Deadly Reckoning

by Robin Mahle

  “Deputy, now just keep your cool. That could be a car, but it could also just be a dust devil. Let’s sit tight until we see any other signs of life around here.” He needed to keep Slocum calm or risk him panicking and possibly shooting him. This was a desperate man and a brutal killer and Jensen couldn’t forget that. There was nothing stopping Slocum from taking another life.

  “Just keep your eyes peeled, then.” Slocum held his gaze firmly in the distance. “Shit. How the hell would they know I was here?”

  “They wouldn’t. That’s what I’m telling you. We don’t know anyone’s down there right now.” Slocum was starting to lose his shit. Jensen had to work fast to keep him relaxed.

  “How about I walk down a ways and get a better view?” He raised his hands in submission. “I promise I won’t do nothing stupid. And if I’ve done anything today, it’s to prove to you I ain’t no liar.”

  Slocum waved his gun, giving the man permission to walk ahead. “You best not leave my sight.”

  “I won’t.” The out of shape, middle-aged man started back down the hill. He turned his head to make sure he kept eye contact with Slocum. A few steps farther. He couldn’t see anyone. No car. No more dust. But as he made his way down a little more, he saw it. The tiniest amount of dust rising in the air. Like tires running over the crushed gravel driveway. This could be his chance.

  He again turned his head back and raised his hands to show Slocum he was still okay and still in his view. But when he turned around again, Jensen reached into his pocket and turned on the cell phone. Slocum’s cell had tumbled from his pocket in the back seat and he spotted it when he reached inside to get the blanket for them to sit on. The phone had been turned off. But he knew, by turning it on, the Feds would track his GPS location. Jensen dropped the cell phone off the path—it was on.

  He turned, heading back up the hill. With a shake of his head and a shrug of his shoulders, he signified no one was there. And on his return, he reiterated his theory. “I didn’t see no one. It must’ve been a dust devil you saw. Best get back to the shelter. That sun will be behind the mountain soon. Once it gets dark out here, we won’t be able to see nothing till morning.”

  Slocum was hesitant, as though the man hadn’t fully convinced him that no one was out there. “You sure you didn’t see nothing?”

  “You can go look for yourself, but you’d be wasting your energies. No one will find you here. That’s why we came. We just need to ride out the night and take a fresh look in the morning at a way to get you out of Crown Pointe.”

  “Anyone got a flashlight?” Kate said upon entering the trailer. “It’s too dark in here.” She found a light switch, but it didn’t work. “Didn’t think there’d still be power here, but it was worth a shot.” She reached for her cell phone and turned on its flashlight function.

  “Here, I got a light.” The officer turned on his police-issued flashlight. “You might want to conserve your phone’s battery.”

  “Thanks,” Kate replied. “So this was where you said Billy Horton kept his drugs?”

  “Yes. It was just dumb luck he came here when he did,” Quinn began. “That cabinet there. Heroin and some pills.”

  “Did he expose his supplier?” Kate continued.

  “No. That could be what Scarborough and Fisher are hoping to get from him. I don’t know. Slocum’s definitely not in here though. What do you want to do? It’s getting too dark to drive through the mines. It’d be too dangerous, especially since we don’t know our way around here.” His cell buzzed in his pocket. “Hang on.” He answered the line. “Quinn here.”

  Kate looked on as Quinn listened to whomever was on the other end of the line.

  “Are you sure?” Quinn added.

  At this, Kate perked up. “What is it?” she whispered to him.

  “Okay. We’ll find him. It’s getting dark. We’ll have to take precautions.” Quinn nodded. “Thank you. Let me know when you’re here. I’m not sure how good the signal will be as we make our way inside, so we might lose contact.” He ended the call and peered at Kate. “That was Scarborough. Ness had Slocum’s cell phone traced. Except that it appeared he had kept it off, until about twenty minutes ago. They pinged it. He’s here. Slocum’s here.”

  “Where?” Kate asked.

  “They can’t pinpoint his location any closer than here at the mines. Scarborough wants us to track him down by any means necessary. We’re going to have to get out there and find him.”

