by A J Storm
24
Several dark figures stood in the front yard of the Maxy’s home. Along the way up the drive, they passed by the three ranch hands’ quarters, spying several men crouched outside the doors.
Positioned in front of the door, Viper looked down at his watch, pressing the illumination button. Eleven twenty-five flashed a brilliant neon green in the dark. His anticipation level rose off the charts as he watched his timepiece tick off the seconds.
One minute before the ordered time, Viper moved to allow three of his largest and bulky men in front to break down the door.
“Twenty, nineteen,” he started counting out loud. “Don’t be surprised if alarms go off. It won’t matter, so ignore them. Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one… Now.” The burly men rammed the door together with their shoulders, then kicked it open the rest of the way.
“Six of you search the downstairs for the staff, and you four come with me upstairs. Be wary because they will have heard the door by now. Go,” Viper ordered.
The five men checked all the bedroom doors upstairs. Two of his men found Mr. Maxy and his wife and had them on their knees at gunpoint. One of the others joined them and zip-tied their wrists, then took them down to the living room where Viper had ordered them to take everyone.
The last two men joined Viper in front of a locked door after they had checked all the other rooms. “Break it down,” Viper ordered. No one could be seen inside the bedroom, but someone had slept in the bed. He hoped it was Nova because then all the shit would go away, and he would have her.
He found the bathroom closed, and when he tried it, another door was locked. “I know someone’s in there. You might as well come out because my guys will just break it down.” Only silence filled the bedroom, and Viper lost his patience. “Bust it down.”
Before they attempted to break the door, the lock on the doorknob popped, and Willow walked out with her hands up.
“Well, looky here what we got. We got ourselves the sister. You’re sure a pretty thing—prettier than your sister. Where is she?” Luckily, Willow had slipped on a pair of yoga pants under Creeper’s t-shirt.
“I don’t know. I haven’t found her either, thanks to you.” Viper slapped her across the face, cutting her lip.
“Zip-tie her wrists, then take her down to the living room with the others. When you get down there, zip-tie everyone’s ankles. I’m going to recheck the rooms up here.
“Yes, boss,” one replied.
Viper check every room and bathroom, satisfying himself no one else was up in the rooms. When he went into the living room, all the staff and family were securely tied on the floor.
A pair of boots were heard on the hardwood floor, stepping over the debris of the broken door. Viper’s men immediately pulled their weapons on whoever was walking in.
“It’s Tom, boss… I’m coming in.”
“Put your guns down, boys, it’s one of us. How’d it go, Tom?”
“Without a hitch, sir. No one had to fire their guns. The ranch hands were totally surprised. I just wanted to give you a report on the rest of us. There are seven guards at the gate, and everyone else is around the house.”
“Good job. You all will be rewarded for this.” He turned to the family and stared each one down. “What I want from you is to tell me where your other daughter is. She has something I want, and I won’t take no for an answer.”
When no one spoke, he stuck his gun against Willow’s head and repeated his question. Her father spoke up.
“No, don’t, please. We don’t know where Nova is. She wouldn’t tell any of us, including her sister. It’s why we hired an investigative service—to find her.” Willow arched her eyebrows at her father when he took the blame for hiring the Jacksons.
“Well, it seems she’s smarter than the private dicks because they haven’t found her yet. Or have they?” he asked, poking the gun back at Willow’s head.
“No, they haven’t,” Willow shouted at him.
“You’ve got spunk, I have to give you that much. Here’s what I’ll do. I’ll wait until sunrise before I take my next step. You all get as comfortable as you can and go back to sleep. I’ll be in the kitchen boys, making some coffee and looking for harder drinks for later. Word of warning—if anyone touches the little lady, I’ll cut your dicks off.”
He left the room followed by Tom. Mrs. Maxy was on the floor next to her husband, crying and outraged at the situation they were in. Mr. Maxy scooted closer, doing his best to keep her quiet. The butler was in between the maid and the cook, keeping them calm as well.
