Whispers in the Night

by James Hunt

  Maisie nodded. They hugged. And then Liz walked quickly toward the truck, doing her best to ignore Maisie’s whimpers as she left her youngest sister with people that she barely knew to join more strangers in a desperate and naïve attempt to save her father.

  Liz said nothing as she climbed into the back of the truck bed, taking a seat next to a middle-aged woman with a black bandana hung around her neck and dressed in a worn, plain t-shirt, faded jeans, and boots where the rubber sole was beginning to come undone.

  Kara started the truck, and they drove off.

  71

  The fan in the small warehouse office oscillated from left to right, momentarily carrying a blast of cool air to relieve Mulaney of the building’s stifling stale heat. The air clung to him, clogging his mind and his pores. He hated it.

  Mulaney had removed his jacket and loosened his tie as he sat at the desk with his computer, waiting for his response from his contact within the EPA. He had reached out to them immediately after discovering Terry’s treasonous act.

  It was a long shot that anything could be done about it now, but Mulaney wanted to ensure he was exhausting all options. Sweat dripped into his eye, and Mulaney angrily swiped it away. He would have returned to his house or the company’s main office, but he didn’t want to be anywhere authorities or agencies could find him until he had some ammunition to fire back.

  The computer pinged. Mulaney opened the email quickly, but it wasn’t the answer he had hoped for. “Fuck!” He slammed the laptop’s screen down hard and pushed it across the table and away from him.

  This problem needed to be contained. The last thing he needed was something drawn out. He might be able to limit the damage by confessing to a lesser crime, but still large enough in consequence to satisfy the EPA’s bloodthirst.

  The equipment.

  Mulaney swiveled in his chair. The equipment he used to survey the mine was new. He hadn’t used it at any other sites. If he could shift the blame to faulty equipment and readings, in addition to the confession from Terry, it might be enough.

  A hefty fine would be installed, maybe even a brief halt on any future drillings, but he knew that those limitations would be confined to the States. His international operations would still be running, and it would limit the hemorrhaging of his bottom line.

  Mulaney nodded, liking the idea the more he thought about it. He opened his computer, sending an email to his assistant to pull every engineer that surveyed the new mine out of bed and get them into the office.

  Mulaney would need to prep the engineers on what to say when they were questioned. They’d all need to sell the same story. Consistency was key in the coverups. A single rogue agent, or someone who didn’t know what to say, could unravel the entire effort.

  Mulaney stood and paced a short length of the office, nostrils flaring in frustration. He had taken a risk with Holloway. He loosened his tie and removed the strangling apparatus altogether and flung it on the table when a knock at the door interrupted his brooding.

  “Sir, Duane hasn’t checked in over the radio at Ghost Town,” Bishop said.

  Mulaney rolled his eyes. “Well, get a team over there and find out what the hell is going on!”

  Bishop nodded and quickly stepped out.

  Red-faced and panting for breath, Mulaney raked his fingers through his hair. It was all coming undone, so close to the end. But he wouldn’t go down alone. He’d burn the whole fucking ship down before he took the fall by himself.

  Liz gripped the truck bed’s siding, her entire body vibrating from the rough ride. The wind whipped her hair around her face, but she enjoyed the speed of their movement. The cool, dry air smelled different when it rushed past her quickly, the wind rushing against her face offering an illusion of freedom.

  Freedom from judgement and the crushing weight of opinions that pummeled you from every angle. Everything that she worried about at school had suddenly evaporated, sucked from her mind by the dry desert air.

  But when the truck slowed, turning off the highway to a single paved road and the wind dying down, the freedom vanished.

  The headlights flicked off, casting them into darkness. Everyone sat up straighter, adjusted the weapons in their hands, and studied the landscape more closely.

  Once the highway behind them was no longer visible, the truck veered off the single paved road and into the desert sand. Liz white-knuckled the sides of the truck bed, lest she be bucked up and out of the moving vehicle.

