A Good Samaritan

by Jesse Jacobson

“I’ll see you in a minute,” Rainhorse said. He ended the call and handed Chapa the car keys.

  “Start the car,” he ordered. “This time give it some gas when you turn the ignition. I want you to drive around this supermarket to the back.”

  “You said you weren’t going to hurt me,” Chapa pleaded.

  “If you do as I say, no harm will come to you.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I am turning you over to a friend of mine,” Rainhorse said. “I cannot have you talking to anyone until all this is over.”

  “I won’t say anything to anyone, I swear,” Chapa implored. “You said I’d never have to see you again.”

  “True, but I said nothing about having someone else hang onto you for me,” Rainhorse proclaimed. “My friend will release you at the end, no matter what happens.”

  Rainhorse met Ellie Limberhand behind the supermarket. There was no one in sight in any direction. The Cheyenne used duct tape to tether Chapa’s hands behind her back, and then escorted her into Ellie’s car in the back seat. Chapa could hear the doors lock.

  Rainhorse walked around to the driver’s side. Ellie rolled down the window. “We’re good. You know what to do,” is all he said.

  Ellie nodded and put her car into gear.

  “Rattling Thunder will kill Rainhorse,” Chapa spat out as the car pulled away.

  “Ah, the lamb finds courage once the lion has left,” Ellie responded. “We’ll see how brave you are once you see Rose Rattling Thunder dead on a slab.”

  Ellie’s comment made Chapa cry.

  “Oh, now don’t worry dear, I’m sure Rainhorse will kill your sister and her two kids quickly, without pain,” Ellie continued.

  “What?” Chapa bellowed. “He said he would not hurt my sister or her family.”

  “Well, I’m sure if you told him the truth about Rose Rattling Thunder, he’ll honor his promise. Me, on the other hand? I’ll kill you in a second if you cross me or Rainhorse.”

  “I’ve told the truth, I swear,” Chapa exclaimed. “I told him where I was going to meet Auntie Rose.”

  “You told the truth even though you would be giving up Hank Rattling Thunder?”

  “HRT is a pig,” Chapa cried out. “I don’t give two shits what happens to him. It’s Rose I don’t want to see hurt.”

  “So, I hear Auntie Rose is very close with you and Chumani.”

  “So what?”

  “So close, Chumani made Auntie Rose the godmother to her children.”

  “What’s your point?” Chapa demanded to know.

  “How would you like to ensure nothing happens to your Auntie Rose?”

  “What would I have to do?”

  “Well, we need you to do one more thing?” Ellie said.

  “What’s that?”

  Ellie smiled, “How are your acting skills?”

  Chapter 17

  Ska laid down her cards, “That’s fifteen for two, four, and six and a double-run for eight. Fourteen points—I win. Skunk.”

  “I suck at Cribbage,” Neha exclaimed, tossing away her cards.

  Ska laughed. It was a pleasant laugh, the laugh of a woman at ease in her own skin, a woman who was happy in life. It wasn’t always so.

  A lot had happened in the life of Ska Long Ghost since she’d met Lindsay Vanderbilt less than ten years earlier.

  When Lindsay first walked into her life, Ska was an emaciated meth addict, working as a waitress for nickels and dimes at a roadside diner on the res, trading sexual favors for daily drug fixes. The young Sioux had reached rock bottom and quit caring if she lived or died, that is, until she met Lindsay Vanderbilt. Ska was one of the hundreds of people victimized by Hank Rattling Thunder’s drug, gambling and sex trade organization. She was so withered and gaunt HRT saw no value in her for sex trade. After all, who would pay money for a ninety-pound meth whore?

  It was Ska who saved Lindsay when the then-teenaged white girl had the misfortune of wandering into the diner at the same time as Tony Apollo, Hank Rattling Thunder, and his daughter, Rose. HRT had eyes for the young white girl, who would have brought him a hefty price on the sex trade market. Ska warned Lindsay about the danger she faced and helped her escape at great risk to her own life.

  Ska placed herself on HRT’s hit list through her actions, but Lindsay and Rainhorse came to her rescue.

  It was Rainhorse who brought in his close friend, a former nurse named Ellie Limberhand, to help Ska rehabilitate, and Lindsay was with her every step of the way. Ska was one of the lucky ones. Through sheer will and determination, she managed to remain drug-free ever since, and she would be eternally grateful to both Lindsay and Rainhorse.

