The phone rang twice before Rainhorse answered, “Neha, what is it? Is everything alright?”
“This isn’t Neha, it’s Lindsay, and no, everything is not alright. There’s been a major development, one you need to know about.”
“Tell me,” he insisted.
“In person, Jackson, in person,” she asserted.
“Lindsay, it is not possible,” he contended. “You are surrounded by FBI agents. I am on my way to . . .”
“I know where you are headed,” Lindsay interjected, “and I know what you are doing.”
“So, what do you propose?” he asked.
“You’re going to be at the Plentywood Mall,” she noted. “It’s ten minutes away from the Sheridan Memorial Hospital.”
“Go on.”
“What time are you . . . picking up your package?”
“Six o’clock, or thereabouts.”
“Good. Once you’ve picked up your package, drive to the rear service area of Sheridan Memorial. Don’t come in from the main road. There is an alley in the back leading to the delivery area. You won’t be noticed. The rear entrance door is locked from the outside. No one can get in but I can get out. Be there at exactly seven o’clock. I’ll be waiting.”
“How will you leave without being noticed?” he asked.
“Leave it to me,” she snapped. “I know what I’m doing. I learned a thing or two from this guy I know. Big guy . . . doesn’t use contractions.”
“But Lindsay . . .” he began to argue.
“Don’t give me any crap. Just be there. This time I get to save your life, and you’re damn well going to listen.” She ended the call.
Chapter 18
Rainhorse sat in the parking lot of the Plentywood Mall. He checked his watch. Rose Rattling Thunder was due to arrive any minute.
He thought about waiting until she went inside, but quickly dismissed the idea. When she saw Chapa was not there, Rose would call her, and when she didn’t get an answer, her suspicions would be aroused.
No, he had to take Rose Rattling Thunder before she entered the coffee shop, even if it meant being seen by someone who would report the incident.
He was just about to check his watch again when he saw the green Jeep Wrangler driving down the aisle where he parked. He saw it was Rose driving the vehicle.
She pulled into a parking stall about forty feet from him. He slipped his hair under a large cowboy hat he donned for the occasion and put on sunglasses. He slipped out of the car when he saw Rose walking toward the mall.
It had been more than five years since Rainhorse had seen Rose Rattling Thunder. Time had treated her kindly, he thought. She was shapely, athletically built, with long, silky jet-black hair parted down the middle. She was quite attractive in an earthy way.
He looked around—so far so good. He saw no one. When Rose was within a few yards she looked at him. At first, she seemed not to recognize him, but when she was four feet away, her eyes widened and she took in a breath and held it, preparing to scream, but it was too late.
Rainhorse knocked her out with a single punch to the nose. Blood gushed from her nostrils as she staggered back, losing consciousness. He grabbed her arm and hoisted her over his shoulder as she slumped, then carried her back to his truck.
He placed her in the back seat and looked around once again. Satisfied no one saw him, he got into his car and drove away as fast as he could without drawing attention to himself.
Twenty minutes later, Rose Rattling Thunder felt a massive hand shaking her shoulder. She mumbled something unintelligible and fell unconscious again. She felt the icy cold of water being splashed on her face. She immediately grabbed her aching nose. Pain from her nose electrified her brain. Duct tape wrapped around her arms and body just under her breasts limited her movement. Her seat belt was secured around her, and duct tape secured the latch. She was going nowhere.
“Rainhorse,” she called out.
He leaned over from the front seat to face her, “You were expecting Publisher’s Clearing House?”
“What the hell!” she screamed. “You broke my nose, asshole.”
“It’s an improvement,” he suggested.
“Didn’t your mother teach you it’s impolite to hit a lady?” she hissed.
“Would you please point out this . . . lady?”
“My father will kill you for this.”
“Tell me where your father is,” Rainhorse demanded.
“I’m not telling you jack shit!” Rose exclaimed, sitting up. She looked out the car windows, realizing they were off road somewhere in a wooded area. “Where am I, anyway?”
“If the tone of this conversation does not change to my liking, this may be your final resting place. Take a good look around. It is at least nice and quiet.”
“You don’t scare me,” she barked. “I’m not talking.”
“So, that is the way it is going to be?” Rainhorse asked.
“That’s the way it is, bitch,” she scowled.
“Maybe this will change your mind,” he said, dialing a number on his cell.
“Who are you calling?” she asked.
“Someone you know,” he responded. He held the phone up, so the cellular display was facing her. She heard the ring. The phone was on speaker.
A figure appeared on screen. Rose gasped; it was Chapa. She was tied to a chair and crying, “Auntie Rose?”
Rose glared at Rainhorse with fire in her eyes, “You son-of-a-bitch!” she exclaimed. “I’ll kill you if you hurt her.”
“Keep watching,” was all Rainhorse said.
A dark masked figure appeared behind Chapa. The figure was brandishing a large knife. The masked person held the knife under Chapa’s chin.