  “How are we going to do that without giving up our location?” Shelby asked. “He’ll get spooked if he sees headlights.”

  “From my perspective,” Kate began, “we have two options. Drive with no lights, risk running into God knows what, and hope he doesn’t hear the car. Or take to foot—split up and try to track him down.”

  “I don’t like the idea of splitting up,” Quinn replied.

  “This operation covers almost one hundred acres,” Shelby began. “Rough terrain. Abandoned shafts that haven’t been filled or closed properly. Not only will it take time, but it will be dangerous. And if we’re on our own, the risk of one of us getting hurt is high. With no one around to help, it’s a chance I’m not sure I’m willing to take.”

  “We have cell phones,” Kate said.

  “I’d be surprised if we keep a signal out there,” Shelby continued. “I don’t know, Agent Reid. I know we need to catch him. But if he’s up there alone, what’s the harm in waiting it out? He’ll have to come down sooner or later. He won’t survive up there.”

  “Kid has a point,” Quinn said. “Unless Slocum took an ample supply of water and food, he’s going to have to come back down sooner or later.”

  “On the other hand, what if he gets injured or is already injured and he’s in trouble up there right now? Why was his phone turned on?” Kate asked. “He could’ve tried to call a friend for help. You want to wait it out? He could be dead by tomorrow.”

  “Would that be so bad?” Shelby asked. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.”

  “It’s okay. It’s not like it didn’t enter my mind too,” Kate said. “We also have to consider the possibility he’s not alone. That he already has help—or a hostage—who helped him get here. Right now, we just don’t know.”

  “Damn it.” Quinn heaved a deep sigh. “If he’s got a hostage…”

  “Then we go up there.” Kate looked at the men. “Scarborough wants us to find him, right?”

  “He does. And they’re coming now to help, but it’ll still be a good 30 minutes.”

  “Then there’s our answer. When they show up, it’ll be dark and I’ll bet at the top of this hill, anyone could spot a car coming a mile away in the dark. If that happens, whoever’s with him might not survive. We’ll take to foot. And we’ll track him down.”

  “So we’re splitting up?” Shelby asked.

  “We’re splitting up. Unless you don’t want to join us. You don’t have to. I’m not your boss,” Kate said.

  “No. I want to.”

  “Okay, then. Let’s pack some waters and head out.”

  26

  The chief pressed his hand against the window sill and looked through, beyond the station’s parking lot and into the woods ahead. The sun faded, leaving a faint hue of purple and orange in the winter sky. “It’ll take us a good half hour to get to the mines. By that time, it’ll be completely dark.” He turned back toward the agents. “The mines are a dangerous place during the day, let alone at night. And yet you instructed your people to go out and find Slocum.”

  “We can’t let our guard down. He has to be brought in—tonight. Scarborough made the right call,” Ness replied.

  Fisher’s phone rang, and as he retrieved it, he noted the caller ID. “It’s Walsh. I need to take this.” He stepped into the corridor. “Where are you?”

  “We took a ride out to the Devil’s Den on Lazaro’s advice in hopes of talking to someone who might’ve seen something. Lazaro thought we might find the guy he talked to a few day
s ago, but no luck there.”

  “Agent Ness just picked up a cell signal from Slocum’s phone. He’s at the abandoned mining operation north of town. We were just putting a plan together to head out there. Quinn and Reid are already there, but they need backup. Just come back to the station, ASAP.”

  “We’re on our way,” Walsh ended the call.

  Fisher returned to the others. “Walsh and Duncan are heading back with Lazaro. They didn’t find anything, but I told them we’re going out to the mines. We need all hands on deck for this one.”

  The chief eyed Horton. “What do we want to do about this boy and the Floyds?”

  Nick peered at the old man. “Get him out of here. Let him go.”

  “I’m afraid I can’t do that. Regardless of his intentions, the man is still a drug dealer,” Tate replied.

  “His wife is behind bars for conspiracy to commit murder. John’s not going anywhere, are you, John?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Captain Lowell, can you keep Horton and Lynn Floyd company with Deputy Lazaro? I’d like the chief to come out there with us. He might be the only one Slocum will listen to.”

