A Good Samaritan

by Jesse Jacobson

  “We traced the phone call made to Lindsay to the seventh-floor nurse’s station at 11:46 pm. There was no access for visitors to the particular phone used, so it had to be an employee who made the call. With Nurse White Wolf’s help we’ve isolated all employees on duty at that time.”

  “Sounds promising,” Andrews said. “What have you come up with?”

  “We’ve eliminated all employees except one, a part-time nurse’s assistant named Melody Shadowmaker. Get this. Melody was a relief assistant. They’d never seen her here at Sheridan before.”

  “Wow, that is interesting.”

  “It gets even more interesting,” Powell continued. “It seems Nurse’s Assistant Shadowmaker just showed up, saying she was called in and no one actually checked on it. And guess what?”

  “No one actually called her in?”

  Powell nodded. Andrews shook his head.

  “Jesus, has anyone checked on Yellow Wolf and Red Feather?”

  “It’s the very first thing we did,” Powell confirmed. “It seems Shadowmaker did try to gain access to the ICU, but she was denied access. She didn’t have clearance.”

  “Yet, she got into the hospital?”

  “She had the proper clearance to access the hospital, but we established a higher-level access for the ICU,” Powell said. “It did not include relief personnel. She was turned away at the elevator.”

  “Well, what do you know, a security measure actually worked,” Andrews snarked. “Where is this Shadowmaker woman now?”

  “That’s the most interesting part,” Powell continued. “She disappeared.”

  “When?”

  “Right after the call was made.”

  “Seems pretty incriminating.”

  “I have it,” Nurse White Wolf interrupted. “Would you like to see her picture?”

  Nurse White Wolf turned the monitor so the two agents could see the screen.

  “Holy shit!” Andrews barked.

  “You know her?” Powell asked.

  “Her name is not Shadowmaker,” Andrews replied. “It’s Rattling Thunder. The woman in the picture is Rose Rattling Thunder.”

  Chapter 12

  Rainhorse killed the headlights for the last mile before pulling to a stop just before a thick tree line. Kujo handed him a set of night vision goggles.

  “The barn is through this grove,” he said. “It is very dark. Unless Hank Rattling Thunder equips his guards with night vision goggles, we will have a big advantage.”

  “We’re going to need to get close enough to take the men out with one shot apiece,” Kujo said. “If one of us misses and the guard returns fire without a silencer, it will tip off the men inside and this job becomes a whole lot harder for you.”

  “Then, we shall not miss,” Rainhorse assured.

  “Wasn’t planning to,” Kujo replied. “Remember, my sharp-shooter scores were higher than yours, old man.”

  “I remember your scores were higher on targets that didn’t move or shoot back, yes,” Rainhorse replied.

  “I won’t miss,” Kujo insisted.

  “Lindsay, your job is to stay here and be quiet,” Rainhorse told her.

  “Somehow I figured that out all by myself,” Lindsay sighed.

  He looked at his watch. “It is nearly two-thirty in the morning. Turn on your cell and wait for my call. When we pick up Jackie, I’ll want you to drive my truck to the barn. If we are not back here by four o’clock, call Andrews and have him send in the cavalry.”

  “I thought you told me earlier if my cell was on, the FBI would trace us through GPS,” Lindsay inquired.

  “By the time they pick up your location and get here, whatever is going to happen, will have happened,” he explained. “Do not answer your phone, unless it’s me. Do not take a call from your mother or Andrews or anyone else—just me. Got it?”

  “Yes. Please, just bring my boy safely to me,” Lindsay pleaded.

  “I will,” Rainhorse promised. “Are you ready, Kujo?”

  Kujo clipped a leash onto Six’s belt, “We’re both ready.”

  “Don’t forget this,” Lindsay said, handing Jackie’s teddy bear to Rainhorse.

  Rainhorse took the teddy bear and nodded, “Ok, Kujo, let us grab the equipment and move.”

  Rainhorse was impressed with Kujo’s mobility. Even with the limp the man was moving along just fine. He was in tremendous shape. When they reached the point they were to separate, Rainhorse checked his watch.

