After Beau hung up, his stomach churned. Chris…Athena had been tortured. Whoever was responsible for that and the multiple murders needed to pay for their crimes with blood. If necessary, it would be the last thing he did as a Fed.
Chapter 21
Homestead House
At lunch, Athena nudged Cici, accidentally-on-purpose. The girl appeared not to notice, but a moment later, she whispered into Athena’s good ear, “In your room, in ten.”
Athena wanted to tell her where the room was, but before she could, Cici drifted away and flirted with one of the guards.
She didn’t seem to have a care in the world. What an amazing actress.
At the appointed time, Athena walked upstairs to her bedroom. Cici was already there, alone. She laughed. “We’ve got to stop meetin’ like this. Leo will get jealous. He’s figured out that some of us girls get it on with each other whenever we can find a little privacy. I like getting cozy with someone who understands my fucked-up world.”
Athena’s throat burned with sympathy. “You carry a helluva burden, always pretending to be the fun one and the happy one. Hell, yes, comfort yourself as best you can.”
For a second, Cici seemed to be on the verge of tears.
Then she grinned. “You caught me off guard there, girl. I can’t remember the last time somebody worried about me. Been a good, long while. Now, whassup?”
Poor kid. She couldn’t even let herself be sentimental for a few minutes with a friend. “I’m selfish, like everybody else around here, punk. How you doing on getting us an electronic device or some passwords?”
She flushed red. “Not so good, sorry. And talkin’ about those devices, you can forget it. The only guy who still gots anythin’ is Leo. He keeps his phone with him always. At night, he charges it on the bed stand next to him. The horny fucker’s a light sleeper. I ain’t even allowed on that side of the bed.”
Athena wasn’t surprised. Leo was proving to be much more careful than Misha. She put an arm around Cici’s shoulders and gave her a hug. “Understandable, and please, please, don’t take too many chances. I couldn’t live with losing you. Like I said, it’s all about me.”
Cici put an arm around her waist and hugged back. “Don’t you worry. I’m lookin’ out for number one, same as everybody. What else you want to chat about?”
“Probably ought to focus on passwords.”
The girl shrugged. “His cell phone uses a picture of his face to unlock, so nothin’ there. I’m hopin’ he gets smashed one night. I might be able to use his sleeping face to unlock the phone. But he doesn’t drink nearly as much as Misha.”
“Might not work. Some facial unlock systems require open eyes. But listen, the phone will have a four to six digit PIN as a backup. Once you find that out, I can show you how to text or email my contact at the FBI then delete your tracks.”
Cici shook her head. “Not gonna work, girl. I can barely read, much less understand electronics. We lived back in the hollow, ten miles on a dirt road from Canker Springs, Kentucky. My ma and pa didn’t send me to school much, said it was too far. I can use a cell phone to make calls, but forget about anythin’ else.”
Although disappointed, Athena wasn’t too surprised. Some people in Wyoming lived off the grid like that, completely isolated. “His computer stays in his office, right? I could sneak in one night.”
Cici sighed. “Leo uses a laptop and keeps it in the bedroom with us at night. It checks his face, too.”
Shit, this is getting us nowhere. “Okay, forget all that. Focus on finding the password for the Wi-Fi network. Most people write them down and hide them somewhere in their office, usually close to their desk. If you can find that, I’ll figure out a way to log on. And tell me if you hear anything else about Nicaragua or that cartel.”
Her smile returned. “Got it, Chris. I haven’t heard any more about us movin’, not since we last chatted. But somethin’ is keeping Leo awful busy this mornin’. Prick didn’t want me around to see what he was up to.”
-o-o-o-
A small rental truck arrived at the compound. Athena and the others in the dorm stared at it through the first-floor windows.
Three men with a military bearing carried large duffel bags and exited the back of the truck. They headed for the log house.
Next, ten women looking dazed and tired shuffled down the truck’s ramp. No personal items, not even purses. They looked ordinary, so they had to be more surrogates or nurses, not sex slaves.