  Everyone else swayed back and forth, bobbing up and down as they continued their trek parallel to the road, which was now one hundred yards to their left.

  Liz figured that they must be close, and her heart beat faster, slowly climbing its way from her chest and up into her throat where it pounded at a dizzying speed.

  The truck’s brakes squealed, and everyone shifted forward from the momentum as it stopped and the engine shut off.

  Almost immediately, the fighters in the back climbed over the sides and landed on the sand, Kara and Ben stepping out of the cab, everyone converging at the truck’s hood.

  Kara spoke softly and in her native tongue, and by the time Liz had made her way to the hood, the group had already formed a tight circle, blocking her out. Not that she could understand what they were saying anyway.

  A final word was said, and the circle disbanded, Ben leading the fighters ahead and into the darkness, while Kara stayed behind with Liz.

  “What’s going on?” Liz asked.

  “Mulaney’s installation is another mile ahead,” Kara answered. “We’ve been tracking down some of his properties that are off the books in hopes of finding something there that we could use against him as leverage, but the security is tight.”

  “Why aren’t we going with them?” Liz asked.

  “I’m going,” Kara answered. “You’re staying here.”

  Liz shook her head. “I’m not going to sit on the sidelines and do nothing.”

  “You won’t be doing nothing.” Kara fished the truck’s keys out of her pocket, shoving them into Liz’s palm. “We don’t know how bad this could get, and we might need a quick escape. If you see a red flare, you drive as fast as you can toward its direction.”

  Liz opened her palm, staring at the keys, but then shook her head. “I can do more than this.”

  “I know,” Kara said. “But we’ve known Mulaney a lot longer than you have. If we’re caught, or if things go sideways…” She lowered her gaze. “My family has done enough damage to yours.” She retreated backwards into the darkness. “Just keep your eyes peeled for the flare.”

  Liz stood by the hood until she couldn’t see Kara any longer, and then paced around to the driver side door and climbed into the cab. She swung the heavy metal door closed and leaned back, shutting her eyes with a sigh.

  Deep down, she knew that Kara was right. She didn’t have any type of training, and she had never even fired a weapon before.

  A rumbling in the darkness prompted Liz’s attention to the left. She climbed over the seats and to the passenger window, squinting into the horizon.

  Lights shone on the single paved road. A pair of vehicles were moving quickly away from the facility. Despite the distance between herself and the road, Liz still ducked behind the door lest she be seen.

  Frowning, Liz climbed back into the driver’s seat and stared straight ahead into the night sky, waiting for the red flare that signaled they needed help.

  Maisie had followed the old man behind the trailer and into his tent, and her jaw dropped in amazement. “Wooooow.” She walked to one of the pictures near the bottom and gently traced the outline of one of the pictures.

  “The deer spirit is a very powerful force in our tribe,” the old man said, muddling some concoction into a bowl.

  “Deer have spirits?” Maisie turned to him. “I thought only people have spirits?”

  The old man smiled, working his knobby and arthritic hands onto the muddle, crushing the leaves and spices into a fine powder.
“Everything has a spirit. Anything that the earth gives birth to has a spirit. The mountains, the sand, the oceans, all of them are harbingers of the souls of our ancestors.” He continued to muddle but looked at Maisie. “The world around us holds our history, our present, and our future.”

  Maisie frowned and shook her head. “That sounds made up.”

  The old man laughed, nodding to himself. “I suppose it does.”

  Maisie turned to the fire in the center of the hut and then followed the column of smoke that drifted through the small hole in the ceiling, which brought her attention to the drawings near the top.

  The old man set the bowl down at his side, then reached for another one behind him. “You’ve seen those pictures before?”

  Maisie nodded, shivering despite the warmth of the fire.

  “That place you visited,” the old man said. “You won’t have to go there again.”

  “How do you know that?” Maisie asked.