  “Let us synchronize,” he said. “I have the time as 2:52 am. This is where we split up. You know what to do?”

  Kujo nodded.

  “Good. Maintain radio silence until three-fifteen,” Rainhorse continued. “That should give us both time to find our positions, set up and acquire our targets.”

  “Roger that,” Kujo acknowledged. “I’ll see you on the other side, Rainhorse.”

  “Thank you, Kujo, I mean it,” Rainhorse offered.

  “Anything for a brother,” Kujo replied.

  “Please do not miss, my friend,” Rainhorse implored. “This is my family.”

  “I understand.”

  Rainhorse caught sight of the two guards on the north entrance wearing his night vision goggles. He could see the amber light created by their cigarette ash. He hoped it would be this easy for Kujo as well. He found a good spot on high ground. He managed to find an area with good cover about forty yards from the door. When the time came, he’d be able to take out the guards and sprint to the entrance in just a few seconds.

  He set up his rifle with the night scope and focused on the first target. He appeared bored and oblivious. Soon the man would be oblivious and dead. He looked at his watch. Two minutes until three-fifteen. He peered through the rifle scope once again and saw the second guard, positioned at the far southwest corner. So far, so good. With any luck the second guard would never hear the first guard drop.

  “Rain,” Kujo whispered through the headset, “It’s three-fifteen.”

  “I have eyes on my two guards,” he answered. “How about you?”

  “I’ve got one in my sights,” Kujo replied, “but there is no second guard. Repeat, there is no second guard.”

  “Dammit,” Rainhorse whispered in response.

  “What’ll we do?” Kujo wanted to know. “He might just be inside taking a leak. Should we wait fifteen minutes to see if the additional guard shows?”

  “Negative,” Rainhorse responded. “We move as planned. Let me know when your target is lined up.”

  “It’s your show. I’ve got him in my sights . . . now.”

  Rainhorse lined up his first target, “Fire.”

  Rainhorse took his shot, too. There was a muted puff but no noise otherwise. He hit his target in the head. It turned the man off like a light switch. He immediately trained his weapon on the second target and fired. He saw the second guard fall.

  “Got mine,” Kujo said. “Still no sign of a second guard here. How’d you do?”

  “Got both,” Rainhorse affirmed. “I am going in. Stay sharp. One or two may come your way.”

  “Roger that. I’ll be ready,” Kujo replied.

  “Radio silence on your end until I call you.”

  “Got it. Good luck.”

  Rainhorse pulled the Glock 19 from his belt and chambered a round. He slipped down the hill and headed toward the south entrance.

  When the former Ranger got to the entrance, he pointed his gun forward at eye level with his right hand and slowly opened the barn door with his left. He heard no voices but saw a soft amber light illuminating the loft near the north side of the barn.

  He looked up and to both sides, aiming his pistol in the direction of his line of sight, listening carefully for any tell-tale sign of movement. There was none. He proceeded cautiously toward the center of the barn.

  He made it to the front entrance. He saw and heard nothing. He began to slowly walk the inside perimeter. It was when he reached the horse stable, that he saw the source of light,
leaking through the bottom of a door.

  He approached the door slowly. When he was within ten feet, he heard laughing, then a man said, “You called me with a pair of fours? Jackass!”

  More laughter.

  Another man replied, “No one was betting.”

  The men inside were playing cards. He stood and listened for a moment. There were four voices . . . no . . . five. More than the two he was expecting.

  “I need to get back out front,” one man said. “Tall Timber is on the north side by himself. Don’t want him getting his panties in a wad.”

  More laughter.

  Rainhorse slipped into the shadows as the door opened and a man came through, closing it behind him.

  The man walked past Rainhorse, unaware of his presence. Rainhorse silently followed. He slipped his Glock into the back of his pants and grabbed the man’s head with both his powerful hands, covering the guard’s mouth with one of them. He twisted the guard’s head with tremendous force, breaking his neck cleanly. There was a muted gasp lasting only a second or two, too faint to be heard by the others playing cards.

