Twisted: Nick Stryker Series, Book Two The Shallow End Gals

by Vicki Graybosch

  * * *

  Darren Billow sat in his truck and looked at the slope of the floor on the cabin’s porch. The whole place had a sad, forgotten look about it. His parents had bought it for a vacation cottage decades ago. He saw the red frog watering can still sitting on the porch. Weeds grew from its opening. He glanced at his watch. The militia men were late. Why couldn’t anything go as planned?

  Darren hopped out of his truck, hefted an armload of ammunition and guns and carried them to the cabin door. It had cost him a small fortune to negotiate this morning’s killing on such short notice. Jake had left him no choice.

  Inside the cabin Darren stacked his pile of weapons on the table and called his militia contact. “Where are you guys? You’re late. I have a plane to catch and we need to talk before he gets here.”

  “I can see your property from here. We’ll be landing in a minute.”

  Nick and Jen had parked on neighboring property, walked down a tree line and squatted in a brush patch with a sight line to the cabin’s front door. They watched as Darren carried the weapons into the cabin.

  Nick whispered, “Jake should be arriving soon. I’m going to make my way to the back of the cabin. Watch my back.” Nick tapped his earpiece and Jen nodded that her earpiece was on. She watched Nick run across the side yard clearing and disappear around the back of the cabin.

  The rhythmic sounds of a helicopter rotor could be heard in the distance. It was getting louder by the minute and was soon in sight. The helicopter lowered itself in the small clearing in front of the house. Jen watched the dirt blow and four armed men in camouflage get out. They signaled the pilot to leave. Darren greeted them on the porch.

  The helicopter roared again as it lifted upward and banked to the right. Jen whispered, “Got four new buddies. One is starting to walk around to the back side of the house, Nick.”

  A hand rested on Jen’s shoulder. She froze. It was Nick. She hadn’t even heard him. There hadn’t been a twig snap, nothing.

  Nick whispered, “I didn’t expect this. Go back to our car.”

  Jen looked in Nick’s eyes. He meant it.

  “I’m not leaving you.”

  Nick exhaled, “I suppose six to two isn’t all that bad. Stay here. I’m going under the floor.”

  CHAPTER 24

  Wayne and Sam sped toward the location of Darren Billow’s cabin. Traffic was heavy until they were south of the city. Wayne guessed they were about ten minutes from arriving.

  Sam said, “I wonder if I can call them and see what’s happening?”

  “Try it.”

  Both Nick and Jen had their phones off. Wayne got an idea, “Try the earpiece on the closed circuit setting. Nick said these were satellite boosted and could transmit 50 miles.”

  Sam spoke, “Nick, Jen? Do you copy?”

  Wayne glanced over after a minute. Sam shrugged. Suddenly he heard Jen’s voice, “Jen.”

  Sam asked, “Are you guys at Darren’s cabin?”

  “Yes.” Jen was whispering and Sam could barely hear her.

  “Where’s Nick?”

  “He’s under the floor of the cabin listening to their meeting. He can’t talk.”

  Wayne said, “Ask her how many are there.”

  “I heard Wayne. Darren and four that came by helicopter. Jake’s not here yet.”

  Sam said, “We’ll be there in ten. Where do we park?”

  Jen answered, “Our car’s at the neighbors. Glad to have you join the party.”

  Sam checked his gun and reached into the backseat for more ammo. “I’ve got a feeling this is going to get hairy.”

  Wayne turned onto a side road and pushed the accelerator. “Whatever makes you think that?”

  Jen, Wayne and Sam could hear the sounds of men talking, probably through Nick’s transmitter.

  Voice #1: “This isn’t what we normally do, Darren. I think you should answer some questions before Jake gets here.”

  Voice #2: “All you need to know is that the club will have a million dollars wired to the account later today. Don’t tell me you don’t have the stomach for this. I know better.”

  Voice #3: “So, as soon as he gets here, you’re going to leave, right?”

  Voice #2: “I need to be at the airport in 45 minutes. This is the plan. When Jake gets here I’m going to tell him I need to make our travel arrangements and that you guys are here to help him kill Stryker. As soon as I leave, kill Jake. Take his body out to the pond down at the south end and leave. Make sure you kill him before he calls Stryker. You don’t need that complication.”