Willow licked her lip where she was cut, watching the men holding the guns. She was scared, but more for Chaos than herself. His anxiety would skyrocket and throw him into his PTSD mode if he were to hear about the situation. He had promised her to talk to her first before he went for a tattoo, but this would blow his mind.
Viper searched through drawers and cabinets, looking for supplies to fire up the coffee machine. Once he got it going, he looked through the refrigerator and found a couple cartons of Modello beer and a couple of wines. Good enough. Finally, in the pantry he found enough snacks to feed his men and more Modello to restock the fridge.
“I’m going into the family room and stretch out on the sofa. Wake me at sunrise or if the hostages act up. Keep your eyes on things, Tom.”
Chaos woke long before the sun rose over the buildings around his. The coffee in his hand was hot and tasted like a rush of power. He showered, ate a bagel with cream cheese, and waited for the light of day to brighten the sky. Howler and Sadie were still in their room—probably still in bed.
He intended to leave for Willow’s house before they woke. His reasoning for going so early—cooking a nice lunch and surprising her before sex. Her face filled his mind, warming his insides.
A buzz vibrated his cell phone in his pocket. He didn’t recognize the phone number, and he almost didn’t answer. Then again, it could be a client stuck somewhere, and he couldn’t simply ignore the call.
“This is Chaos Jackson.”
“Just the person I’m looking for,” Viper goaded. “You’ve heard of me, I’m sure. The name is Viper, and I know you’ll be interested in this. I’m standing in the Maxy formal living room with Willow, her parents, and her parents’ staff. They, along with all their ranch hands, are all tied up. They will stay that way until Nova shows her face here in the doorway, or until I start shooting one hostage for every hour she’s not shown. I haven’t decided on that yet. And you know, Chaos, your woman looks mighty fine to all the men with me—just saying.
“If you touch her—”
“She’s safe as long as I get what I want,” he interrupted.
“Viper, we don’t know where she is. She refused to tell anyone.”
“Then do the smart thing and advertise the plight of her family. She sees it, and she’s bound to come out. I’m sure you can handle that. No cops, Chaos—we’ll shoot first and ask after. Do your best, lover boy, or I may get horny myself.”
Viper hung up. Chaos roared at the sunshine coming through the window at the top of his lungs. Immediately, he hit the speed dial for Creeper. Howler and Sadie ran out of their room at the sound of Chaos’ rage. He put his hand up as Creeper answered.
“What the fuck, Chaos? Do you know what time it is?”
“I sure as fuck do. Pack all the people in your home and bring them here to the penthouse. Your townhouse isn’t big enough. Have Mac help you call the guys who back you up. I want everyone involved to be in the conference room in the office.”
“You’re fucking crazy.”
“No, brother, I’m fucking angry. Viper has Willow and the entire ranch locked up. That tells me he has a small militia working with him. You and Nova have created one fucked-up mess, and you’re going to help me remedy it.”
“Oh, shit, man… I’ll get everyone up… be there in an hour.”
Howler and Sadie stood staring at the fear and anger splashed ac
ross Chaos’ face. “What can we do, Chaos?”
“We’re going to need your sniper skills, dude. If you know anyone who can help, get them here.”
Creeper pushed on the shoulder next to him in his bed. “Nova, you’ve got to get up. We have to go.”
Without throwing on clothes, Creeper ran down the upstairs hall, banging on doors and yelling for everyone to wake up. He stood at the top of the stairs and yelled for whoever crashed in the living room the previous night.
Nova sat on the side of the bed when he walked back through the door. “Creeper, what is going on? You’re acting crazy,” she posed.
“You haven’t seen crazy yet. Get dressed—we have to go to the penthouse.”
“Why?”
Exasperated, he continued, “Nova, just get dressed. I’ll explain on the way.”
“No. You’ll tell me now, or I won’t go.”