  Rainhorse eased the man’s body to the floor then approached the door once again. The men were still laughing and carrying on, unaware the world’s deadliest assassin was a mere few feet away.

  Rainhorse pulled the Glock from his waist and held it with both hands in front of him. He kicked in the door with one swift movement from his enormous foot.

  The four men jumped, clearly startled, when the former Ranger came through the door. Rainhorse took a split second to verify the young boy was not in the room. He wasn’t. As the men began to scramble for their weapons, Rainhorse dropped two of them with a single shot to their heads.

  A third guard grabbed his pistol from the table and whirled toward the assassin. Rainhorse kicked the weapon from his hand and used his gun hand to hammer the guard in the nose. It was the butt of the pistol that crushed the man’s face and sent him reeling backwards to the floor.

  The fourth man raised his weapon but Rainhorse put two bullets into the center of his chest before he could shoot. The guard fell backward, gasping for air. Rainhorse put another bullet into his forehead.

  He slipped the Glock into his belt, grabbed the remaining living kidnapper by the hair and pulled him harshly to his feet with his left hand. He used his right hand to grasp the man’s throat.

  “Where is the child?” Rainhorse demanded to know.

  “What child?” the guard fired back.

  Rainhorse lifted the man by the neck with one hand and slammed him down on the poker table. The kidnapper groaned loudly.

  “Where is the child?” the Cheyenne repeated.

  “Piss off.”

  Rainhorse released his neck momentarily and raised his fist into the air, delivering a tremendous hammer blow to the prone man’s stomach. The kidnapper howled in pain. The former Ranger pulled the Glock from his belt, cocked the weapon loudly and held the barrel to his captive’s eye.

  “Last chance,” Rainhorse warned.

  “If you kill me, you’ll never find him. This place is huge, and he is well hidden.”

  “Thank you for verifying he is here.” Rainhorse tapped his earpiece, “Kujo?”

  “Standing by,” he replied.

  “The building is secure. Can Six find Jackie?”

  “You have his scent on a teddy bear, correct?” Kujo replied.

  “I do.”

  “If he’s in the building, Six will find him.”

  Rainhorse sneered at his captive and slammed in the forehead with the butt of his Glock. He slumped to the ground, unconscious.

  “Come on in, Kujo,” he said. “You’re up.”

  Chapter 13

  “Boss, we just got a hit,” Powell announced.

  “Talk to me Billy,” Andrews responded.

  “Lindsay’s phone,” he yawped. “It’s been turned on.”

  “Did you try calling it?”

  “Yes, three times. No answer.”

  “Where are they?”

  “We’ve triangulated the signal, but there are only a few cell towers out in the boonies,” Powell said. “The strongest signal is near Biem?”

  “What’s Biem? Is that a town?”

  “Not really. It’s more like a wide spot in the road. It’s about forty-six miles southwest of Plentywood. It’s in the middle of nowhere? What the hell is Lindsay doing there?”

  “I think she and the good Samaritan have a bead on Jackie Yellow Feather’s location and they are off to find him.”

  “The good Samaritan? Do you know who he is?”

  “No idea,” Andrews lied.

  “And they’re doing this on their own?” Powell asked. “Why the hell . . .?”

  “Can you pinpoint their location?” Andrews interrupted.

  “Due to the lack of cell towers, they could be anywhere in a five-mile radius,” Powell said.

  “Get a team together, fire up a chopper and let’s get out there,” Andrews barked. “We need to leave in twenty minutes. I want to see a map. I want to know where every home, building, shed and outhouse is located.”

  “On it, boss.” Powell confirmed.

  “One more thing,” Andrews added. “Bring a medical team along.”

  Powell nodded and took off. Andrews pulled his cell and called Lindsay. It went straight to voicemail. He left a message.

  “Lindsay, this is Andrews. I implore you to call me back. I know a good Samaritan saved you from certain death by a man named Dancing Bear. I know he beat Dancing Bear to within an inch of his life and then extracted Jackie’s location from him. You need to call me before this thing gets out of hand. What this good Samaritan is doing is illegal. He could go back to prison, Lindsay. Call me, please.”

