The chief scanned the documents and emailed them to Beau, who forwarded them to everyone else on the FBI’s team.
“Unfortunately,” Beau said, “whoever prepared this note took considerable liberties with the truth. There is no reward that I’m aware of.”
The chief chuckled. “I already told the gal I hadn’t heard of any reward either, so she shouldn’t get her hopes up.”
“The main thing is,” Beau said, “we need to figure out where that bus went from here.”
“Could be quite a ways away by now. While I was waiting for you, I checked the local gas stations to see if by chance they’d filled up. It turns out, yep, and I even picked up a little video for you. Only two cameras, I’m sorry to say.”
“Jesus Christ! Great news! Don’t apologize. Let’s see.”
The chief turned on his computer and opened a file. It showed the Galway bus pulling into a gas station behind a black sedan. Both vehicles fueled up. Even better, several men walked around and were clearly visible. One dumped dozens of bags of trash, and two others entered the convenience store to buy snacks and water. Lots of snacks and water. “There’s no doubt you found the right assholes, chief. Fantastic. Send me those videos, and we’ll get their faces plastered all over the news.”
“You betcha.”
Next, Beau turned to a different subject. “Are you aware of any sales or new construction in this area of multiple-unit housing units, like an apartment building or a lodge or a private camp?”
The chief looked at Beau askance. “You’re kidding, right? Telluride is where all the action is, on the eastern edge of the county. The goddamned mountains are being smothered with new construction. Ruining the beauty of the San Juans.”
“What a shame. How big is this county anyway?”
The chief pulled out a fading paper roadmap of Colorado. He drew with his finger to show that San Miguel County extended from Telluride in the east, all the way to Utah in the west.
Beau and the chief called Yang and brought him up to date.
After asking lots of questions, the agent-in-charge said, “Beau, focus on tracking down the bus. It likely kept going west, but that could mean northwest, or southwest, too. I’ll send somebody to Telluride tomorrow to check San Miguel County’s records. You concentrate on the no man’s land between Norwood and Utah.”
“Yes, sir,” Beau said. “The bus took on a hundred and forty gallons of diesel, so it might make it to Vegas on the tankful. And between here and there, so much empty land to disappear in.”
“Don’t get discouraged. Find a motel room and start again early tomorrow and update me each time you get to a place with a cell signal or Wi-Fi.”
-o-o-o-
Homestead House
Leo was relieved when dinner ended. His relationship with the rest of the staff had turned for the worst, thanks to the unwanted promotion. They all seemed to wonder why they hadn’t gotten the chance to take charge.
Following the tradition among mercenaries, Leo had taken all of Misha’s things including Krugerrands, uncut diamonds, and most importantly, the passkey for Misha’s Cayman Islands account. That was worth a half-million Euros…unless Misha had lied his ass off.
Best of all, Leo got Cici. He was as horny as he’d ever been. In the past, she’d always been sweet and kind to him, but they’d only been friends. But she was already treating him like her new King.
When the dinner broke up, most of the guards and their girlfriends headed to the game room or the TV room. But Leo led Cici to the master bedroom, running his hands over her along the way. She giggled and teased him about how she needed to get out of her too-warm clothes.
As soon as he locked the bedroom door, he peeled her down to bare skin. God, she was gorgeous. And built like the best Moscow hookers and actresses. Her thousand-watt smile told him she needed a thorough fuck. Unlike Misha, he wouldn’t be too drunk to keep her satisfied.
She was unbuttoning his shirt when the encrypted phone in his breast pocket rang. The display said, Mr. Langer.
Son of a bitch!
“Ya really better get that, sweetie pie,” she said. “Misha stopped doing everythin’, and I mean everythin’, when that damned phone rang.”
Sabin had also warned him never to ignore it. He pulled out the phone. “Mr. Langer? This is Leo.”
“Are you alone?” the asshole asked.
“Yes, sir.” Leo put his finger against his lips for Cici to be silent then pointed at the master bathroom.