  “Because your mother loves you very much.”

  “She must not love me that much because she’s not here.”

  “Do you remember what your sister told you?” The old man tapped his chest. “About your heart?”

  Again Maisie nodded.

  “Your mother gave you your heart. She carved you to life herself. She made sure that every single part of you was cared for. She is as much a part of you as your sister, and your father.”

  Maisie stared into the fire. The flames wiggled and danced, and it reminded her of the place she had been. “Everyone thinks that I don’t remember, but I do.”

  “Remember what?” The old man asked.

  “The accident.” Maisie kept staring at the fire. She was lost in the memory, transported back into the SUV three months ago. “My mom had been acting funny all day. I thought maybe she just wasn’t feeling well, but that wasn’t right.” Her eyes grew wider the longer she stared into the fire.

  The old man said nothing.

  “I remember her swerving over the road,” Maisie said. “I remember us flipping over. It was so loud. Everyone was screaming. Or maybe it was just me.” She lowered her gaze and stared at her footprints. “I was so scared.”

  The old man placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and then revealed a small cup. “Drink this.”

  Maisie took it then sniffed it. “What is it?”

  “It will make you feel better.”

  Maisie hesitated but sipped from the cup. The liquid was warm, but the cup cool. She let the first sip travel down her throat and into her stomach where the warmth spread to her limbs. She smiled and looked to the medicine man, who reciprocated the expression.

  “You are strong,” he said. “Your whole family is strong.” The smile faded, and then he avoided the little girl’s gaze. His eyes became red and misty. “I keep telling myself that I did it for my people. That there was no other way. But that just wasn’t the truth. We could have tried other things. I could have tried other things.” He quickly wiped a tear away before it fell and sniffled, cleared his throat, and regained control of his emotions. “But I won’t be weak anymore.” He looked to Maisie. “I will match your courage, Maisie. I will match the courage of your entire family.”

  Maisie wasn’t sure what the old man meant, but she sipped from her cup and it continued to make her feel better.

  72

  It didn’t take long for Kara to catch up with the others after leaving Liz behind. She didn’t anticipate needing the flare, but she knew that it would give the girl something to do.

  She joined her brother at the front of the pack, the dozen fighters creeping along in the darkness, and then Kara watched the pair of vehicles leave the facility, moving quickly. She paused and looked back behind them in the darkness where they left Liz.

  It wasn’t until the vehicles were completely out of sight that she continued to lead the group forward, confident that Liz was safe.

  Ben cast her a glare for the pause, but she ignored it. She knew that she needed to have some reassurance that the girl was okay before she continued. This allowed her to focus now and complete their main objective to get the father out.

  Whatever uncertainty that Kara had about this being the correct installation vanished after seeing the pair of black SUVs speed away from the building.

  There was still the possibility that Terry Holloway was in one of those SUVs. But her instincts told her that Terry was inside. Alive or otherwise.

  The building was a giant rectangle, three stories high, with minimal windows and doors. From what her contact had told her, the building had no security cameras due to the type of “business” that was conducted on the premise.

  Mulaney was careful about his image, as slimy as it already was.

  The group reached the west side of the building first and then snaked their way north, hoping to find an entrance around back. Four kept watch on the corners, keeping an eye for any guards sweeping the area, while Ben, Kara, and the other two headed for the door.

  Kara was the first there, and she paused, waiting for the others to catch up. She leaned her ear against the door. Silence. She grabbed the handle and gave it a little tug. Locked.

  She stepped out of the way, and Ben reached into his pocket, removing a lock pick. The tumbler was complicated, but a few minutes of fiddling was all he needed to grant them access.

  Kara opened the door, revealing a dimly lit hallway with floor, walls, and ceiling, all solid concrete. She frowned. She had expected a large warehouse interior. This was more like a maze.

  Kara entered, rifle up, the other three following, Ben closing the door silently behind them. She kept her eyes and ears peeled for anything out of the ordinary but found nothing.