  Chapter 14

  Rainhorse handed the teddy bear to Kujo and he gave Six a good long sniff of it. Six barked immediately and took off pulling Kujo along with him. Rainhorse followed.

  Six led the two former Rangers to a stable. Hay covered the floor. Six trotted over to a piece of white PVC protruding through the floor. He stopped and whimpered, then barked loudly.

  “Oh no!” Rainhorse exclaimed. “They buried the boy underground.”

  “The PVC pipe is allowing him to breathe,” Kujo added. “He’s alive.”

  “Help me,” Rainhorse barked, brushing away loose straw from the floor. There was a wooden trap door with a lock. Rainhorse saw an old rusted spade leaning against the wall. He used it to break the lock.

  Kujo opened the trap door.

  Rainhorse dropped the spade and rested his hands on his knees. He was hyperventilating. “Please, please, please . . . please, let him be alright,” he called out.

  “I see the boy,” Kujo announced, reaching down. “He’s asleep but he’s breathing—he’s alive.”

  Rainhorse stood, taking in a deep breath and exhaled.

  “Thank god,” he said. “Get my godson out of there.”

  Kujo picked up the boy, who immediately began coughing and crying. The former ranger pulled a water bottle from his pack. The boy began to drink. He coughed louder and then began crying, “Mama! Mama!”

  “He’s going to be ok,” Kujo assured.

  Rainhorse exhaled again. He called Special Agent Andrews.

  “Rainhorse?” Andrews answered. “Jesus Christ, you are alive. Where are you?”

  “We’re at the old Crow Foot ranch, about fifteen miles due south of Biem, just off the freeway. We’re inside the barn. There’s a large red and white weathervane on the roof. You can’t miss it. I have the boy. He’s alive but he needs medical attention right away.”

  “We located Lindsay via GPS,” Andrews said. “We are in route. There’s a medical team on board. We are ten minutes out.”

  “Hurry,” Rainhorse urged.

  “I also have twelve men from my SWAT team on board,” Andrews added.

  “Good.”

  “What’s your current situation? How many of HRT’s men are at-large?�
��

  “None.”

  “None?” Andrews exclaimed.

  “Does your SWAT team have body bags?” Rainhorse asked.

  “Jesus, Rain, what have you done?”

  “What I had to do to save my godson,” he maintained.

  “Is Lindsay okay?”

  “She is fine,” he replied. “She needs medical attention as well. She is waiting in my car about two kilometers away. She’ll be here when you get here.”

  “You’re knee-deep in shit, Rainhorse. Don’t make it any worse. You be there, too,” he said.

  “Sorry,” he said. “This thing is not over until I find Rattling Thunder.”

  “Rainhorse, don’t,” pleaded Andrews.

  He disconnected the call with Andrews and called Lindsay. He put the phone on speaker. She answered on the first ring.

  “We found Jackie,” he declared. “He’s alive.”

  “Oh my god, is he okay?” Lindsay cried out.

  “Yes,” Kujo answered. “He needs medical attention, but he’ll be okay. Choppers are on their way with a medical team.”

  “Start the truck and get here as quickly as you can,” Rainhorse ordered.

  Lindsay burst through the barn door minutes later. Kujo was holding Jackie. The young boy began to cry and reached for his mother instantly.

  “Oh, dear god, thank you,” Lindsay cried out, pulling Jackie into her arms. She fell to her knees holding her son. She gasped.

  “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” she said to Rainhorse and Kujo.

  “He’s going to be fine,” Kujo assured. “The medical team will be here in minutes.”

  “Thank you for your help, Kujo,” Rainhorse said. “It’s time for you to go.”

  “What do you mean?” Kujo replied.

  “I mean, the FBI has no idea you were here,” he explained. “There’s no reason to involve you. Collect your rifles, pistols and night vision goggles. Load everything in the truck and take the back road to the freeway. Leave the keys over the sun visor when you get back to your vehicle at the church.”

  “I’m not just going to leave you guys here,” Kujo snapped.

  “You and Six have done enough,” Rainhorse insisted. “Go. Go with our blessing and our thanks. You need to leave now.”