by K. J. Dahlen
“What makes you think we need help?’ Hawk wanted to know. “We’re going up against the Reapers man, not the army.”
Mountain stared intently at Hawk. “If it were just the Reapers I wouldn’t be here. I think this is more serious than just those lowlifes.”
“Why?” Hawk asked. “What makes you think that?”
“Georgia wouldn’t have called if this wasn’t bigger than she could handle.”
“They beat the ever-loving hell out of her,” Hawk informed him. “They were going to make her their sex slave.”
Mountain flipped back his head and laughed. “That would have been the day.” He chortled. “They might have thought they could do that to her but she never would have let those bastards touch her. That girl comes off weak, but she’s anything but.” He looked over at the men wearing the Nomad vests. Then back to Hawk. “How is she doing now?”
“She’s better. Jasper told us all she needed was fluids and time. The bruising isn’t too bad, they must have knocked her out quick. She has a slight concussion though. I guess they didn’t want to damage the merchandise. We got her on an IV with saline and antibiotics. She woke up about an hour ago and as soon as she found out you were on your way, she relaxed enough to get some rest. The fever broke about half an hour ago.”
“Who are these guys?” Mountain asked motioning to Caine and the others.
“They’re the ones who brought her here.” Hawk replied. “They call themselves the Nomads. They’re from the town of Jarrett.”
One of the men that had come with Mountain growled. Hawk turned to see him glare. Turning back Mountain he shrugged. “His family lives in Jarrett.” Turning to the men in question he asked, “Which one did I talk to this morning?”
“That would be me,” Gage called out. “Gage Torbin.”
Mountain held out his hand.
When Gage shook it, he motioned toward Caine. “This is Caine Lucas. And Ricky Wayne, Sal Rammer, Mike Casten, Lonnie Hart and Benjy Loren.”
“Gentlemen, glad to meet all of you.” Mountain nodded at them. Turning to Hawk, he said, “What do you say we go have a chat with her?”
He, Hawk, Sam and Deke along with Caine, Calico and Gage went down the hall. When they entered, Georgia opened her eyes and smiled when she saw the big guy. Holding out a hand, Mountain took it and sat down on the bed with her.
“What’s going on here girl?” he asked her. He looked her over and said, “You look like shit, little girl.”
“Middle Eastern men want the Reapers to distract the authorities for the next six or so days while they do something out in the gulf waters. I don’t know what but they paid a shitload of money to Lyle to risk his life by causing a distraction.” She dropped her bomb.
Mountain ran his fingers through his hair and swore. “Dammit. Are you sure they were Middle Eastern?”
Georgia nodded. “They had a tattoo on their left wrists with middle eastern letters written under it. It reminded me of a triangle with the grim reaper inside it. They called themselves Blue Vipers and they said there were many more of them here.” She shrugged. “I only saw three of them but when Lyle asked, they said there were many more.”
“I’ve never heard of the Blue Vipers,” Hawk claimed.
“I never have either, but that might not mean anything,” Mountain stated. “What else did you hear?”
“They wanted Lyle and his men to create a distraction so they could get something done out in the gulf. I don’t know what, there’s nothing but oil rigs out there. I’ve been thinking about that and there’s nothing out there but the rigs. What if they decide to blow one of them up? That blowout we had a few years ago was pretty bad. Or all of them? They could create an oil spill out there that nobody could stop.”
“Yeah they could,” Mountain agreed. “Have you seen these men around Jarrett before?”
Georgia nodded. “They come into the diner for breakfast every once in a while. Charlotte doesn’t like them much because they never speak English around her. You know her and her damn gossip. She isn’t happy unless she’s talking about people and what they do wrong.”
Mountain looked her over and asked, “Are you okay girl? How did you let them do this to you?”
“They caught me when I was asleep,” she complained. “I didn’t even get a hold of my bat before they hit me. The damn bastards ganged up on me. There had to have been five of them that night.”
“Are you gonna be okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m going to be fine. The IV helped and I’m feeling better already.” She grinned at him. “Can I do anything to help?”
Mountain shrugged. “We don’t yet know what we’re up against. I’m gonna call in some friends and see if we can figure out what they’re up too. Then we can make some plans. Okay, girl, you get some rest. I’ve got some calls to make.” He got to his feet and stared at her for a moment. “Is your dad okay?”
Georgia shrugged. “He was the last time I saw him. He was mumbling something about my having to leave town or some dumb shit like that but he left before he told me everything. He didn’t tell me Lyle gave him money for me. I found that out when Lyle mentioned it to his men.”
Mountain scoffed. “Lyle probably put the money in his pocket while your dad was passed out. Then told him about it later. I doubt your father would have sold you to him.”
“My father might not be good for much anymore but he never would’ve done that,” Georgia agreed.
“Did you hear what the Reapers are going to do?” Hawk asked.
Georgia shook her head. “No I didn’t and the three men didn’t care. They just wanted a distraction for the next six days. Knowing Lyle, it’s not going to be good though. He seems to think the law can’t touch him.”
“How many Reapers are there now?” Mountain asked.
