issue.”
I opened my arms, and she let me hug her. As I did, I explained to a curious Johann who she was.
“This is Electra. She works with Anderson on his personal team. She’s the old lady of Swerve, down in the Florida chapter of the Horsemen of Wrath MC. They’re more of our friends. Electra, this is Johann, he’s a best friend/brother to my woman Danae.”
“I was smart and snapped her away from the FBI. They’re fools,” Anderson grumbled as Electra let go of me and shook Johann’s hand.
“It’s a pleasure, Commander Kern.”
My head was whirling with the implications of the group assembled. We had more than gained enough reinforcements. I couldn’t tell which Punishers and Warriors were here. I knew it would sink in.
“Let’s get up to date, Electra, so we can soon get this show on the road. Heath, we’ll talk more after we get your woman back,” Anderson said before moving off.
It was ten o'clock when we were taken outside and ushered into the various vehicles heading out to hit the two locations. I’d had to decide which to go to.
In the end, Johann went to the warehouse, and I’d head in with the team that was infiltrating the Masters’ estate.
I had no idea why I kept being drawn there more, but I went with my gut.
Everyone was dressed for a night job. All dark clothing, no identifying marks, our faces covered.
The best weapons and equipment were strapped to our bodies.
The vehicles were nondescript and wouldn’t reveal who was in them, even if the cops ran a plate.
The ride to the ritziest area of Hampton seemed to take forever.
As we rode there, I let the chatter wash over me. It was what we did before missions, both when I was in the Army and as a Patriot. It centered me, let me push my emotions back, and let the inner warrior come forward. I gave over control to Wolf.