Chapter Fifty-Six
Carlos
“You know, if being kidnapped, and rescuing people from being kidnapped, is going to be a regular part of our lives, I really need to learn useful skills,” I said as I started researching how to get to Research Circle. I also asked Mercy for Big Tad’s number.
“I’ll teach you all sorts of things, Pumpkin,” Fiona promised. She took Saoirse’s hand. “Let’s get supplies and go retrieve my mate. We have dinner with my dads tomorrow and we cannot miss it.”
Oh, right. I’d forgotten about that.
They left.
Dusty gazed longingly at the chicken. “I’ll put this away. Or should I make to-go boxes for us to eat on the train? I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry.”
“That. We’ll have a bit of a journey to get there, so it makes sense to eat something. Don’t want this nice chicken to go to waste,” I agreed as I stared at my phone. Yep, the train was the fastest way to get there, given we didn’t have a private jet.
Fiona’s dads didn’t have one either.
“You think they’ll bring weapons?” Dusty got down some leftover takeout containers and started packing food, putting the rest away.
“We did mate with assassins.” I plugged everything into the train finder app. Oooh, this could work…
I also got a text from Saoirse asking me for the address and the name of the person we thought had Hale, so that she could have someone run a background search. I sent that to her. I still didn’t feel any panic from Hale, but they may have knocked him out.
By the time the ladies joined us, I’d found the best way to get there and reached out to Big Tad to see if we could get any other information. He offered to leave Hale’s truck at the local train station, with the keys in it, so we could use it.
Where the fuck did Hale live that that was even an option?
“Put these on under your sweaters.” Saoirse handed us bulletproof vests.
“Do you think we’ll need these?” I eyed it.
She shrugged. “Better safe than dead.”
We put them on. Fiona and Saoirse had backpacks. Dusty grabbed a bag and put the food in it.
“Did you pack us a picnic?” Saoirse’s eyebrows rose at the containers.
“We don’t want the food to go to waste and we haven't had dinner,” Dusty replied.
“Good idea, I worked hard making it,” Fiona said as we put on our shoes and left.
Once again, I was off to rescue someone by taking the train. But at the same time, I didn’t feel that Hale was in imminent danger. Yet.
“It really doesn’t take that long to get there,” Fiona said looking at this schedule as we sat on the ultra-bullet.
Dusty got out our dinners.
“Only because we got lucky and the schedules lined up.” I took a bite of the perfectly roasted chicken. “Fiona, this chicken is delicious.”
Fiona took a bite and nodded. “It turned out so well. Did you bring any for Hale?”
Dusty shook his head. “I made him a plate and put it in the fridge with his name on it.”
The trip was quick, but at least we ate. When we got onto the regional train, I saw that Tad had called. I called back.
“Titty Tank only has partial footage of him being taken, the police are being unhelpful. They say it looks more like him going with a friend, and you should call tomorrow if he’s still missing,” Tad replied.
“Really? Thanks for looking into that.” Well, that was zero help.
“No problem. After I get Hale’s truck to the station, I’ll grab mine and I can do a little drive-by. I know where Clegg lives. Maybe I can do some recon and see what’s going on.”
“You really don’t have to,” I said, worried about involving people in anything dangerous.
“It’ll be helpful, you don’t know the area. Should I bring my rifle? Yeah, I should,” Big Tad said.
Wait, did people who were not assassins, military, or people like Dimitri, just have guns? But then Research Circle was not New York.
“If you have to go, maybe just watch, see if you could get some pictures?” I had a feeling I couldn’t talk him out of going.
“Hopefully it’s just Clegg, and not anyone who’s real trouble. I still don’t understand why Clegg took him, other than he was big mad about the drugs. I’ll send you a picture of where I left the truck.” He ended the call.
The bond was still quiet. We’d be there soon.
Still, I worried. What if he wasn’t okay?
Fiona and Saoirse were looking at photos. Apparently, they had satellite images and intel from Saoirse’s sources. Heads together, they were mapping things out, Dusty listening thoughtfully.
Tad called again. “It’s dark, but I can make out a few people in the back barn.
It’s a bit hidden and there’s a decoy barn, so mind that.
They got a whole makeshift lab set up that doesn’t look safe.
Hale’s tied up, looks asleep. There’s Clegg and a couple of his packmates, and some people in the lab.
Most are armed with rifles. Oh, and there’s a real nice truck,” he added.
Pictures came through text. I shared them with Saoirse.
“Thank you. We’re on our way, please get out of there,” I replied.
“Hale’s a good friend. I do what I can,” he said, then ended the call.
Saoirse handed us all earpieces and showed us how to use them, then went over strategy.
“I think there’s only one way to get in. It’ll be a problem, we might need to keep somebody in the car,” she added.
“Yeah, I can do that,” I nodded.
We got off at our station and found Hale’s pickup truck. It was old and beat up, with faded paint. The bumper was covered in stickers.
“This is Hale’s truck?” Fiona shook her head. “I should get him a new one. That would be a nice graduation present, right? Well, if this one lasts that long.”
“Not sure where we’d park it, but that sounds like a nice gift,” I replied.
We got in, the seats were ripped and country music blared on the stereo. There were several boxes of Pig-E’s Honey Buns on the seat.
I plugged in the address into my phone navigation and we set off. There hadn't been any more word from Tad.
As we drove, I looked around. Wow, Research Circle was a lot more developed than I thought. We quickly left the city. Now, I couldn’t see much other than trees and narrow roads. Yeah, I was not the best person to be driving.