  Lindsay gave Ska a job at the Lindhorse Foundation and Ska did not take the job lightly. She worked hard and began to rise through the ranks of the company at a record pace, and it wasn’t just because she knew the CEO. Ska went back to school, got her degree and recently earned her master’s degree in Business Administration from Villanova University Online.

  Over the last five years Ska found . . . and lost love, marrying a Dakota named Braden Long Ghost. Though the marriage didn’t work out, it produced a beautiful son, Bobby, now four. Ska and Braden remained good friends and shared custody of the unusually bright boy. She kept his name for Bobby’s sake. They lived in a modest but comfortable brick rambler.

  She also had a boyfriend, a Navy SEAL named Justin Nightwing, a man she first met when they both worked at the diner during her darkest days. Nightwing was nearing the end of his tour. They were best friends in those days, though even when things were at their worst, Nightwing secretly loved her. It wasn’t until she divorced Braden that he professed his love for her. She didn’t get to see him as often as she liked but she loved him with all her heart.

  When Rainhorse and Neha showed up at her door a few days earlier looking for shelter, Ska didn’t hesitate for a second. She happily took Neha in and insisted she could stay as long as she needed. Ska was not on the radar of the FBI or Hank Rattling Thunder. It was perfect.

  Bobby had been staying with his father and Ska had been going to work every day at the Lindhorse Foundation. Today, Ska and Neha were playing Cribbage when the doorbell rang.

  Neha gasped when she opened the door and saw Special Agent Jim Andrews standing there.

  “It’s ok, Neha,” Lindsay assured, appearing from behind the Special Agent. “You can trust him. Jackson is in trouble. You may be the only person who can help.”

  Ten minutes later, Andrews, Lindsay, and Neha were sitting at Ska’s dining room table. Ska was making tea. Neha was glaring at Lindsay.

  “How could you, Lindsay?” Neha hissed flashing a disapproving glance at Andrews. Rainhorse trusted you. “For you to give him up like this . . . it’s unfathomable.”

  “Neha, please,” Lindsay pleaded. “Andrews is a friend. Listen to what he has to say. Jackson is in grave danger.”

  Neha Littlebird was Rainhorse’s childhood sweetheart. In those days, he was just another shiftless Cheyenne, with little hope to succeed in the world. He felt unworthy of Neha. He believed his only road was in the military, where he could see the world and make a difference. He needed to prove himself to become worthy of her.

  When the young Cheyenne joined the military, they saw each other less and less. Rainhorse was assigned to the Rangers, Airborne Division—Special Operations. His missions were clandestine, and frequently took him out of the country for months at a time.

  Over time, he and Neha wrote each other less and less. When Rainhorse reupped for four more years of service without discussing the matter with Neha, it was the beginning of the end. Neha married another man, Rainhorse’s best friend, Henry Littlebird. The marriage produced a daughter, Lona, the light of her life.

  After leaving the military Rainhorse was unable to find his place in society. A former military officer, Barnabas Quince, offered him a good paying job doing what Rainhorse had become an expert at doing . . . killing. The Cheyenne became a pr
ofessional assassin.

  Rainhorse never forgot about Neha, but never wanted to interfere with her new life. Many years passed. Henry died of cancer, leaving Neha to raise Lona on her own.

  Neha’s daughter was kidnapped by Hank Rattling Thunder, and then held her captive, waiting to sell her as a sex slave. Lona was one of hundreds of young girls who had gone missing from the res, never to be seen by their families again.

  Determined to not allow Lona to become yet another forgotten missing child on the res, Neha reached out to Rainhorse for help. She made the thirty-five-mile drive from Wolf Point to Nashua to find Ellie Limberhand, the only person she knew who remained in contact with Rainhorse. Once Ellie heard the story, she contacted the former Ranger immediately.

  Rainhorse came right away and set the wheels in motion to not only save Lona, but to end the reign of terror on the reservation and eliminate Tony Apollo’s and Hank Rattling Thunder’s drug, sex-trade and gambling operations.

  During the course of his time on the res, Rainhorse and Neha fell in love again, and this time it would be forever. They’d been happily married for five years now.

