by K. J. Dahlen
Stone and his men rode their bikes into the parking lot when the gate opened for them. By the time they parked, the gate was closing and when Stone turned off his key, Sam and Deke were standing next to his bike.
“Let’s take this inside, away from prying eyes.” Deke commented as he stared at Stone and McKenna astride the bike.
When they got inside, Stone and McKenna stared at the walls.
In front of them were multiple wild cats. The paints or wall murals were so life like.
Sam stopped and followed their gazes. He grinned. “They always get a reaction.” He walked over to the counter that separated the main room from the kitchen and grabbed the pot of coffee and several cups. Setting them down on the table, he didn’t say anything while he poured them.
When everyone was sitting down, Sam peered over the rim of his cup and asked, “Okay Sarge, what the fuck is going on?”
Reaper chuckled. “Sarge?”
Stone growled. “When I knew Sam, he was a Gunney and I was a Sergeant. It was before your time Reaper.”
Reaper grinned. “Yes Pappy, whatever you say Pappy.”
“Pappy?” Sam quirked up an eyebrow.
Stone exhaled. “Yeah, Pappy.” He growled. “I became the Old Man when I was thirty five, because I was older than the men under me. At forty, I became Pappy to those under my command. I’ve been Pappy ever since then. Right up until I got out of the service five years ago.”
“Can you tell us what’s going on Pappy?” Deke asked.
Stone sighed loudly and ran his fingers through his long hair. “Thirteen years ago, someone came under my command. He was brash and arrogant but he knew his shit. He became our point man. He always went in first to scout the area. We had Shay Montross in charge of Intel back then. The Intel he passed us was always right on the spot and we could trust it. Then Shay got promoted and we got Carmine Vance giving us Intel. Old Carmine didn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. Our point man was a man by the name of Jon Ronin. We gave him the name Hades’ Ghost. Mostly, because he could get in and out, without anyone seeing him. He got us more real Intel than Carmine did. Then shortly after he got to us, he began to change. He became too good at his job. He began to leave too many bodies behind. About the time, the MP’s came for him with questions of a civilian murder, Jon disappeared. How he got away no one knows and no one knew where he went either.”
“He once bragged that he could hide in plain sight and no one would find him unless he wanted to be found,” Reaper interjected. “He’s been hiding for ten years now. The military and civilian authorities haven’t been able to find him.”
“And how has that changed?” Sam asked.
“McKenna stumbled upon him four years ago,” Stone told them. “Apparently, Hades continued his favorite pastime in civilian life. He’s become a serial killer. She and five friends witnessed him murdering someone. Now he’s hunting them down and killing them one by one. He’s found her now three times and this time, he won’t stop until she’s dead.”
Deke searched Stone’s face for a moment then asked, “If he’s found her three times already, why isn’t she dead by now?”
Stone took a deep breath. “He once told me if he found a worthy opponent, he would play a game of find me if you can. He would search for them three times. Three times, he would allow them to escape him before he moved in for the last time. He told me the fourth time would be the last, but he would make them suffer the fates of the dammed.”
“He told you all that?” Sam asked with a frown. “And just how did this conversation take place? Or even come to pass?”
Stone scoffed. “Yeah well, it wasn’t a polite conversation at that. We were standing watch just outside of Kabul one night. It was the middle of the fucking night and we had to stay awake somehow. We’d just had a few of the worst days I even encountered and when I made the mistake of asking him his darkest dream, he told me. By the time he got done, I wished I never asked the fucking question. That night changed so many things I thought I knew about the man. I realized I didn’t know him at all. Nor did I want to. His demons were something I’d never thought about before. There was a darkness inside him that gave me the chills.”
“What happened after that?” Deke asked.
“Jon knew he crossed a very fine line that night. He began to watch me, he watched all of us very carefully. I think it was at that time he began to plan his escape. He knew I couldn’t let him go, not once I knew of the darkness inside him. Then he made his mistake. He went out on patrol one night and when he came back, he was covered in blood. The blood of an innocent woman. He had butchered her just before dawn that day. We found her body and called the MP’s. Before they arrived, Jon escaped.”
“When my friends and I saw what this man had done we went to the police.” McKenna took up her side of the story. “We worked with a Detective Matthias Jones. He researched the MO of this killer and found his signature in seven other murders over the last few years. Since that time, he’s gotten to two of my friends which brings the total count up to nine.”
“His signature?” Deke asked.
“Hades leaves a red hawk’s feather at each of his kills,” Stone explained. “Every man in our unit knew it. He said he studied the hawk’s demeanor and found it fascinating. He became obsessed by the fuckin bird. It was a bird of prey, ruthless and cunning and he wanted to be the same. He used to have a look in his eyes at times that haunts me still today. It was as if he were standing outside his own body and he had no feeling at all.
Chapter Three
Deke took a deep breath and when he exhaled he swore, “Well hell Pappy, why did you bring this to my doorstep?”
“Because I need a safe place to leave her before we go hunting Hades. Me and mine can find the bastard but I can’t if I have to worry about her safety.”
Deke gazed at him for a moment then nodded. “She can stay here.”
McKenna began shaking her head and as she pushed her chair back, the door opened and more people came in.