  “Consider it done, Agent Scarborough.”

  Quinn walked down the steps of the trailer and joined Kate and Officer Shelby as they stood on the dirt lot.” “How’s your cell battery?”

  Kate peered into the growing darkness at the grounds of the operation before answering, “Seventy percent. I should be good for a while.”

  “Got about eighty here,” Shelby replied. “I’m good. So long as we don’t spend all night up there. I can promise you, though, I ain’t going near one of them shafts. I wouldn’t trust the company that left this place in such a condition.”

  “I don’t want any of us to get hurt out there,” Quinn said. “So let’s just stick to the paths where the heavy equipment travelled. Should be a level enough surface. Just keep your weapon ready. We have no idea the condition Slocum will be in or his state of mind, let alone whoever might be with him.”

  “I’ll go straight ahead,” Kate began. “One of you head left and the other right. Unless anyone else has a better plan?”

  “Nope. If anyone gets into trouble, get a message out by any means possible. Head back down, if absolutely necessary. We won’t be out here alone for long. As soon as I get sight of the others, I’ll do my best to get a call out to Scarborough and let him know our positions.” Quinn checked his weapon and his phone. “Be safe.” He headed right.

  “Guess that leaves you to head left,” Kate said. “Good luck, Shelby.”

  “Same to you, Agent Reid.”

  Kate drew in the cold night air and took a step forward. The road ahead was steep and appeared to be the main ingress and egress from the mines to the boundary of the operation. She started up the hill.

  The dirt road was littered with rocks, weeds, and even metal pieces, probably from the earthmoving equipment that traversed this road for many years. And the slope of the hill began to burn her thighs. It had been too long since her last PT test and she could feel it now, regretting not visiting the gym more often.

  She checked her phone. “Still a signal, good.” Of course, the more she pressed the home screen button, the more battery power she would use, as well as illuminating the ever-darkening sky. But it put her at ease. As if she wasn’t completely alone. Even though she was.

  The occasional intermittent flash of light from the others suggested they weren’t any farther ahead than she was and were likely only a few hundred feet on either side of her.

  And then it occurred to her, for whatever reason, be it because she was alone, or that she was about to come face to face, once again, with a killer. But there it was. Seven years. It had been seven years since her life redirected to this path. The time seemed almost incomprehensible. And Nick had been at her side for virtually all of it, leading her, guiding her to her destiny. But this place—where she was now—this was her choice. It was her decision to join BAU. Yes, Nick had been there and it seemed a logical decision. But in truth, she’d wanted to be here because of Quinn. Because of his expertise. And it seemed she was well on her way to becoming an expert in her own right—without Nick’s help. It was an important distinction for Kate. He might have led her here, but the end game was hers and hers alone. She would one day be better than Quinn. And it wasn’t an affront on his character or his experience. It was just a fact that she knew in her heart.

  She also knew he would try to use her. He’d already shown his hand in some respects. She wasn’t a woman who would sit idly by and allow herself to be used. Perhaps he was doing it to better his own career or to grow in his own knowledge. The reason didn’t matter. The action did. Kate liked Quinn. There was no question about that. But he was who he was and she knew that too. There would come a time when they would be confronted with that fact.

  But until then, she would learn from him. And yes, perhaps give him the crumbs to keep him from getting too close to her truth. Nick was the only man who knew who she really was and he accepted her.

  There was, however, a man she was beginning to view as an ally, besides Nick. A man who reminded her of someone she lost a long time ago. Levi Walsh would become that ally. Their bond would be unbreakable. She saw it as clearly as she saw what Quinn was. Although Nick would be her love, always, Walsh would be her friend, her confidant, her champion.

  People always told Kate she had a keen intuition. Well, that intuition was telling her who she would become. And that person was going to be a force with which to be reckoned.