  When Rainhorse became uncomfortable managing the nine-to-five grind, Neha happily joined Rainhorse at UNICEF. Doing charitable work was Rainhorse’s way of paying penance for all the wrongdoing he’d been part of in his life. She too, found the work exciting and fulfilling. She also got to work closely with Rainhorse every day and it allowed their love to grow deeper.

  “You know how he is, Lindsay,” Neha snapped. “Rainhorse works alone. He needs to do things his way. He’s not going to accept help from the FBI. How could you?”

  “It’s not like that, Neha,” Lindsay cried.

  “So, now that you have your little boy back, you think you can throw my man to the wolves?”

  “Neha,” Andrews interrupted, “please allow me to explain. Your husband is in grave danger.”

  “My husband only knows grave danger,” Neha protested. “He can handle the likes of Hank Rattling Thunder.”

  “That’s just it, Neha,” Andrews protested. “It’s not just Hank Rattling Thunder.”

  Neha froze, “What do you mean?”

  Andrews produced a manila folder. He opened it and pulled and eight by ten glossy photo from it. He pushed it across the table. Neha picked up the photo. It was of a menacing looking man, tall, muscular, weathered. His face bore a chilling scowl.

  “Who is this?” Neha asked.

  “This is an assassin named Aretas,” Andrews articulated. “He works for a man named Aden Al Wasabi.”

  “I know of Al Wasabi,” Neha acknowledged. “Rainhorse said he is the man Hank Rattling Thunder hired to have us killed in Yemen.”

  “That’s right,” Andrews said, “but for some reason unknown to us Al Wasabi didn’t send his top guy in. He sent in six other men. It was these men who tried to kill you.”

  “I was there, remember?” Neha said. “It was horrible. We barely made it out of there, but we did survive. Rainhorse killed them all, but not before . . . ‘convincing’ one of the men to tell us it was Hank Rattling Thunder who contracted the order to kill us.”

  “And so, you came back to the res?”

  “Yes. Rainhorse knew if HRT was out of prison Lindsay would never be safe,” Neha stated. “We called Ellie Limberhand and found out about Matty, Red and Jackie. We got here as fast as we could.”

  “What happened to the bodies, by the way?” Andrews asked. “My Yemeni source said there were none. That’s why we thought Rainhorse was dead. We figured Al Wasabi killed you both and took your bodies.”

  “Rainhorse wanted the authorities to believe it was he and I who were killed, so he loaded Al Wasabi’s men into an old beat up van and drove the van into the lake.”

  Andrews nodded, “Well, the man Rainhorse ‘convinced’ to speak was Samir, son of Aden Al Wasabi. When Al Wasabi discovered his men and his son were dead, he went into a rage.”

  “You expect this to intimidate me?” Neha snapped. “My husband has dealt with many a man seeking revenge.”

  Andrews tapped the photo, “No one like this one I assure you.”

  “What does all this have to do with the man in this photo?” Neha asked.

  “Aretas is the most prolific assassin in the world,” Andrews explained. “He has thirty-one confirmed kills, probably three times more unknown to us. He’s the most dangerous man alive.”

  Neha looked into Andrews’s eyes. There was a look of concern on her face, “I’m listening.”

  “We have confirmed through Yemeni authorities both Al Wasabi and Aretas have left Yemen for the United States.”

  Neha looked at the photo again. The man looked brutal, strong, enormous . . . and young.

  “He’s here on the res, Neha,” Lindsay interjected, unable to contain her emotions. “They’re here to kill Jackson.”

  “Rainhorse can handle himself,” Neha insisted, her voice sounding unconvincing.

  “This is different, Neha,” Andrews argued. “This man is the epitome of evil. He has no conscience, but he does have a special motivation.”

  “What motivation?”

  “This news just became available to us. Rainhorse killed Aretas’s father thirty years ago,” Andrews continued.

  “Oh no!” Neha gasped.

  “Aretas is the kind of man who will make any sacrifice to kill Rainhorse,” Andrews stressed, “even if it costs him his own life. He doesn’t care if he dies killing Rainhorse.”

  “Still, it is only one man,” Neha replied, trying to convince herself.

  “Hank Rattling Thunder has dozens of men, too.” Lindsay added. “There are too many, even for Rainhorse.”