She grinned at the trick they were playing on the big boss, headed to the bathroom, and quietly closed the door.
“We have a bigger problem than I expected,” Langer said. “The FBI is chasing you. You must’ve seen the cable news shows.”
Leo wasn’t about to admit his ignorance. “Yes, sir, but we’re safe here. Nobody will find us.”
“Let’s hope not, but this experiment is too important to take any chances. I probably should’ve shipped you to Nicaragua, but I’ve promised the future parents of our babies that their children would spend their prenatal lives in the United States where they can receive the best possible medical care.”
“Nicaragua?” Leo asked, puzzled. That’d popped out of nowhere. But he realized the advantage immediately. It would be far safer for him because the fucking FBI had no jurisdiction, and the government there was very hostile to the United States.
“I agree, sir, that’s a much better location for your most excellent experiment. And remember, we’re keeping the surrogates’ location a secret, so, the babies’ eventual parents will never know whether the wombs their babies live in are in the US.”
“True,” the lunatic said, “but there’s one more thing. Spent hundreds of thousands of dollars making your facility wonderful. If you move to my headquarters in Nicaragua, that money will have been wasted.”
Fuck the money. He was a billionaire. “I know you have a large militia there. They’ll protect our operations from snooping cops and everyone else.”
Langer’s voice brightened. “True, I have thousands of men under arms two hours east of Managua. They keep my cartel partners safe. Maybe it is time to cut my losses in the US.”
Leo couldn’t wait to get away from American law enforcement and their ridiculous laws against genetic experiments. “You’re right, sir. Down there, you won’t have to snatch women off the streets to be surrogates. In Central America, females are available free for the asking. Most people are so poor that they’ll happily work for nothing if you provide them decent food and housing.”
Langer sighed. “I know, but I spent so much money in Utah.” He paused. “Of course, we could move most of the equipment.”
It was a good point. “Exactly. A lot of the money won’t be wasted. It’s never too late to make the right decision.”
Another pause, then Langer said, “I’ll think about it. Fortunately, my cartel friends have an inside source who can warn us if the Feds figure out where you are.”
Leo laughed. “Outstanding, I’ll sleep better tonight knowing that.”
After Langer hung up, Cici walked out of the bathroom—a frown on her face. She had probably felt neglected, but he could take care of that.
Seeing her in all her naked glory reminded him of his most important business this evening. The asshole and his problems could surely wait until morning.
He pulled the girl into his arms. “Time for us to get to know one another, my lovely.”
That brought the smile back to her face.
Chapter 19
By morning, Athena felt better, at least physically. Her butt and thighs had scabbed over. But when she stepped down the stairs to breakfast, the pain in her muscles was horrible. It would take a while to fully recover from what Misha had done to her.
Her mental suffering, however, was worse than ever. She couldn’t stop thinking about Erica. Such a kind and helpful person. Why hadn’t they brought her back?
Athe
na had seen the sedan return late last night, but no Erica. If she ever got the chance, she’d gladly slice him to bits with a sharp knife. And not only him. Everyone above him in the food chain deserved a similarly slow and painful death.
But for the time being, she had to focus on how could they get the hell out of this living nightmare? As the first step, she needed to walk the perimeter of the courtyard and look for any weak points in the fence.
-o-o-o-
After breakfast, Athena wandered over to a group of women congregated around the TV.
“They’re talking about us again,” one said. “Just saw another interview with the Chinese FBI guy. Supposedly, we’re his office’s highest priority.”
Athena suppressed a snort. Being cynical wasn’t going to help anybody. Just the opposite. These poor women and girls needed all the hope they could get. And something had changed. CNN had added a banner across the top of the screen—Day Two of the Mothers-To-Be Hostage Crisis. Athena knew it was really more likely about day three hundred for some of these women, but no matter. The Feebs would move heaven and earth to solve the case as long as it stayed in the headlines.
