by KJ Dahlen
“What does that mean?” Slammer asked.
“It’s a three part complex,” Bastian explained. “One part held the missile that connected to the second compartment by a runway. The second compartment was used as a control center. That compartment was connected to a third section used for housing and storage. The whole complex was deep underground in case of nuclear fallout.”
“So while we’ve been looking for a complex above ground he’s been underground this whole time?” Slammer growled. “No wonder we can’t find this fucker. He’s been hiding in plain sight and we’ve been too stupid to see him.”
“What else did you find?” Pappy ignored Slammer’s outburst and concentrated on the new information.
“After he took his sister eleven years ago, they lived in a cabin on the land he bought. He had very little contact with anyone while he set up the silo. In fact, people never knew he was living there. He had no electricity, no phones, no computers. He would come to town once a week for the next five years to make contact with someone he trusted. We found that was around the time he began to mention this guy H.R. The diary says he didn’t trust him with everything but enough to get what he needed from him. That’s when he began shipping things by river.”
Trudy now spoke, “From what we were able to uncover, it took him three years to get everything set up. That’s when he and his sister fell off the grid. No one has seen or heard from him since.”
“So we have to find his silo and drag his ass out from underground?” Calico asked. “That should be fun.”
“We also found an amended manifesto,” Trudy broke in again.
Pappy turned to stare at her. “And what does this one promise?”
“This one tells us he’s crossed a fine line into true insanity,” Bastian answered. “He’s been collecting dossiers of intelligent women. He’s under the mistaken impression that all these women will need is an invitation from him to come and be the mothers of the future.”
“He’s already began,” Trudy spoke softly while looking troubled. “I’ve been searching for the women he’s named and three of the sixteen are missing so far. The first one went missing two years ago. The third one went missing six months ago.”
“His pages are filled with outrage,” Bastian continued. “His invitation was rejected by each and every women he sent them to, of course. They thought he was nuts.”
“How many women are we talking about?” Slammer asked.
“There are sixteen names so far, but he promises there are many more.”
“What exactly did you mean earlier when you said these women will become the mothers of the future?” Pappy asked.
“This man thinks he’s a god among men. He thinks he’s going to father a new nation of men and women that will follow his teachings in the new world.”
“What the everloving fuck?” Calico swore.
The entire room went silent for a long moment as the new information sunk in.
Finally Pappy exhaled a deep breathe. “So you’re telling us, Leroy is kidnapping women to impregnate them with his own children that he claims will become the future of a new world?”
Bastian nodded.
“That’s just sick.” Falcon shook his head.
Pappy glanced over at one of the tables and saw Michael and Phoebe sitting there. He could see the fear in Phoebe’s eyes. Michael had his arms around her shoulders holding her close to him. He went over to them and squatted down in front of her. “Did you know about this?” he asked her quietly.
Phoebe shook her head. “No I didn’t.”
“Did you ever think he could take this so far?”
Phoebe turned her face into Michael’s chest. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed. Finally after a few minutes, she stopped. Turning back to face Pappy, she told him, “Leroy scared us. When he hurt us, he had no compassion for us at all. It was like he couldn’t feel the pain he caused either to us or to himself. That time when Rawling beat him his face never showed pain. He just never felt it.”
Pappy reached out and touched her brand. “What about when he did this? Did he feel it?”
Phoebe shook her head. “No he didn’t. His eyes were dead, there was nothing in them at all. I couldn’t understand it. He didn’t hesitate at all when he laid that branding iron on my skin.”
“Did he ever talk about what he wanted in the future?”
Phoebe shook her head. “All he ever said was he was going to get some answers about his father. Then he said he was going to find his mother and get her back. He never said anything about killing anyone.”
“Remember all this happened when she was a kid,” Michael reminded the other man. “People change over the years. This guy went off the rails after she knew him.”
Pappy nodded. “Yes, he did but he never forgot about her. He’s still looking for her after all this time. I don’t think he ever forgot her and that makes him dangerous. If he finds her, he won’t hesitate to come after her.”
Phoebe trembled at his words. She began to hyperventilate and Michael’s arms tightened around her.
Pappy got up and went back to where Bastian was standing. “What else did you discover?”
“We found satellite pictures of the silo and the surrounding area. He does have solar panels up and running along with windmills for more power. The area is right on the river and he has several boats available to him.”
“Do you know where he is?” Dewey asked.
“We think he’s in Paden City, West Virginia.”
“Did any of the information you uncovered say anything about what his plans are for the nation?” Calico wanted to know.
Bastian shook his head. “If he did, we haven’t found it yet. I have a feeling we’ve only scratched the surface. He’s got more to say but we haven’t found it yet.”
“So let me get this straight in my mind.” Falcon exclaimed. “Not only do we have to find this guy but he has his sister and at least three women we have to look out for not to mention there might be kids involved as well? Is that right?”