  “Lindsay is right,” Andrews said.

  “Neha, the FBI can help Rainhorse,” Lindsay pleaded. “They may be the only chance he has.”

  Neha buried her face in her hands, “I need time to think.”

  “There is no time,” Andrews argued.

  “I wish to speak to Lindsay . . . alone,” she requested.

  “Ma’am, with all due respect, we’re losing precious time,” Andrews insisted.

  “The sooner you give me some time alone with Lindsay, the sooner I can give you my answer.”

  Andrews looked at Neha, then at Lindsay, “Okay, I’ll be right outside.”

  “Ska, please show Agent Andrews to the door,” Neha requested. “Make sure he finds his way.”

  Ska nodded and led the way. Andrews followed. When Neha heard the door close, she turned to Lindsay.

  “Lindsay, is everything he said true?” Neha asked. “Is some super assassin here to kill Rainhorse?”

  “I believe Agent Andrews, Neha,” Lindsay said. “He’s never lied to me before.”

  Neha pulled a cell phone from her back pocket and slid it over the counter to Lindsay, “I don’t know where he is right now, but this phone will connect you to him. It’s not my regular cell phone. It’s a burner Ellie got for Rainhorse and I to communicate. We figured the FBI would realize we were alive sooner or later and trace my regular cell. Rainhorse told me to only use the burner to reach him in the event of a dire emergency.”

  “Well, this is it,” she said, taking the phone from her. “I’ll get Andrews . . .”

  “You’ll do nothing of the kind,” Neha snapped. “We’re going to get Andrews back in here and I’m going to insist I don’t know where Rainhorse is. You are going to hide this phone and let him drive you back to the hospital. Once you get back to the hospital, ditch the agent and call Rainhorse. Explain to him what you’ve just told me. You let him decide if he needs more help.”

  “Neha, it’s a good idea, but like Andrews said, time is getting short,” Lindsay replied.

  “Lindsay, you have the time if you move quickly,” Neha replied. “Things are moving along. I spoke to Rainhorse today.”

  Lindsay’s mouth gaped open, “You have?”

  “Yes, and he’s found out where Rose Rattling Thunder is located.”

/>   “I don’t think I even want to know how he managed that.”

  “It’s not important. At this very moment he’s driving to the Plentywood Mall to abduct Rose Rattling Thunder and find out where HRT is hiding. He will answer this phone, but you need to move now.”

  “Okay, I will,” Lindsay promised.

  “Lindsay, I don’t care how much you trust Andrews, you call Rainhorse first, got it?”

  Lindsay nodded, “I promise.”

  “He’ll know what to do, dear. He always does.”

  “I need to leave now,” Lindsay said.

  “Good luck.”

  Lindsay met Andrews outside.

  “What did she tell you?” he asked.

  “She doesn’t know where he is and she doesn’t know how to reach him,” Lindsay lied. “She just wanted a private moment with me to ask me how he was when I saw him.”

  Andrews looked at her suspiciously, “That’s bullshit. Maybe I should go talk to her again.”

  “It won’t do any good, trust me,” Lindsay argued.

  Andrews eyed Lindsay suspiciously.

  “Lindsay, if you’re hiding anything . . .” Andrews began.

  “I’m hiding nothing,” Lindsay snapped. “Look, I want to find Rainhorse and warn him about the monster who is after him more than you do. If Neha knew, she’d tell me.”

  Andrews sighed, “I’m sorry I doubted you. We’ll station a man outside Ska’s house just in case he shows up here. I’ll also get a court order to put a trace on Neha’s cell phone. I’ll extend the order to Ska’s phone as well.”

  “I need to get back to the hospital now, if you don’t mind. I want to be there in the event there is a change in my husband’s condition.”

  “You’re right,” Andrews said. “Let’s go. I’ll drive you.”

  “I’d like to call the hospital first, if you don’t mind.”

  “Of course,” Andrews said.

  “Could I have a little privacy, please?”

  Andrews formed an expression of embarrassment, “Oh, certainly, I’m sorry. I’ll wait for you in the car.”

  “Thank you,” Lindsay replied. She waited for Andrews to walkway and pulled the burner cell Neha gave her. She powered up the phone and punched the send button, retrieving the last number called.