The truck’s driver pointed them toward the dorm.
Maggie met them at the door, hugged each, and led them to the dining room where she pulled a couple of tables together to sit with them. She’d obviously gone through the orientation drill before.
Athena stayed apart but couldn’t help glancing over from time to time. She knew, too well, what they were going through. She was experiencing the first stages of the grieving process herself, having been snatched less than two days ago. She interlaced her hands to keep them from trembling.
The other women in the dorm stayed quiet, at least until Maggie took the new arrivals upstairs. Then, the old-timers talked more and relaxed. They’d somehow come to terms with their new lives and the monsters who controlled their every move. Athena didn’t see herself accepting this fate for quite a while, if ever.
-o-o-o-
In mid-afternoon, the guard inside the dorm changed to Pete. He was a tall, burly guy with a face that had run into too many broken bottles. And he demonstrated that nervous, twitchy behavior unique to meth heads.
Subtly, the women moved away from him. Athena did the same.
Maggie eventually returned downstairs and sat on the sofa next to Athena. She was lying on her stomach, reading an Agatha Christie novel, Death on the Nile, from one of the bookshelves and warming herself by the fire.
“Those poor women,” their Fearless Leader said. “Three days ago, they were living in Philadelphia. Each answered a want ad for some job but never left the interview. Now they’re here, and I couldn’t even tell them what they’d be used for. Just that most were potential surrogates who’d soon be pregnant.”
Pete yelled from over by the TV, “Turn that shit off!”
CNN was broadcasting another story in the Mothers-To-Be Hostage Crisis.
Carla, a stocky redheaded girl who’d been watching TV, turned it off.
Pete approached her. “For doing that, you need to give me a blow job.”
She glanced around with wide-open eyes and tried to dash away, but he grabbed her arm.
Maggie jumped up from the sofa and hurried over. “Pete, let her be, please.”
The older woman grabbed the girl’s arm right above Pete’s hand and pulled her loose.
Seeing her chance, the girl ran to Athena.
Pete snarled, “You’re not the boss here!” He grabbed Maggie’s arm. “You ain’t as pretty, but you’ll do. On your knees, bitch.”
Instead, Maggie backed away and jerked her arm loose. “You know you can’t do that. Leo says no sex with the surrogates.”
Pete grabbed his foil from his hip and waved it around. The blade’s tip bounced around like a hummingbird, never holding still. Spittle flew from Pete’s mouth. “I’m the boss here. Get on your knees, or I’ll run you through.”
Athena couldn’t believe how quickly the situation had spiraled out of control. He seemed psychotic, much different than before.
Maggie backed up. “Please, Pete, don’t do this. You going to get in a lot of trouble.” She glanced around. “Carla, run over to the log house. Tell Leo what’s going on.”
The girl ran off.
The stoned guard kept waving his blade around while pointing it at Maggie. She feinted and dodged to avoid getting stabbed.
Because he couldn’t get close enough to stick her, he dropped his foil and pulled out a revolver.
It went off with a loud boom. Maggie screamed and collapsed to the pine floor.
> The gunshot seemed to have shocked Pete out of his insanity. He backed up, acting like he had no idea what happened. The stench of burned gunpowder filled the air.
Athena ignored him and scrambled over to her friend. Blood flowed freely from Maggie’s left side. Athena unbuttoned her yellow cotton blouse to reveal a gaping wound near the bottom of her ribcage. Blood was pouring onto the floor.
Athena screamed, “Somebody, get Wu! Now!”
One woman ran off, and a second brought Athena a handful of paper towels. She pressed them against the long gash in Maggie’s side, trying to slow the gushing blood.
That helped, but her hands were soon soaked red. Ignoring that, she kept steady pressure on the wound.
In the background, women were yelling and screaming, but Athena paid no attention until Leo’s voice rose in the distance, carrying over the din. “What the hell’s going on?”
Donna kneeled next to Maggie’s unconscious body. “Hey, Chris, you’re doing great. Keep the pressure on. I’ll check her vitals.”