“Around twenty to twenty five and each one is meaner than the next one.” Shaking her head she added, “Mean and stupid is a dangerous combination.”
Mountain snorted. “Tell me about it.”
“When we were on our way over here, they were just setting up road blocks,” Caine told them. “I think they were looking for her.”
“How did you get through?”
“She hid on the floor and I had two dogs with me, they hid her body from the searchers. The dogs kept them from searching the truck by growling at them.” Caine shook his head. “They weren’t the brightest of men.” He shrugged. “But she’s right, they are all meaner than sin and they like to push people around for no other reason than just because they think they can. The couple of men we saw were armed.”
Mountain looked down at her. “You get some rest and we’ll talk later.” He paused then added, “I need you on your top game baby girl. We might need everyone to figure this out and stop it.”
Georgia nodded. “You can count on me.”
Mountain nodded then lead everyone out of the room. He stopped once he got back to the main room.
“So what are you thinking?” Hawk asked him.
“I’m thinking we need more information on this Blue Viper group. And I know just who to call to find out.”
“Who?” Hawk wanted to know.
Mountain turned to the whole group. “We met a man, an old friend of Sam’s a few months ago. His name is Pappy and he lives not too far from here. He’s with a group called the Hell’s Fire Riders.”
“We’ve heard of them,” Hawk stated. “In fact, they called here a few weeks ago. They wanted to know if we would be willing to help if they called on us.”
“What did you tell them?” Mountain asked.
“Hey, they got a good plan,” Hawk replied. “We live here too, you know what I mean.”
Mountain nodded. “If anyone can figure this out, they can.” Reaching for his phone, he placed his call.
A short time later, more people joined them in the clubhouse. Stone, Dewey, Reaper, Trudy and several others joined the group.
When Reaper saw Calico there, he opened his e
yes wide but didn’t say anything yet.
After introductions were made and everyone told them what was going on, Trudy set up her laptop and began typing. After a few minutes, she looked over at Mountain and asked, “Are you sure she said they were Blue Vipers and that they were Middle Eastern guys?”
Mountain and several others nodded. “That’s what she said.”
“And their symbol was a hooded man inside a triangle with Arabic letters underneath the triangle? The triangle and the lettering in a blue color not black?”
“That’s close to what she told us,” Gage agreed. “Why, can’t you find them?”
“Oh, I found them, but you may not like what I found.” Trudy sighed. “They are the Blue Vipers but the Blue is spelled Bleu not Blue. They originate from the hills of Afghanistan. They are extreme Islamic sonsofbitches. If it’s the same group, they have been here before and they are the worst of the worst, rivaled only by the Taliban. In fact, they are as old as the Taliban too.”
“Motherfucker,” someone swore after a moment of complete silence.
“What do you mean, they’ve been here before?” Gator asked.
“Those are the motherfuckers that killed my sister. I thought the name sounded familiar,” Gage growled. “They murdered her and my six year old niece to get my brother in law off their case. He came close to hunting them down. Before he could finish the job, they crawled back into the shadows where they belong. Nobody has heard from them in five years.”
“What happened five years ago?” Mountain asked.
“My brother in law worked for the FBI and tried to stop them from destroying our capital. He was able to track them and he brought them to the head of the line as far as a terrorist groups here on American soil. To stop his efforts, they killed my sister and niece and that held him down for a while but not for long. He vowed vengeance and then he and his friends hunted them down. He took out some of the head people and the rest went underground.” Gage told them.
“His boss kept him on after the loss of his family?” Stone asked.
Gage shook his head. “No, they didn’t but after he buried his family, he disappeared. They didn’t know where he went until it was too late. Mike finished the job against orders and went on what he called walkabout. He heard about it from a friend in Australia. He just got in his car and drove away. The last I heard he was operating a bar in western Wisconsin called the Cove.”
Trudy was busy typing for a moment then she broke in, “It says here that an FBI agent by the name of Lincoln Rhymes broke the case.”
Gage shook his head. “His name is Lincoln Michael Severns. Rhymes was his stepfather’s name. He went back to Mike Severns after the Vipers murdered his family. He said Lincoln Rhymes died when he buried Michelle and Stephanie.”
“Did your girl mention what the Bleu Vipers were going to be doing?” Trudy asked.
“No, only that they wanted the Reapers to distract the authorities while they were doing their thing out in the gulf waters,” Mountain explained. “She didn’t hear what that was. Lyle asked them about it but they didn’t share that with everyone.”
Trudy snapped her head to glare at Gage, then began typing on her keyboard. A few minutes later, she swore under her breath.
“What is it?” Mountain asked what they all wondered about as a group.
“Lincoln Rhymes did a little more than just take out the people responsible for the deaths of his wife and child,” she muttered.
“What are you talking about?” Gage asked.
“One of the men he took out happened to be a big shot in their little terrorist club,” Trudy explained. “He never should have been where your brother in law could find him. He was also the brother of the man in charge, one Hussian Al Mira. When Hussian came back for his brother Loki, your brother in law got off a shot. The bullet hit very close and while it didn’t kill him, it did take out one of his eyes. It also ruined his good looks. The guy looks good on one side but the other side doesn’t look good at all. He looks like a two faced monster.”