  Voice #1. “Can I ask why you want your brother dead?”

  Voice #2. “I have my reasons.”

  Jen whispered to Nick, “Jake is their target?”

  Nick whispered back, “Surprise.”

  Wayne glanced at Sam as they sped toward the cabin. “This is a twist I didn’t expect. Darren is having Jake killed, not Nick.”

  Sam shouted, “Stop!” Sam had seen a small, white car ahead of them clear the rise of a hill. “Jake is right in front of us!”

  Jen had heard the exchange between Wayne and Sam and moved to better cover. Minutes later a white Camry pulled in the dirt drive and parked in front of the cabin. Jake Billow stepped out and stood staring at the woods, right where Jen was.

  Jen froze. She hoped nothing had given her location away. Jake turned, walked up the porch steps and entered the cabin.

  Voice #2. “You’re late, Jake.” There was the sound of a chair scraping the wood floor. “I’m going to go firm up our travel plans. I don’t need to watch you guys kill a cop.”

  Suddenly there was a lot of background noise and the sounds of rifles clacking.

  Nick’s voice broke through loud and clear. “There’s a flaw in your plan, Darren.”

  Wayne looked at Sam, “What the…?”

  Nick’s voice again. “You’re surrounded. There is no escape from this building.” There was a slight pause. “I’m arresting all of you.”

  Jen rolled her eyes and smacked a bug on her neck. Surrounded? Hope he has a plan.

  * * *

  Wayne pressed the accelerator taking the turns on the dirt road at dangerously high speeds.

  Sam hung on and yelled, “Go! Go!”

  Wayne yelled, “I can’t believe he just walked into the room with them!”

  Sam yelled back, “And told them they were surrounded!”

  The sun reflected a glint on the chrome of Nick’s car.

  Wayne yelled, “Hang on!” He twisted the steering wheel a hard left and ended up next to Nick’s car.

  Wayne and Sam jumped out and rammed their way through the tree line at a dead run. They finally saw the cabin in the distance.

  Nick’s voice said, “Any minute officers are going to knock on that door. You boys that flew in for the party better think twice. Jake and Darren are going down on murder. So far, you guys have only committed misdemeanors.”

  Wayne cursed at Nick under his breath. The cabin sat on a hill, still a distance away, and Nick had said they’d be knocking any minute. He glanced back at Sam. He was holding his own.

  Nick watched as the men in camouflage fingered their rifles and glanced at each other. Darren spoke, “He can’t kill all of us for God’s sake. We have a deal! Shoot him!”

  Nick stood in the doorway between the kitchen and the main cabin room. He had a M4 carbine in his right hand and his pistol in his left. It took strength and skill to shoot them both simultaneously with accuracy. Nick could.

  Nick spoke to Darren without moving his head. “Correction, Darren. I can kill all of you, easily.”

  Nick said, “Lower your rifles and put your hands above your head. Now.”

  Nick could read the indecision in the men’s minds. A loud pounding at the door convinced the men to lower their rifles and put up their hands.

  Nick yelled, “Come in.” He had his rifle pointed at Darren and his pistol pointed at Jake.

  Nick saw Jake lean toward his rif
le. “Now is not the time to be stupid, Jake. These men were hired by Darren to kill you, not me.”

  Jake snarled at Nick. “Lying cop.”

  One of the cuffed men yelled over, “It’s true, dude.”

  Darren reached in his waistband, pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Jake. Darren started backing up from the group and grabbed Jake’s jacket. He pulled Jake next to him. Darren’s pistol was pressed against Jake’s left temple.

  “Back off! You’ll never see your girlfriend again! Jake has her. Now, move away from that door!”

  Nick walked straight toward Darren. “Lacey is safe, just another example of little brother’s screw ups. You don’t have the stomach to kill, Darren. Jake always did your dirty work, didn’t he?”

  Darren adjusted his stance. “I mean it, back off or I’ll shoot.”

  Nick chuckled, “With the safety on?”