Right then, Lyle walked in with a crying baby from the shouting, followed by Mac and a couple of Creeper’s sniper buddies. He sat on the bed with his head in his hands. “It’s a fucked-up mess, y’all. Chaos called, and he’s out for blood.”
“Because I’m here? I thought we settled that,” Nova remarked.
“No, woman, Chaos got a phone call from Viper. Viper has Willow, your parents, and the entire ranch tied up and holding them as hostages. He’s demanding you come to him, Nova.”
She stood, her nightgown flowing down to her knees as her hands caressed the bump in front. “Well, I won’t do it.”
“He told Chaos if you don’t, he’ll shoot one person for every hour you don’t show. He even threatened to rape Willow. You have to come with us—I’m sorry, Nova.”
She swallowed through her silent tears as she sat back on the bed, staring at her hands over her baby.
“Lyle, pack up what you need for the baby. We’ll let Sadie watch him. I’m sure Howler will be with us. Mac, start calling all my teams. You know where I keep my phone numbers and tell them the address. We’re meeting in the conference room in an hour. The rest of you guys load up what firearms, camouflage, and ammunition we have here. The penthouse has weapons, too. Okay, get going.”
Creeper felt awful for snapping at her. He’d never seen her look so lost before—like a child. “Nova, honey, please get dressed. We’ll sort this out when we get there. I promise.”
Without a word, she walked to her closet, pulled out some clothes, and walked into the bathroom, closing the door.
Except for Sadie and the baby, Chaos was alone in the penthouse, pacing the length of the room. His gut burned from the worry, fear, and anger over Willow being caught up in this.
Yes, he wanted to hurt himself.
Instead, he heard her soft voice telling him she’d help him talk through the situation. And he knew she would—once he rescued her.
Sadie had been smart enough to take the baby into their room and let him work it out in his own mind. When he stopped pacing dead center in the room, she stood with the boy in her arms in the doorway.
“I knew you’d work it out,” she declared.
“How?”
“Because you’re a Jackson.”
He smiled at her and walked toward the elevator, stepped inside and turned around.
“Yes, I am,” he announced as the door closed.
When the door opened, he stepped into an office overflowing with men, young and older, some dressed in jeans, military uniforms, and sweats. The line of men went from surrounding Maggie’s desk through the doorway of the conference room and packed inside. Chaos was overwhelmed. He stood frozen as his eyes roamed over the different faces.
His eyes caught Howler’s, then Creeper’s, Mac’s, and then—Nova. He focused on her. “Darlin’, what are you doing here? You need to ride the elevator up and stay with Sadie.”
25
Nova bristled at Chaos’ tone when he told her she needed to go upstairs. “I’m going. She’s my sister, and I love her, too.”
He shook his head. “I know you want to…” Chaos started.
“No. I’m going. I can help, and this is my mess,” she insisted.
Chaos looked to Creeper for help. Creeper silently moved his head slowly back and forth. Chaos heaved a sigh and spoke.
“I’m astounded and honored you’re helping my family. These thugs we’re going after have zero regard for others. They blindly follow their leader. Viper is a sociopathic killer and encourages his men to act the same. I spoke with a few contacts at the police, highway patrol, and sheriff’s departments to stay away. If Viper even gets a hint the law is anywhere near the house, he’ll kill the hostages and get out before they can get in. I also told them we won’t be taking prisoners. I may pay for that later.”
Chaos was interrupted by four American Indians walking into the room followed by his pilot for the Jackson jet. One older man in the front he knew as Ben, but the three younger ones he didn’t know. Howler moved forward to greet them, grasping Ben by the hand.
“Old man, thanks for coming. Chaos, you remember Ben,” Howler uttered, smiling at his friend. Chaos grabbed Ben’s hand and shook it as Howler continued. “I can’t remember who was around for the brief time you were there, but this is Jay, who saved my life, and this is David. He runs the tribal security, and this is his deputy, Sam. You have Sadie to thank for this. They are four of the best bow and arrow marksmen in their tribe—silent killers.”