  Another hallway crossed up ahead, and Kara slowed, checking both ways, finding doors in either direction. She looked to Ben and leaned close. “I don’t know where they’d keep him.”

  Ben shrugged. “We’ll have to check the rooms one by one.”

  “Should we split up?” Kara asked.

  Ben considered it, then checked his watch. “Ten minutes. We don’t find him, then we head back the way we came and regroup. Understand?”

  Kara and the others nodded.

  “We’ll break off into twos,” Ben said. “Kara, you go with Ray. I’ll go with Diane.”

  Kara nodded and veered left, while Ben went right down the hall. Kara took lead, Ray watching her back. She was the better shot, and her reflexes were a little quicker.

  The first closed door on her left triggered butterflies, and like their excursion into Ghost Town to save the girls, she trembled. She hated that she did that, but she couldn’t control her adrenaline or the nerves rattling through her body.

  Quick as a snake bite, Kara flung the door open and stepped inside. Empty. She exhaled. Her nerves calmed. She felt better.

  Kara and Ray worked their way down the hall efficiently. Most of the rooms were either locked, empty, or used for storage. Kara entered, checking a few of the boxes, none of them labeled. They were sealed up tight, and if she had more time she would have looked inside, but she moved on.

  The deeper Kara and Ray moved down the hall, the more anxious she became. She thought that maybe Terry Holloway really was in one of those SUVs, and that they had missed their chance to save him.

  And while she knew that Liz would have a few choice words for her when they returned to the truck, she was more disappointed with herself.

  Kara had made the decision to fight. The Holloways hadn’t. Plain and simple. And while Kara could live with whatever consequences were thrown her way, Liz was just a kid. She needed her parents. Both of them. And while she wasn’t sure what her grandfather had up his sleeve to get Amy back, she had to do her part and try and save their dad.

  With the last door cleared at the end of the hallway, Ray and Kara returned to the crossway where they had parted from Ben and Diane. The pair got there first, but they didn’t have to wait long.

  “Nothing,” Ben said.

 
“Same.” Kara glanced deeper into the building. “He might be down there.”

  “Kara, we’re pushing it here as it is,” Ben said.

  “We have to keep trying.” Kara let her eyes continue to linger on her brother, who was casting her one of those “we can’t save everyone” faces, but she wasn’t trying to save everyone. Just one more. “C’mon. We’ll be quick. I think most of Mulaney’s goons took off in those SUVs anyway.”

  Despite Ben’s apprehensions, he followed Kara deeper into the building, which Kara still hadn’t figured out what Mulaney was using for. She knew the man had fingers in a variety of nefarious pots, but so far all she’d seen in here was storage. Seemed like a lot of trouble to go through to have an off-the-grid location just to store boxes of cleaning supplies and office furniture. But maybe that was the point.

  Kara slowed when they neared another hallway intersection. Again, she peered down both directions, but this time, on her left, the hallway ended with another door. So far, it had been the only hallway that did. And it led deeper into the building.

  “He’s there,” Kara said, stepping toward the door.

  “Wait.” Ben grabbed her shoulder, whispering angrily as he pulled her back. “We still need to make sure the rest of the rooms are clear along the way. I don’t want to get shot in the back. Do you?”

  Kara nodded, knowing that her brother was right. “But we stick to this side, okay?”

  Ben acquiesced, and the three of them followed Kara, her eyes continuing to drift toward the door at the end of the hall. It was almost like it was calling to her, and that she alone was meant to find it. She was positive that Terry Holloway was on the other side.

  Seven doors separated Kara from the truth. The first one was locked and silent on the other side. The second was a closet with cleaning supplies. The third and fourth were also locked. The fifth was an office, this one fully furnished, and looked as though someone worked in it. The sixth was a large conference room area, a white board with technical drawings etched over it in marker, and the seventh was another empty office.