  Darren glanced just long enough for Nick to land a kick to his side sending him backwards into the wall. Nick lunged and grabbed Darren’s pistol. Jake turned to run from the building and was stopped by Jen at the threshold. Jen’s pistol was aimed directly at Jake’s head.

  Wayne cuffed Jake while Sam and Nick cuffed the others.

  Nick ordered all of the cuffed men to lay belly down in the center of the dirt drive.

  Nick called Chicago PD for transport. Jen guarded the six cuffed men at gunpoint while Wayne and Sam helped Nick secure the weapons in the cabin. Nick examined the rifle that had been brought by Jake. He had little doubt that ballistics would prove this was the rifle used to shoot at Cummings. Meaning it was also the rifle used in the killings arranged by Attorney Baxter.

  Nick smiled at Wayne. “Good thing you guys showed up, thanks.”

  Sam asked, “Did you have a plan when you just walked in the room with them?”

  Nick answered, “I figured they wouldn’t expect me to show up like that. I could tell from listening to them that the new guys weren’t as committed to this as Darren thought.”

  Nick, Wayne, and Sam waited on the porch with Jen for the transport teams to arrive.

  Jen winked at Nick. “Surrounded?”

  One of the handcuffed men yelled over, “That’s it? You had two men and a girl?”

  Jen narrowed her eyes at the man. “Nick, tell me I can shoot him.”

  * * *

  The four militia men were loaded into a single caged transport van. Nick waited until Jake and Darren were each secured in high security transport vans. He walked over, stepped inside Jake’s van and sat across from him. Jake was chained at his ankles, waist, and chest. Each wrist was cuffed to an iron ring bolt.

  Jake’s expression was hard to read.

  Nick really wanted to understand Jake. “You kidnapped Lacey to make this personal between you and me. Was your plan to get me angry and then confront me? That doesn’t make sense Jake. You’ve always chosen weak victims or an unfair advantage with sniper shots. I bet it was Darren’s idea to have his militia buddies help you when he heard what you had done. He knew you would lose in a fight with me. ”

  Jake was listening but making no comment.

  Nick asked, “Did Darren tell you not to contact me until you got here?”

  Jake remained silent.

  Nick removed his earpiece from his ear. “This thing records. Let me play you a conversation.”

  Jake listened to Darren clarify that the real plan was to kill Jake. He heard Darren tell them to kill Jake before he called Stryker.

  Nick shut off the transmitter. “Darren wanted to be sure you lost today. No more Jake, no more problems. You need help, Jake, and it won’t be coming from Darren.”

  Jake raised one eyebrow and leaned forward as far as his chains would allow. “Lacey was my insurance policy. I’ll get out again, you watch. You’re right about Darren. He doesn’t have the guts to kill. I do.”

  Nick could see the sickness in Jake’s eyes. Sometime over the last five years he really had lost touch with reality. Darren saw it and used it.

  Nick shook his head. “Maybe someday someone can help you get well again, Jake.”

  Jake spat at Nick as he left the van.

  Nick walked over to the van Darren was in and entered. Darren was seething. “You don’t have anything on me! I’ll be out on bond before you have dinner tonight.”

  Nick leaned back, “Let me tell you a story, Darren. You started visiting Jake at Brookfield and figured out fairly quick what the weaknesses were of the facility. You saw a chance to come into some big money fast. Your business had failed, you lost your house, and having Jake made it easy. You could tell that Jake was losing what little sanity he had left in that place.”

  Nick continued, “You picked a night, had Jake kill everyone at Brookfield that could stop you and had Jake dispose of them in the crematorium. One by one, as people got in your way, you had Jake take them out. You used Dr. Elmhurst’s credibility to steal from Brookfield and even sent Jake into the hood to find a buyer for the drugs. You never risked your own safety. Jake did all of the dirty work.”

  “Once your scheme was discovered, you decided Jake was a liability. You set it up so Jake would take the fall for everything and you would just disappear into the sunset. When did you decide to kill him?”

  Darren leaned back and smiled. “You can’t have all of the answers, Stryker. I’m going to be sure my defense team calls you to the stand. You make a good case for my insanity defense.” Darren winked.

  Nick got up and left.

  Outside the van Nick walked over to Jen. “He’s going for an insanity plea. He might get it.”