“That’s about it.” Bastian acknowledged.
“Holy Christ!” Falcon swore softly.
Slammer stood back and stared at the boards for a long time before he said anything. Finally, he straightened up and said, “I think we should send for Bear. We’re gonna need him.”
Swede turned on his feet and his hands tightened into hard fists. “Slammer that might not be such a good idea. He’s going through some serious shit right now.”
Slammer looked over at him and nodded. “I know he is but we need him on this mission. You two are the best there is and we’re going to need both of you to get through this.”
“Who is Bear?” Pappy asked.
Swede stared at Slammer for another moment before he turned to face Pappy. Running his hands over his head he said, “Bear is my brother. We served overseas together.”
“They were the best at what they did,” Slammer told the group. “They led recon missions no one else would touch. They got in and out without the enemy knowing they were even there.”
“But he’s huge!” Caine exclaimed.
“Bear is the same height and weight but when they got into a situation they blend in so well, no one sees them,” Thor added. “They know how the other one thinks and they move together like no two other people I’ve ever seen.”
Swede snorted. “We should know each other very well. Bear is my twin brother.”
Thor stared at him like he was out of his mind. “Why did we not know this before?”
Swede motioned at Slammer. “He knew. He’s known all along as did the military.”
Thor and the other men in his team turned to Slammer. “Why didn’t we know about this?”
“Bear asked me not to tell you.” Slammer shrugged his shoulders. “He said something about not wanting to follow in his brothers footsteps all his life. They tried to keep separate lives and they got very good being separate but when they were together, they were invinci
ble.”
“What happened?” Pappy asked.
“On their last mission together, three years ago some serious shit went down,” Slammer answered. “They were doing recon in an area well known for being an ISIS base. The pair of them went in and only Swede came back. Bear disappeared for three days. We went back in to recover Bear and ended up calling in an air strike on the location. We found Bear and he was in bad shape but he was alive. Then just before the strike, Bear rushed back into the building. He never came back out of the house until after the strike. The entire building was reduced to rubble and when the smoke cleared, Bear walked out with a child in his arms. The poor kid had his throat cut but Bear didn’t want to leave him behind.”
“Bear never forgot finding that kid,” Swede explained. “He came home with PTSD. Around this time of year, he remembers that kid and its best to just leave him alone. Ever since that mission, he can’t stand to be touched. He goes apeshit when you get too close to him.”
“We gave him a place to stay when the military let him go and have learned the hard way to just leave him alone,” Slammer admitted.
“So if he’s so unstable, why do you think we need him on this mission?” Pappy asked.
“Because if anyone can get in and out without Leroy finding out, it’s those two,” Slammer explained. “They may be bigger than a mountain but they work together so well, it’s almost like they are one mind.”
“OK,” Pappy sighed. “If they can get in and out without anyone being wiser what do you think they will come out with?”
“You wanted recon,” Slammer reminded them. “They can go in and find anything that’s there to find and come out.”
“I say let them try,” Dewey told Pappy. “We got very little at the moment and time is running out.”
Pappy ran his fingers down his face. He looked over at Swede. “Can you guys get this done?”
Swede nodded. “We can.”
“Then do it.” Pappy gave his permission. “It’s going to take time to get him here and then get the two of you there, so get things started.”
“You have use of the plane and anything else you need,” Bastian reminded them.
Pappy nodded. “That will come in handy.” He turned to stare at Falcon. “This is also what he invests here. Everything he damn well owns.”
Falcon looked uncomfortable and glanced away.
Slammer reached for his phone. “I’ll get Bear on his way.”
“I can pick him up anywhere,” Jim volunteered. Looking over at Bastian, he said, “I’ll get the plane ready.”
Bastian nodded and glanced over at Pappy. “Maybe after they get back, we’ll know more about his plans and we can make preparations to counteract his plans.”
Shutting his phone, Slammer announced, “Bear will be at the Cambridge airport in three hours.”
Jim nodded and gathered his things. “We’ll be back later tonight.”
They watched Jim walk out the door then went back to the papers on the board.
It was almost dark when a mountain of a man walked into the clubhouse. He stood six foot nine inches of pure muscle. His hair was cut short in the military style. His features were sharp and somewhat handsome his eyes were alert and he watched everything around him.. He walked over to Swede and stared at his brother.
It was like looking into a mirror when the two men stood side by side. Each of them had blonde hair and blue eyes. Each of them had muscles beyond what the normal man would be blessed with. Their shoulders were wide and their waists were trim. Their legs were as huge as trees.
“Brother.” Bears voice was low and gravely. “What the fuck is going on?”
“We have a recon mission to do,” Swede told him.
“I’m not going back to the sandbox.” Bear growled.