  The temperature was dropping and the light all but extinguished. How long would it be before Slocum realized his cell phone was gone? How much time did Jensen have left to live? The silence forced him to listen to the sound of his own heavy breathing. Years of smoking and drugs left him with a black chest full of toxins and a heart that labored with only a few steps. Perhaps this was to be the end of the man who had no life anyway. No love, no family. Simply living day to day, driven by his growing addictions.

  He peered at Slocum, who sipped on what remained of the water. There were more supplies in his car, which was tucked away several hundred feet from their present location. It wasn’t likely he would die of thirst. But then, that was the least of his concerns.

  The cell phone battery wouldn’t last forever. Had they picked up on the signal yet? How thick were these agents anyway? He’d handed Slocum to them on a silver platter, and yet they were still not here to take him.

  “How long’s it take for you to take a piss?” Slocum asked. “You thinking of trying something?”

  The man zipped his fly and walked back over to the makeshift shelter. “No, sir. Just looking at the sky is all.”

  “Yeah, well, you’re risking being seen, so just plant yourself here, all right?”

  He squatted down, his knees crackling from the pressure, until his backside rested on the cold dirt.

  “Damn it. I don’t want to be stuck up here all night. It’s getting cold.” He turned to Jensen. “I’m going to get my jacket in the car. And yours too.” He stood up. “You stay here. I’ll do it, old man. I can hear your breathing from a mile away. You should consider exercising once in a while.” Slocum started back down the road toward the car.

  “Shit.” The phone was down there too. And now Jensen wondered if he’d see it. It would only take him slipping his hand in his pants pocket to jog his memory that his cell was no longer there. Either way, he was screwed. So what were his options? Hope the Feds picked up the signal and were on their way? Or take his chances, bad lungs and all, and hi-tail it the hell out of there; risk falling down a shaft or a retention pond or any number of serious hazards the operation held within these grounds.

  His chances for survival were diminishing by the second. He’d been so clever. Telling Slocum exactly what he’d wanted to hear. Manipulated him like a pro. But to what end? This? “Shit. I can’t just sit here and wait.” Jensen stood up again and spotted what he thought wa
s a flash of light in the distance. “What the…?” But the problem was, he didn’t know if it was Slocum or someone coming to save him from this disastrous predicament. With no weapon of any kind at his disposal, his options were few. Slocum had a gun, he was a much younger man, and he was a monstrous killer. The trifecta of being screwed. Maybe what he saw was Slocum himself, which would mean he’d found his cell phone.

  It occurred to Jensen that he could still work his way out of this if that was the case, simply by assuming Slocum must’ve dropped the cell phone himself. It was plausible and Slocum just might buy it.

  The light was gone. He waited. Still no Slocum. Jensen swallowed down the lump in his throat. For the first time in many years, he was truly afraid. Had he pulled it off, or had he only delayed the inevitable?

  Kate crouched down at the flash of light ahead. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. It could’ve been Shelby or Quinn; she couldn’t be sure. Hell, if she was supposing, it could’ve also been Slocum. But that would be too easy. Her journey into the treacherous grounds had only begun minutes ago. That kind of luck rarely came her way. Still, she had to follow it, just to rule it out.

  Kate veered to the right and followed the path where she spotted the brief light. In the dark, however, it was a difficult course to maintain. She needed light to guide her way. “Just for a minute.” She retrieved her flashlight and aimed it in the direction for just a moment, then quickly dowsed it. Moving slowly, Kate was careful to avoid pitfalls or injury. Boulders, equipment, potholes. The potential for physical damage was extreme. She wondered if the rest of the team had arrived. And if so, were they also making their way onto the grounds? It might be a foolish action that could leave Slocum with no alternative but to fight. And with a hostage, friend or enemy, there was additional life at stake.

  A smaller dirt road, perhaps used by pickup trucks and such, revealed itself ahead of her. This was the path she would converge upon. This was where the light came from. And the farther she traveled down it, the less likely it became this was the way of one of her own team. Quinn had headed much farther right. Now that the sun was down, her sense of direction was vanishing. It was unfortunate that that particular sense wasn’t also heightened. In fact, she had a terrible sense of direction, but so long as she kept on this road, she felt it would lead her to her prey.