-o-o-o-
The news changed to fires in California, and that reminded Athena of another potential problem. Although it was early morning, it was already warm and sunny outside. Folks wondered whether that was normal for Southern Utah in October. Several women had noticed how dry everything was around them.
None of the others were familiar with the Four Corners region, but she had lived in Durango for almost two years. The weather there was very similar to this part of Utah. She told them what she knew.
A slim brunette with a massive baby bump asked, “What about forest fires? I saw a couple west of Monticello yesterday.”
Then a blonde girl said, “When I opened our bedroom window a crack this morning, I could smell smoke. Creepy.”
They all stared at Athena.
She didn’t want to scare them, but she wasn’t going to lie. “I saw the fires north of us, too. Could be real trouble. The whole Four Corners region has been in a terrible drought for over a decade. Pray for snow, lots of it.”
Athena watched TV with the others but noticed Cici wandering around. Soon, she casually stood next to Athena, who’d been warned by several women that some of the sex slaves might have conflicting loyalties.
But Athena was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt. “Hi, I’m Chris Nielsen. I don’t think we’ve met.”
The girl nodded. Then she whispered with a distinct hillbilly accent. “I’m Cici Brodie. Need to chat with ya somewhere private like.”
Athena started. Then, she whispered back, “Uh, you sure you mean me? I’m the new guy here.”
Hardly moving her lips, Cici said, “Yeah, sure.”
Cici glanced around furtively. One of the guards was visible through the archway leading to the kitchen, but he wasn’t looking their way. She strolled over to the empty stairwell leading up to the higher floors. Athena followed.
When they were alone, Cici whispered, “Misha told me he beat ya harder than any of the others. Said it was because you brought the FBI down on us. I know you ain’t got no love for the bastards running this joint.”
Athena had turned her good ear to hear, and she couldn’t argue with the girl’s logic. “May he rot in Hell. What do you want to talk about?”
“More trouble probably comin’ soon. Last night, I overheard Leo talkin’ to the big boss, Hugo Langer. Leo wants Langer to move us to fuckin’ Nicaragua ’fore the FBI guys find us.”
“Nicaragua? Holy shit!” The Santiago cartel controlled a big part of that country. Athena’s hands began to shake again.
She took a couple of deep breaths to calm down. Freaking out wasn’t going to help. “You sure? Somebody obviously just put a ton of money into fixing up this place.”
“Well,” Cici said, “I only heard half the conversation through a cracked door, but Leo was pushing hard on moving out.”
Athena groaned. “Just what we don’t need. The FBI needs time to find us.”
Cici’s head bobbed up and down. “Accordin’ to some of the guards last night at dinner, the guv’ment’s got fifteen G-men after us. Most of the assholes in the log house are freakin’ out.”
Athena prayed that was true but remained skeptical. “Let’s be honest, Cici, Leo, and his boss can take us wherever they please. Who’s this guy Hugo Langer?”
Cici shrugged. “Never met him. He’s supposed to be the big cheese. Misha used to chat with him every few days. Said the guy was an insane New York billionaire with his own army.”
That was interesting. “What else do you know about this big cheese?”
“Nothin’. Listen, I’ll do most anythin’ to keep from rottin’ in fuckin’ Nicaragua.” She shuddered. “Everybody dies of malaria or yellow fever. Worms eat you from the inside out.”
The girl certainly wasn’t the shy and relaxed type. In fact, she seemed to be a master manipulator—speaking out of one side of her mouth to Athena and the other to everybody else. Maggie had told her Cici was the only sex slave who pretended she wanted to be with the guards.
“Not to be too rude or ungrateful,” Athena asked, “but how do I know I can trust you?”
Cici cackled. “I could say the same back atcha. If Leo knew what I just told you, he’d slice me into burger bits for his damned Dobermans.”
Actually, that was a very good answer. “Okay, let’s both take it slow and hopefully we stay alive. The best way you could help us out of this hellhole is to find me a cell phone or an iPod.”
Cici shook her head. “Leo confiscated everybody’s electronics, remember?”