The nurse pressed a finger below Maggie’s jaw and put her ear close to her nose. “Thank God, she’s still breathing, and her heart’s pumping.”
Leo appeared and stood next to Athena. “What the fuck happened here?”
She was too pissed to care about blowback. “That asshole, Pete, shot her because she wouldn’t suck his pitiful cock. Maggie begged him to leave her and Carla alone. He’s high on meth or some other shit.”
Leo stared at Pete. He was leaning against the back of one of the sofas. His hands shook violently, and so did the pistol.
Doctor Wu ran into the room carrying a litter and a large black bag. She dropped next to Donna, who said, “Fast, erratic pulse and weak breathing.”
Wu nodded and put her hands over Athena’s. “Let go, Chris. I have her now.”
Athena shuffled back a couple of feet. Her hands remained drenched in Maggie’s blood. She had to ask, “Is Maggie going to make it?”
“I am a healer, not a fortune teller,” Wu said. “We use the litter I brought to transport her to my office.”
Wu pointed to six women. “You all help. On my order, you will lift Maggie. Janice, then slide the litter under her. Meanwhile, I will maintain pressure on her wound.”
The six women surrounded Maggie, each grabbing a part of her limp body.
“Now, up,” Wu said.
They lifted Maggie a few inches off the ground, and Janice slid the litter under.
“Good,” Wu said. “I need a minute to stabilize her. Donna, put the oxygen mask in my bag over her nose and mouth.”
An acrylic blanket appeared out of nowhere to cover Maggie’s bottom half.
Leo turned to Pete. “Well, what the hell do you have to say?”
With an unsteady index finger, he pointed at Maggie. “Who’s the boss here? Them or us? Wouldn’t have hurt her any to give me a hummer.”
Leo strode over to his guard and punched him hard enough to knock him over the back of the sofa. “I’m the boss here, idiot, that’s who. Keep your dick away from the preggers. That’s why I pay for your girl.”
The stoned guard roared and staggered to his feet. He’d dropped his gun but picked it up again and tried to aim at Leo.
Too slow. Leo already had his pistol out and fired. The round found Pete’s right eye socket and blew out the back of his skull, spraying brains and blood all over. The already-dead man crashed backward onto the pine floor.
Wu was facing away from the men, and she didn’t seem to know or care about what’d happened behind her. In the same calm voice as before, she said, “Chris and Donna, lift litter on each end. Let’s go to my office now.”
They lifted Maggie and hurried away. Wu kept pace with them, maintaining pressure on the wound.
Chapter 22
In Wu’s office, the doctor directed them to set Maggie on an examination table. From Athena’s perspective, Maggie was as pale as death.
“Donna will stay,” Wu said. “Chris, please close the doors behind you on your way out.”
What a snippy bitch. As directed, Athena left the exam room and closed the door, but then she sat in a chair in the reception area. Wanted to hear as soon as possible whether her friend would survive.
It didn’t take long, though, for Athena to recognize that she’d been handed a rare opportunity. As long as Wu was busy, Athena could perform a quick search and hopefully find something that might help their escape. She moved slowly, so the tip of her walking stick didn’t pound on the wooden floor.
A computer with an Internet connection would be great, so Athena first searched for the doctor’s office. She opened four doors along the hallway, but they were either other treatment rooms or supply closets.
The fifth was the doctor’s private office. A tingle of excitement ran through her. Here we go.
A large monitor sat on the large walnut desk with a keyboard and mouse at the ready. The computer was already on because the monitor displayed a screensaver, namely a photo of Beijing’s Forbidden City. Athena wiggled the mouse. Luckily, the blood on her hand had dried, so it wouldn’t leave any marks. The computer was a Windows machine. It said Press Control-Alt Delete to log on.
A box for the PIN popped on the screen, but she didn’t know it. After a couple of guesses, she gave up. No telling how quickly the doctor would appear.