A family of four.
Every one sitting there turned to see who was joining them when the man in the group stopped and looked at them. “What the fuck?” he called out.
Reaper, one of Stone’s men jumped up and faced the newcomers. “Jesus H. Christ!” he called out as he rushed at the man in question. “Clancy, is that your sorry hide?”
Calico burst out into a grin. “Seth, you old dog, how’s it hanging brother?”
The two men came together in a big hug. Each pounding the other’s back. Then holding each other by the upper arms, the two men stared at each other in awe. “Damn boy, you got old,” Reaper commented.
Calico threw back his head and laughed. “And you didn’t? Asshole!”
Reaper grinned and turned toward the others in his group. “Pappy, come and meet my big brother.”
Stone got to his feet and joined the men. Reaching out his hand, he nodded at Calico. “You have got to be Clancy. Reaper has been telling us stories about you forever. We all got to know you, without ever meeting you in person.”
Calico grinned.” My MC name is Calico.” Shaking the other man’s hand he looked at his brother and asked, “What brings you guys all the way to New York? I thought you found your piece of heaven in Texas?”
“We’re here on business,” Reaper told him. Cocking his head to one side he stated, “I thought you lived in Maine?”
Calico smiled. “I do, but I had to come back here for my family.” He turned, grabbed an older woman who came in with him and brought her and the kids closer. “Reaper, I’d like to introduce my wife, Jolene.”
Reaper’s jaw fell to the floor. “Your wife?”
“My wife,” Calico stated. “We got married close to twenty five years ago, then we split up for a while but recently, got back together again.” Then he turned to the two younger people with him. “This is my daughter Sawyer and her brother Jordan. Kids, this is your uncle Seth.”
Jolene smile
d as she gazed at Calico’s brother. “We have been divorced for a while now, but I’m hoping he’ll marry me again.”
Calico pulled her close to him and whispered over loudly, “Yeah about that divorce, well it never happened, sweet thing.” He grinned at the look on her face. “We’ve been married all this time.”
Jolene gaped at her man. “We have?”
Calico nodded. “Yeah, we have. I never sort of signed the papers like you asked me to before I left town, so I guess that means technically, we’re still married.”
Reaper gathered her into his arms and twirled her around. “Well, if that don’t beat all. Welcome to the family sister of mine, even if it’s twenty five years too late.”
Jolene laughed when he let her go.
Reaper turned to Sawyer and smiled. “I would know you anywhere.” He opened his arms and hugged her close. When he let her go, he reached out and shook Jordan’s hand. Then he turned to his brother. “I can’t believe you’ve had a family all this time and never said anything. Ma is gonna pitch a fit!”
Jolene looked at Calico with a frown. “You have a mother too?”
Calico grinned. “Yup, both a mother and a father, and another little brother. They live in Louisiana near where Reaper lives. Course, he now lives in Texas but it’s right on the border.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me about them?” Jolene asked.
“When we were together at first, I just wanted to enjoy that. We were a family and then we weren’t.” He shook his head. “About the time you asked me to leave I was working up the courage to ask you to come home with me, to meet the rest of my family. I knew I loved you and I thought you loved me back, then somehow we got all messed up and then you were telling me to go away.”
Jolene cried out and hugged him. “Oh god, I did love you. I loved you with every fiber of my being. Max told me he would kill you if I didn’t make you leave. I would have rather lived without you than watch you die. It about killed me to send you away.”
Calico wrapped his big arms around her. “Hush now, it’s all over. We’re back together and we have our kids to watch grow up. We’re good.” He looked over at his brother. “We’ll visit the folks as soon as we can.” Looking over at Stone he said, “I think we’re interrupting your business here.”
“Actually Pappy, I think we can use him,” Reaper suggested. “He’s got the brawn, knows how to fight dirty and he used to have a good brain to go along with it. Besides, he’s devious. He could probably come up with a way to draw Hades out for us.” He looked at his brother. “He used to be quite good at that sort of thing when we were younger. We got more than one whipping because of his schemes.”
Calico nodded. “Of course, if you need me I’ll help.”
Stone turned and went back to the table. Reaper and Calico joined him. Reaper caught his brother up on what they were dealing with while Jolene and the kids went to the kitchen to start breakfast.
In a break in the conversation, Calico sat back in his chair and stared at the other men. For a moment, he didn’t say anything then he seemed to make up his mind and sat forward in his chair.
Stone’s fingers tightened into a fist. “Why don’t you tell us about yourself Clancy?”
“Why?”
“Because I’m interested.” Was all Stone would tell him.
Calico ran his hands fingers through his hair. “When I left home, I was eighteen years old. All I wanted was the freedom of the open road and no responsibilities. I’d been working on my bikes since I bought my first one at fourteen and I was ready to get the hell out of Louisiana. As far as I was concerned, there was nothing left there for me. I wanted to see the world and do my own thing and for five years, that’s what I did. Then I met Jolene. Hell, I didn’t know how long I would be with her, didn’t know how or what I wanted back then. Then she got pregnant with Sawyer and that scared the shit out of me. I didn’t know if I wanted a kid or not but I stayed anyway. I married her for the baby but I also, wanted to settle down. She was a good woman. Then a couple years later Jolene told me to go. I didn’t know why at the time, but I wasn’t gonna stay where I wasn’t wanted. I left and moved up to Maine. I drank a lot back then and just let myself go. Then Sam got after me and I got mad. I got my body back in shape and then I got my mind back online. Not far from our compound, there was a survival camp. That place was almost as bad as a boot camp, or so I was told.”