Panic shot through me through the bond so fiercely I nearly drove off the road.
“Fuck. He’s awake,” I muttered, turning the wheel to stay on the highway.
“And he’s pissed,” Fiona confirmed.
“Hey, we’re almost there and we’re going to get him because we’re Pack Himbo and no one gets left behind,” Dusty soothed. “We’ve got this.”
He sat in the front with me. Fiona and Saoirse were in the back assembling their guns.
“We do,” Fiona replied as I followed the twists and turns of the road.
“Um, should we be afraid of the legal repercussions of doing illegal things?” I asked. I’d get Hale regardless, but it would be good to know.
Saoirse shook her head. “We’ll handle it. Also, my cousins got into Clegg’s security system. Including the cameras.”
Well then.
Suddenly, the GPS stopped working. “Shit. No more maps,” I said.
Now what? It was dark. What the fuck were we doing? But not getting him was never a choice.
“Reception is shitty,” Dusty added.
“I’ve got you.” Fiona had something in her hand and started navigating. “Keep going. Turn here. Now turn here.”
I turned sharply into a gravel road. We passed multiple no trespassing signs that had little lights on them so you could see them in the dark, like they wanted you to absolutely know you shouldn’t be here.
The whole thing felt like something out of a horror movie.
I stopped short, right before hitting a thick chain across the road.
Saoirse rolled down her window, aimed her big gun, and shot the chain. It fell to the ground, but there was no sound of bullets, just a chain dropping.
“Wow. Look at my wife go. What a fancy gun you’ve got there,” Dusty commented, beaming with pride as I drove over the chain.
“Like you, I invest in quality equipment,” Saoirse replied.
“Okay, I’ve found the barn Big Tad indicated on the map. I think we should leave someone in the car in case we need to exfil quickly, given we don’t have a pickup team,” Fiona replied. “Turn here and go past that barn.”
“The images I could tap into show armed men, mostly with rifles.” Saoirse started talking to Fiona about positioning.
Hale’s panic had switched to calculation.
Wait for us, we’re coming. Don’t do anything reckless. We weren’t being that reckless, right? After all, half of us were trained professionals.
“Should I be the getaway driver?” I asked, a little worried about how far we were from the main road. Also, could I remember how to get back? I frowned. Probably. I was pretty good at that.
“Yes. Dusty, you’re coming with us. You’re our lookout,” Saoirse added.
“Whatever you need, Mi Cielo. Can we rappel off the barn roof?” Dusty gave her a hopeful look.
“No.” She leaned over at whatever Fiona was looking at. “Go off the road and stop by the trees. Turn off the lights.”
I did as she said. Wow, there were lots of stars, and the moon was out.
“Okay, my cousins have full control of their cameras. Let’s go.” Saoirse opened the door. She had three big guns? One went in a holster, one she handed to Dusty.
“I’ve got this, too. In case they have secondary systems we don’t know about.” Fiona had some little device in her hand.
“Good call,” Saoirse praised.
Dusty just stared at the big gun in his hand. “What is this?”
“It’s the real version of what you and your friends use at your adventure range. Only shoot it if you need to, try to maim, not kill. If you die, I will end you,” she told him.
“Same.” He kissed her.
“This is for you.” Saoirse handed me a taser. “Stay here. You don’t have to keep the truck running, but be ready to turn it on and go when I give the word.”
“Copy that,” I replied, giving her a mock salute.
The three of them crept out and I watched them, trying to send as much reassurance through the bond as I could. Now Hale wasn’t exactly panicking, but he was very worried. I grew curious about what was going on.
Maybe I should text Big Tad to see if he was still here. The car was dark and I heard things. I got my phone and let him know that we were here and that they were moving in.
Moments later, there was a bumping sound and some guy wearing ripped flannel and a red cap stood right there at the window with a rifle.
Oh shit, maybe I shouldn’t have gotten on my phone. It probably lit everything up.
“You're trespassing,” he growled.
“We’re just here to do some business with Clegg.” I held up my hands, but didn’t roll down the window.
“Get outta the truck,” he yelled, hitting the window with his gun.
Shit. I tapped the earpiece. “Someone found me. He’s armed.”
“Sending Dusty back,” she replied.
I got out of the car, grabbing the taser.
“Who are you talking to?” The guy’s eyes narrowed.
There was a movement and someone hit him over the head with a shovel, and he fell to the ground.
A giant guy stood in front of me. He was like Grif Graf–not just tall, but broad, built like a tank, he was wearing little wire glasses, not unlike Dusty, and had on a quilted camo jacket, and some camo pants.
Black stuff was spread across his face, and he was holding one of those rifles that kids had in old movies.
“Please tell me you’re Carlos?” the guy asked.
“Big Tad? Thanks for saving me. I owe you a beer for all this.” I asked. Sirens sounded in the distance. Were those for us?
“Anytime.” Tad nodded.
“Dusty go back to Saoirse, Big Tad saved me,” I updated over the earpiece.
“Copy that,” Dusty answered.
“We have eyes on the target,” Fiona replied.
There was the sound of gunfire, and barking of dogs, as the sirens grew louder.
“We’ve got him, these people are idiots. Headed towards you, turn on the truck,” Saoirse said.
Tad sniffed the air and frowned. “Is that smoke?”
“Not sure but the ladies said to start the car.” I got in and turned it on, I could see the red and blue lights. A boom sounded and flames burst from the trees.
Fuck.