“How do you know that?” Gage asked.
“I’m on one of the Viper’s private underground web sites and his face is front and center,” Trudy told them. “They’re remembering the hit they took and also those who died that day. It’s some kind of anniversary or something coming up soon. These guys are weird that way. They want to remember and celebrate their dead with honor.” Trudy read more of the memories they published. “They have vowed a jihad against Lincoln Rhymes and all he holds dear.”
“How the hell did you find their private web site?” Hawk asked. “I thought those were hidden for members only?”
Stone and Dewey grinned at the question. “She can find anything at any time.”
Hawk turned to Mountain and saw him shrug. Turning back to watch Trudy, he was amazed at her skills.
No one said a word while she did her thing, zipping here and zipping there, looking for something that might help them determine what the Vipers were doing here in Texas. “Fuck me,” she finally muttered. Looking up slowly, she met Stone’s eyes, then she turned and met Mountain’s gaze.
“What is it?” Mountain asked softly. He wasn’t sure he liked the look of absolute terror in her eyes.
“They are bragging that this is the first strike of a three hit plot. They planned to blow up every single oil rig in the gulf all at the same time. The oil spill will be one of epic proportion. They plan to dump hundreds of thousands of gallons of raw oil into the gulf. They hope it will kill every living creature in these waters and along the shore, all the way from Texas to Florida. Then it will spread to the Atlantic Ocean. If we’re lucky, it will miss the hurricane season. If not, the oily water will be blown inland as far as the hurricane winds. If we’re super fucking lucky, the oil will just sit on top of the water forever contaminating it, if we’re not, a single spark from a motor or a boat engine will ignite the oil and a cloud of ash will spread and cover the whole of the United States. Eventually, the cloud will drift to the European nations. The devastation will be complete and never ending.” She closed her eyes for a moment then opened them to stare at the men with shock on her paling face. “These men want to ruin this country. They want to leave us with nothing.”
“Then we have to stop them, don’t we?” Georgia’s voice called out from the doorway.
Everyone turned and watched as she made her way to the group. She moved slowly but she didn’t give in to the pain she was feeling.
“What the hell are you doing out of bed?’ Caine growled as he hurried over to her side.
Georgia hushed him. “Oh, settle down. I’m okay. The fluids helped more than anything else. I was just dehydrated. I have a bit of a headache but other than that I’m fine.”
“Ah, sweetheart,” Gage commented. “Your headache might be the product of getting a gun slammed into your head. You do have a mild concussion.”
Georgia closed her eyes. “Thanks for the reminder as if the headache isn’t enough of one.” She looked around the room. “I may not be 100 percent but I want to help. If what she says happens, our country will never be the same. Everyone who lives along the coast line depends on these waters for his or her living. If we do nothing, then we’re partly to blame. An oil slick of that size will devastate these waters. All the costal fishing will be gone. The wetland will be no more. Everything will change and not for the better. We can’t let that happen.”
“We won’t,” Mountain promised. “We know what they’re planning. Now we’ll come up with a plan to stop them.”
“And I know just the person to call for backup.” Stone finally spoke up. “This is what Shay wanted the network for.”
“What network?” Caine asked.
“We can talk about that later,” Stone assured him. “Right now, we have to get moving on this problem.” He moved away from the crowd and made his call.
Mountain glanced over at Trudy. “What else can you tell us about this group?”
“They h
ave a really high bounty on Lincoln Rhymes’ head. They have been actively looking for him since they regrouped five years ago. Their leader really wants him.”
“Dead or alive?” Gage asked.
“Oh, they want him alive.” Trudy scoffed. “They’re listing everything they want to be able to do to him.”
“You said this was the first hit of a three hit plan,” Mountain stated. “Do they say what they plan to do next?”
Trudy peeked over the top of her laptop. “They intend to take out our government, period.”
Chapter Five
“Let’s take care of one problem at a time.” Mountain brought them back on course. “We also have the Reapers to worry about. They need to do something drastic to keep everyone centered on them, rather than on the Vipers. Does anyone have any idea what that could be?” He turned to Georgia, “Did you hear anything that might tell us what they had in mind?”
“No but I can get word out to my friends and have them contact me if something happens,” Georgia suggested.
“Get on it before something happens.” Mountain snapped his fingers. “The quicker we know, the better prepared we can be when the time comes.”
Georgia nodded and walked away grabbing her phone out of her pocket. A short time later, she came back with a frown on her face. “Ummm, guys, we might have a problem…”
“What kind of problem?” Caine asked.
“None of my texts to Jarrett are going through.”
“What does that mean?” Hawk asked.
Georgia glanced up at the group of men standing there. “I don’t know. It’s like the cell tower isn’t there.”
“Fuccck.” Mountain growled. He looked over at the others.
“What does this mean?” Gage asked.
“We need eyes on Jarrett,” Mountain explained told them. “I’d like eyes that are already there to report but if we have to go there we can.”
“Wait,” Georgia called out. “I can try one more friend. He lives outside of town and is on a different cell tower. If I can get a hold of Jason, maybe he can tell us what’s going on.”