“As stimulating as your life story is,” Doc interrupted. “Is there a point to all this?”
Calico nodded. “Yeah there is, and if you’ll just listen, I’ll get to the dammed point.”
“Please continue.” Stone motioned with his hand.
“Anyway, within the next two years, I got back in shape. I trained with the men at the camp and I got to be the best they had. I began talking to one of the guys at the camp. He was a bounty hunter, name of Clay Elders. He told me I could make good money learning the craft if I was so inclined. So, I did. I used the skills I grew up with in Louisiana and over the next ten years, I made a shit load of money. The point is I learned how to pick up on patterns of men on the run. I used my tracking skills learned as a boy to pick up anybody’s trail.”
“Were you any good at tracking as a kid?” Doc asked.
Reaper laughed out loud. “Boys, this man was the best there ever was. Nobody in Louisiana could beat his skills. Even the best there was before him, couldn’t hold a candle to this kid.”
“Anyway, the point is I can help you track this fucker.” Calico shrugged.
Viper sneered. “You’re a god damn bounty hunter.”
Calico shrugged again. “I’m a little more than that now.”
Stone stared at the man for a moment, then shrugged. “Why not give him a chance? We got nothing right now, the worst thing he can do is leave us standing there with nothing to show for our efforts.” He sat forward in his chair. “This man we will hunt for was trained by the best. He knows when and where to hide, so no one can find him. When he dropped out of sight ten years ago, the best the military had couldn’t find him. What makes you think you can do better than that?”
Calico smiled. “I’ve learned over the years how to think like they do and how to act like them. I sink my mind down to their level and then I know how to catch them. One day, I was sitting in a park waiting for a CI to stop by when I met an older man. He told me his name was Silas T McGinty. We sat there talking for a while then when he got up to leave, I arrested him. He was the bastard I’d been hunting for over a year. He had a warrant for skipping bail in the town of New Brighten on a weapons charge. Charges against him were weapons trafficking and selling guns to a cartel in Mexico and gangs in New York. He wasn’t the nice guy he came across to be.”
Sam stared at his old friend for a time. He’d seen the almost too subtle start Stone had when Calico mentioned the name Silas T McGinty.
“How did you know?” Doc asked.
“McGinty was known for the use of a phrase ‘Jesus, Joseph and Mary expired’. He used it several times during our conversation. Most people going after someone don’t do the right homework they need to do to catch them. I find out everything I can about my marks and that’s why I catch who I go after.” Calico shrugged.
Stone sat back in his chair and stared at the other man for a moment. “Did he ever tell you what the T stood for?”
Calico nodded and stared right into his eyes when he replied, “Tiberius”
Stone paused then nodded. “Not a name you hear too much is it?”
Calico shook his head. “I’ve never heard it before that crazy old man.”
Stone glanced around at his men then over at Sam and Deke. “What he is telling me is that he works for a man we all know. Shay Montross.”
Sam sat up in his chair and frowned. “What the fuck does Shay have to do with this? And how would he know Shay at all?”
“That’s what we’re about to hear, isn’t it Calico?” Stone surmised.
Calico shrugged. “N
ot that much to tell. Remember that survival camp in Maine? Well, that’s where I met Shay. Between him and Clay, I figure I learned from the best.”
Reaper shook his head. “I can’t believe Shay was at god damn a survival camp.”
Stone nodded. “Yeah, but Clay is his half-brother. He must have been the one to call him in.”
“Call him in?” Deke questioned. “Call him in for what?”
Stone nodded at Calico. “Him.”
“What the fuck is going on here?” Deke demanded.
Stone stared at Sam and Deke. “We have something to tell you about, then I’m going to ask for your help. While it’s true we just dropped off a woman in need, we also came here with another purpose.” He sighed as he began his tale, “Like I said before, they began calling me Pappy before I was forty. By then, I was the oldest man in the group, the leader.” He rubbed his hair and laughed. “I guess by then, my hair had turned white already, so I looked like an old man even if I wasn’t so old. We were well into building the Hell’s Fire Riders name to mean something special and I was the man in charge of training them to be Marines. I had to take boys still wet behind the ears and turn them into men. Then I had to take them to a place no man should ever have to see…straight into hell. I knew some of them would die in battle but train them I did. I gave them the best chance they had to survive and they gave me back 110 per cent.”
“You gave them more than that Pappy,” Reaper added. “You gave them their lives back. They may have come to you as snot nosed boys who thought they knew it all but they left as men, proud to be Marines and proud as hell to have survived that hellhole. Most of all, proud to have served under your command. Each and every one of them.”
Stone shook his head then looked saddened. “Not all of them came home though. Their bodies came home but we left their souls in the deserts of sand in three different countries.”