“This mission isn’t in the sandbox. It’s right here at home,” Swede told his brother.
Bear stopped and stared at his brother. “Who would be dumb enough to bring a war here?”
“This man is home grown and plain psycho,” Swede assured his brother. “That’s why they called us in. We need to go in and get the info we need and get back out without being seen.”
“Do we know where this mutt is located?” Bear asked.
“Yeah, we know.” Swede smiled. “He’s living in a missile silo in West Virginia.”
Bear smiled. “Really?”
“Yeah. A Titan 11 complex.”
“Cool beans,” Bear exclaimed. “I’ve always wanted to see one of those.”
“Well, you’re about to see one up close,” Slammer told him. “We have twenty five days to beat this guy or the world we know will be changed forever.”
Bear turned to glare at Slammer and the others. “That won’t happen on my watch.” He looked over at Swede. “When do we leave?”
“We need more info on the complex before we go,” Swede informed him.
“Then let’s get to it,” Bear urged.
Chapter Five
Day 20…
Bear and Swede left the main group of six and made their way closer to the outside door to the missile complex below their feet. The other four men blended into the shadows of the night. They were lookouts and would seal up the area above ground until both Swede and Bear returned.
Using satellite photos, they’d identified the outside entrance and as the two brothers met at the doorway neither of them said a word. Breeching the doorway, they made their way to the lower level. Their footsteps on the metal stairs didn’t make a sound as they went lower into the complex.
Using a special camera, they took pictures as they went down. When they reached the level they wanted, they stepped off the steps and went across the walkway to the second silo. The Titan 11 missile silo had three separate compartments. This compartment held three different levels. Moving between the levels Bear and Swede began to search for information.
They downloaded the computers they found onto USB drives. Moving silently, they searched each level without saying a word. When they reached the entryway to the walkway that would lead them to the third part of the complex, they hadn’t come across any other person so far, but they had seen evidence of people living down here.
When they reached the third part of the complex, they could hear voices in the distance. The brothers split up and each went their own way. Bear went to the left and Swede went to the right.
As Bear went down the darkened hall, he paused to peek into every room. Most of them were empty until he came to the last room on the left side of the hall. That room was locked but he could hear someone inside. Kneeling down he used a breakin pick and when the tumblers clicked open, he carefully turned the handle and peeked into the room. There was no light on inside and when his eyes adjusted to the dim interior, he could see someone lying on the bare mattress against the wall.
He moved closer and knelt down to see what or who was there. It was a small woman lying there. Her long dark hair laid across her shoulders. She was facing the wall and seemed to be asleep. She was sniffling as if she had at one point, been crying and had fallen asleep.
Bear reached out and barley touched her shoulder. The woman started and tried to scramble away. Turning her head to peek over her shoulder, she glanced at the huge man kneeling behind her. Her eyes widened in fear as she could barely make out his figure in the dark. “Please don’t hurt me,” she begged in a hoarse whisper. She scrambled out of his reach and sat huddled into the corner.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” Bear whispered back. “Are you okay?”
The girl shook her head. Then she looked harder at him. “You don’t belong here do you?” Her voice barley made a sound.
Bear stared at her for a moment but didn’t say anything.
“You need to leave this place,” she pleaded. “Leroy will kill you. Please go and never come back.”
Bear saw the oversize shirt she was wearing fall off her shoulder and his eyes narrowed at the sight. Her shoulder and upper arm were covered in bru
ises that were fresh. He reached out and grasped her jaw. When she winced in pain, he turned her face to his. She had a black eye and her left cheek was bruised. Her lips were swollen and there was a trail of dried blood from the corner of her mouth. His fingers loosened on her jaw and he moved them away. “Who the fuck hurt you like this?” Bear growled.
“That doesn’t matter.”
“It matters the hell to me,” Bear whispered in a low voice.
“You have to leave before Leroy finds out you’re here.” She tried to urge him. “Leroy is doing something big and he’s almost ready. He won’t let you stop him.”
“Do you know what he’s going to do?” Bear had to ask.
The girl shook her head. “I don’t want to know. I’m just trying to survive here and I’m barley doing that.”
“Does Leroy have a place in this hovel that he doesn’t let you go into?”
The girl stared at him and looked even more scared. She tried to lean back but the moment she did she fell forward and passed out.
Bear caught her in his arms and laid her out on the mattress. Lifting the oversized shirt she was wearing he found out why she passed out. Her entire back was bruised and bleeding.
Bear couldn’t believe what he was looking at. Reaching into his side pocket, he hauled out a small bottle of water. Sweat broke out across his forehead but he pushed away the stirrings of panic in his soul. Without thinking to hard he took the girl into his arms, he brought the water to her lips. Dribbling a small amount into her mouth, he waited for her to come around.