She was right. It seemed they’d exchanged one monster with another, and Leo was potentially even worse. “Okay, then, how about this? I could use certain passwords, particularly for the local computer network. Actually, any of Leo’s passwords might be helpful. People tend to reuse them.”
Cici looked at her cockeyed before saying, “I’ll try, but listen, Misha used to let me look over his shoulder while he typed. Leo won’t, too careful, but I’ll try to find whatever I can.”
“Great,” Athena said, “and be careful. These monsters have killed enough of us.”
Cici gave her an innocent smile. “Gotcha. I try to take good care of myself. Got plans for a reality TV show after this nightmare is over. We gotta make it out of this fucking hole alive, girlfriend.”
With a goodbye wave, she sashayed out of the stairwell.
Athena struggled up the stairs, ignoring her pain, and found Maggie in their bedroom. After closing the door, Athena passed on what Cici had said.
“Wow, you found out a hell of a lot. Remember, though, we’ve got to be extra careful with her. She’s doing somebody wrong in this deal. I’ve seen her wrapped around Misha, fawning like she was infatuated with the bastard. If she was faking it, she deserves an Academy Award.”
“Maybe she does. What does she get out of lying to me?” Athena asked.
“Hard to say. Maybe she’s figuring out who are the biggest troublemakers among the surrogates.”
Athena was skeptical. Leo and the others already knew about Maggie and Jackie and her hanging close together. “I agree, we need to be careful with her, but I think Nicaragua scares the bejesus out of her. As for pretending to like the guy in charge, my old Granny got her way by pretending to be grandpa’s willing slave. He thought he was the big ol’ boss of the family, but Granny always seemed to get her way.”
“You could be right. If she’s being honest with us, I’ll sing her praises to God and everybody. If. Until we know for sure, be damned careful. Especially, keep the rescue committee names to yourself.”
Athena hugged Maggie. “Absolutely. I’ll stay our sole contact with Cici. And you, don’t mention her help to anybody else. Secrecy has to go both ways.”
-o-o-o-
Shortly after nine, Leo marched into th
e dormitory’s living room with a couple of his thugs in tow. Athena was lying on her stomach near the fireplace dreaming about a way to glide over the inner fence, by starting in at the dorm’s third-story window.
When he and his crew came into view, she immediately stood.
He looked at Maggie, who was sitting at a table nearby, flipping through a book about skiing in Utah.
He snapped, “Call everybody together. Now.”
She hurried away, and a moment later, women and girls descended the stairway and gathered near Athena. They schooled like minnows for protection.
Maggie returned. “That’s everybody.”
He stepped toward the group. They backed up.
He said, “Remain where you are. I note that it’s five minutes after nine. Why aren’t you all out on your morning walk?”
Maggie stepped in front of the group. “We weren’t sure what the rules are here, and the guard didn’t mention it.”
In a cold, firm voice, Leo said, “No excuses. The rules here are the same as before unless one of my staff tell you otherwise. Misha tended to overlook what you might call minor omissions. Not I. He also pampered the preggers. That ends now.”
He handed Maggie a sheet of paper. “For your information, I’ve typed out all the rules. We expect full compliance.”
His gaze scanned the entire crowd. “Or you will suffer the consequences.”
With a lightning-quick move, he whipped his foil from the loop attached to his belt and slashed it across the side of Maggie’s face.
She screeched in pain and staggered backward. Athena and the others in the group screamed.
The square steel shaft left a bloody welt on the side of her head, cutting open part of her ear.
Leo’s face displayed no emotion, except a fleeting upward twitch of the corners of his mouth. He turned and strode away. His thugs followed.
Like Misha, he enjoyed frightening helpless women and inflicting pain upon them.
Maggie swore under her breath then steadied herself. Athena ran to the kitchen and grabbed a handful of paper towels, a few of which she soaked under the faucet. When she returned, Maggie was sitting at the table again. Athena dabbed at the blood flowing down the side of their leader’s face and used a clean paper towel to cover the wound until it stopped oozing.
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