Athena quickly rifled through the Doctor’s drawers and cabinets. No obvious list of passwords or any devices.
Time was fast running out, that was for sure. Athena checked a dozen boxes piled close to the door. Thankfully, the tops had been folded closed rather than taped, so the fact Athena had opened them wouldn’t be obvious later.
Mostly papers and files. She moved those boxes out of the way to reach others. The eighth box she checked wasn’t as heavy as the others. It contained a tangle of wires and old electronic equipment, including two portable hard drives and a CD player. She let out a snicker.
Wu had apparently dumped her old electronic junk drawer into this box without deciding what still could be useful. A BlackBerry with a broken screen definitely wasn’t worth keeping. Nor was the Sony Walkman missing its cover.
But at the bottom of the box, Athena found an old iPod. It didn’t show any obvious signs of serious damage, but the screen was badly scratched.
This time, the thrill of victory hit her so hard it took her breath away. Jackpot!
Athena recognized the model, the iPod Touch. This version of the iPod was the first with the modern Lightning connection and came with lots of apps preinstalled, including iMessage. Athena muttered, “Please, God, make this thing work.”
She tried to turn it on, but zip—hopefully, the only problem was that the battery had lost its charge. Apple had started selling these iPods in 2012, so the device had probably sat unused for many years.
Athena frantically searched through the box looking for a charger. She found several of the old thirty-pin chargers, but none with the Lightning connector. Her whole body chilled. Without a charged battery, the device was useless.
Donna’s and Wu’s voices came from down the hall. At that same instant, Athena spotted a charger with a Lightning connector. Praying it would work, she stuffed it into her pocket along with the iPod.
But she couldn’t leave the boxes scattered about. Wu would certainly notice. Athena hurried to fold the tops of the boxes, as before.
More voices. Donna was saying goodbye.
As quickly as possible, Athena stacked the boxes back where they’d been.
Donna strode past the open office door. Her eyes bulged as she spotted Athena. Donna spun suddenly and returned to the treatment room. She seemed to have left Wu with Maggie.
Athena’s heart missed a beat from the shock at being caught, but she didn’t stop repositioning the boxes. Then she dashed down the empty hallway to the reception area.
After taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she waited.
> A moment later, Donna caught up to her and whispered, “What the fuck?”
“Just trying to save our pitiful butts,” Athena whispered back as she exited the building with Donna’s help. She struggled to keep from giggling.
When she noticed an empty picnic table off by itself, she pointed. “Let’s talk over there.”
They strolled together. Athena asked in a normal voice, “How’s Maggie?”
“Alive, that’s the main thing. Still unconscious when I left. Wu won’t give her any painkillers except ibuprofen. Maggie’s going to go through agony for a couple of days. Two shattered ribs. Lots of bone fragments found their way into various spots. Luckily, no obvious cuts to major arteries or organs. But she’ll have a terrible time breathing for a while.”
“She’ll make it?” Athena asked.
“The odds seem good. Wu said she’ll keep her under observation for an hour or two. If she remains stable, we’ll bring her back to the dorm for the evening. But if complications develop, like more bleeding, I may have to spend the night with Maggie in the office. Wu already made it clear she isn’t a night nurse.”
Athena’s face flushed warm. “That bitch’s going to have a lot to answer for someday. She claims to be a victim, but she’s paid well and can come and go as she pleases.”
“I’ve already added her to my shit list,” Donna said, “but she might’ve saved Maggie’s life. I don’t know how to use an x-ray machine. She needed it to find all the wayward bone fragments and extract them. I’m not a surgeon.”
“Good point,” Athena said. “If she saves Maggie, I’ll be satisfied.”
Donna glanced around, probably to make sure they were alone. “Okay, tell me, what were you doing? I thought you’d left long before me.”
“You already know. I was trying to find some way to communicate with the rest of the good ol’ USA. Searched her desk and computer, but nothing. In one of those boxes, I finally found an old iPod. Might be useful.”
Donna looked at her blankly. “The fake phone that can text?”
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