“Thank you. We can use your skills,” Chaos offered.
Once again, Chaos scanned the faces around the room as they watched him.
“Someone give me a head count in here. We need a plan to go after them in the daylight. It’ll be more difficult, but we have the talent and technology right in this room. Viper took over the bunkhouses, and he has a lot of men working with him on that ranch.”
One kid hollered from behind Maggie’s desk, “I counted seventy-five.”
Another from the conference room shouted, “I got seventy-four.”
“Good enough,” Chaos answered. “Thank you, Creeper, for calling in your teams of snipers and having them meet us here. What do we have in the way of camouflage available?”
Creeper spoke to that question. “I called the same day you called me about Viper, and my teams use camo according to the weather, terrain, and night/day conditions. We have it covered although at the ranch, we won’t have much advantage of trees and bushes. The area around the house and the bunkhouses is pastureland and dirt. My guys have ghillie suits in a tan color with them which should blend in. Around the main house, they’ll use the green color. There are thick trees on either side of the gate entrance.”
“Perfect,” Chaos answered. “Ben, I’m sure they’ll have guards posted at the gate. You and your men come up through the trees and take the guards out with your arrows—at the same time preferably—through the heart. Leave no one alive… I don’t want any warnings given to the main house.”
Deep in thought, Nova glanced up at Chaos. “Wait, I have a better way to enter the gate, and Viper will be kept busy while you position these guys around the ranch.”
Chaos didn’t really want to mess with her, but Howler whispered into his ear. “Just listen and give her a chance. We’re going into this on the losing end of things. We need all the ideas we can get, man.”
Chaos straightened his stance, trying not to let his grumbling out. “What do you have, Nova?” She was moving to the doorway so everyone could hear her.
“What I was thinking was let me drive my car up to the gate and let the guys there know who I am. I can go to the house and keep Viper busy while you bring your men onto the ranch. That will give you time to move everyone where you want them to be, doing what you want them to do. One of the men will call Viper and let him know I’m coming in. That will be all he thinks about at the beginning. Once the guy makes the call, then shoot them at the same time.”
Chaos stared through her, rocking back and forth on his feet. He didn’t want to mess with one more hostage to worry about. No one
else was talking while they waited for his response.
“That’s actually a great idea.”
“No, it’s not. She doesn’t need to walk into that house by herself. There’s no telling what will happen to her,” Creeper protested.
Mumbles of ‘smart lady,’ ‘great idea,’ and ‘I agree’ chimed in from around the room.
“But Nova, are you sure you can do this? Like Creeper said, will you be okay to go in alone?” Chaos asked.
“Yeah, he won’t physically hurt me as long as I’m carrying the baby. He’ll probably lock me up once the guns start.”
Creeper glared across the room at Nova. True to his nature, his eyes grew wild and crazy as he watched her stubborn expression.
“Please, baby, please don’t do this. I don’t want to lose you or the baby. Viper doesn’t care who he hurts as long as he gets what he wants.”
“Creeper, I want to help. I need to help. I’m going in.”
Chaos finally jumped in the conversation and accepted Nova’s wishes.
“Okay, Ben, you and your men wait for the guard to call the house. When he puts his cell away, take them out. Nova, you will drive up to the house. The rest of us will come through the gate and make our way to our assigned positions. If any guards are on the outside of the bunkhouses, they need to be knifed and the body drug off where they can’t be seen. Also, once we are within eyesight of the house, be on your bellies crawling. No one walks—you crawl.”
Creeper looked down at his feet and smiled. “Chaos, we’re snipers. We know the drill. It’ll be okay, bro.”
Chaos cleared his throat and continued, “Once you’ve freed the ranch hands, don’t let them leave their building until you know we’ve breached the house. I don’t want anyone to start shooting their guns—yours are silent—theirs aren’t. After the guards surrounding the house have been put down, Howler and I will lead a group of twelve in first…”