  Jen shook her head. “Watch them send him to Brookfield Place.”

  Nick looked at Jen. “Talk to Darren. Somewhere on this property there is a bunker or a root cellar. Something.”

  Jen asked, “What are you looking for?”

  Nick answered, “Jake can’t hurt women. He didn’t rape or kill Lacey; he never even looked at her after he put her in the closet. He’s never shot a woman cop.” Nick whispered, “Where’s Nancy Logan?”

  Jen was stunned. “You don’t think she was one of the bodies in the crematorium?”

  Nick pointed in the dirt drive. “Those tire tracks are fresh and not from today. Look how many there are especially over by the tree line. He’s been coming here a lot. She’s here.”

  Jen watched as Nick said something to Wayne and Sam. They all turned and quickly disappeared into the heavily wooded property. Jen entered the transport van that Darren was in and asked him about bunkers or root cellars. Darren refused to answer any of her questions.

  Jen went back outside. The minutes seemed like hours. How was Nick going to find a bunker in 80 acres?

  Nick’s voice came over her earpiece, “We’ve found something.”

  Jen yelled at the transport officers to stay put until she came back. She ran into the woods to find Nick. The spring thaw had left the underbrush thick with budding briars and swamp like puddles. The tree canopy was so thick that the sunlight could only peek through. Jen could only see a few feet in front of her.

  She spoke into the transmitter, “Where are you?”

  An arm reached out and grabbed her jacket sleeve. Jen’s heart stopped.

  It was Wayne, “Over this way.”

  Jen followed Wayne up a small incline where Sam stood next to a huge hinged metal lid. The lid had been camouflaged with brush. A hollow tree trunk camouflaged a large ventilation pipe.

  Sam said, “I’ve never seen anyone track like Stryker. He was practically running. He’s down there.”

  Jen leaned over the four foot diameter opening and saw the metal rungs of a ladder that led far below the ground. A dim light could be seen at the bottom coming in from an angle.

  Jen looked at Sam, “Is there a tunnel?”

  Sam shrugged.

  Nick’s voice came through their earpieces. “Yes. There’s a tunnel, we’ve got three women down here. We need EMTs now!”

  Jen was calling Control Central fo
r the EMTs when the sounds of gunfire erupted from the direction of the cabin.

  Wayne said, “Nick, we’ve got gunfire.”

  Nick answered, “Wait for me.”

  Seconds later Nick joined them. “Jen, help the women.” Nick motioned back toward the cabin. “Militia guys had a recon crew. I should have expected that. They planned to be picked up. There are probably at least two vehicles, heavily armed.”

  Wayne said, “There’re only four transport cops there now.”

  Nick, Wayne and Sam ran for the cabin. Jen lowered herself into the slimy cavity.

  Sam and Wayne fanned out to provide the transport cops additional cover while Nick worked his way behind the militia attackers. Since the militia men had made the decision to attack officers, the rule now was to use deadly force.

  Nick got a vantage point behind the shooters; he was almost back at the street. There were two SUVs blocking the drive with shooters using the driver doors as cover. Nick saw flashes coming from the tree line from at least two more shooters. He shot the two men at the SUVs and ran into the brush for the others.

  Into his transmitter he said, “I shot two at the street, now approaching shooter in west hedge. Take out shooter making his way down the east tree line.”

  Wayne looked over to the east tree line. He didn’t see anyone there. Soon a slight movement of brush revealed a shooter poised to fire. Wayne shot him. Sam saw the back door of the first transport van opening. One of the militia men must have gained entry through the front and passed the keys to the men in the back. Sam fired as soon as the back of the van was completely open. One man fell to the dirt drive, motionless. The remaining militia men shouted “Don’t shoot,” and raised their hands in surrender.

  Wayne saw Nick walking into the clearing, a man in camouflage walking in front of him with his hands in the air. The shooting had stopped. Nick called Control Central and asked for additional EMTs, patrol and a few coroner wagons.

  Nick, Wayne and Sam helped the transport officers secure the militia men that had almost been set free. The transport officers had held their own considering they were outgunned. The only officer badly wounded had been driving the first transport van.