“Tell her!” The figure demanded.
“Auntie Rose,” Chapa trembled. “They are going to kill me, Chumani and both the children if you do not tell Rainhorse where your dad is.”
“They have Chumani and the boys, too?” Rose asked.
“Yes,” Chapa affirmed. “They are in the next room. Chumani and the children are so scared.”
“I want to see them,” Rose demanded.
“You are not in a position to make demands,” Rainhorse bellowed, raising his hand as if to strike. Rose closed her eyes and shrank away, expecting a blow that never came.
“Okay . . . settle down,” Rose begged. “Please don’t hurt my godchildren.”
“You and they are going to die as soon as I hang up this phone if you don’t tell me what I want to know,” Rainhorse growled.
“Aaahhhh!” Rose screamed at the top of her lungs, long and loud. She jerked forward toward Rainhorse, but the seat belt and duct tape held her back. She screamed again out of pure frustration, this time even louder.
“Scream all you want. There is no one to hear you,” Rainhorse dismissed.
“You bastard!” she bellowed. “I’m going to kill you and everyone you love.”
“You tried with Jackie,” he snapped back. “How’d that work out for you?”
“I know you, Rainhorse,” Rose barked. “You won’t kill those girls or those children. You have some twisted sense of morality which makes you believe killing someone like me or my father is fine, but innocent children? No, you don’t have it in you. So, piss off.”
“Listen to me,” he began. “You started this, I didn’t. You tried to kill my nephew and put his best friend into a coma. You kidnapped my godson. Yeah, you’re right, I normally would not harm a child or an innocent woman, but these are not normal times. I would do anything to protect my wife, my godson, my nephew and Lindsay—ANYTHING!”
Rose paused for a moment, studying her captor’s face closely. Finally, she spoke, “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I now?”
He pulled his cell and dialed again, holding the display toward Rose.
The masked figure appeared on screen, “Yes?”
“Cut off Chapa’s ear.”
“What?” screamed Rose. “No.”
Rainhorse turned the screen back toward himself.
“Do it now!” he demanded.
Rose heard Chapa’s voice screaming in the background.
“No, no!” the young woman cried. Rose closed her eyes as the screams from Chapa elevated louder and louder.
“Ugh,” Rainhorse grunted. This is not pretty.
“You piece of shit!” Rose bellowed.
Finally, the screaming stopped. Rose heard the masked figure next.
“It is done. The girl has passed out from the pain.”
“Good,” Rainhorse said. “Now hold up her ear to the screen. I want Rose to see it.”
Rainhorse turned the screen toward Rose. A bloody hand held up an even bloodier ear. Rose held back the urge to vomit. She screamed and cried out so hard she thought she was going to burst a blood vessel in her head.
“You scum of the earth!” she screamed at Rainhorse. “You’re a monster.”
Rainhorse laughed, “I am a monster? This, coming from a woman who knows a monster when she sees one. Now tell me where your father is.”
“Piss off!” Rose screamed through her tears, now flowing freely down her cheeks.
“I can instruct my partner to begin cutting off more important parts, if you wish, or perhaps I can begin pulling the fingernails off the children.”
“I’m not talking, you animal,” Rose bellowed.
“As you wish,” Rainhorse said, turning the phone display back to himself.
“Slit Chapa’s throat and then go get one of the children,” Rainhorse ordered. “I want to show this bitch I’m not bluffing.”
“No! No!” Rose demanded.
“No . . . what?”
Rose screamed at Rainhorse, then lunged forward. The seatbelt restrained her, however. She wailed again, this time louder than before. Then she fell silent.
“Well?” Rainhorse asked.
Rose growled and fell silent again. Rainhorse spoke into the phone, “Proceed. Slit Chapa’s throat.”
“No!” Rose demanded.
“Last chance,” Rainhorse warned.
“Okay. Okay. I’ll tell you. Just don’t hurt anyone else.”
“You will tell me where your father is?”
“Yes, I just want your word you will do no more harm to Chapa, Chumani or the children.”
Rainhorse relaxed, “Agreed.”
Rose told him where Rattling Thunder was.
“I know the place,” Rainhorse said, after.
“What will you do with me?” she asked.
“You are going to be a guest and stay with a friend of mine until this is over. When will he notice you are missing?”
“Tomorrow morning,” she replied.
He glared at her, “If you are lying, all bets are off.”
“I’m not going to lie and risk the lives of my godchildren,” Rose insisted, “but it won’t matter anyway, you know?”
“Why is that?”
“Because my father expects you to find him. In fact, he’s planned for it.”
“Bullshit.”
“It’s true.”
“Why would he risk me sending in the FBI?” Rainhorse asked.
“Because he knows you. You work alone. And he knows that you know the FBI could never catch him on native land. He has two dozen hiding spots and can move from one to the other like a thief in the night. He’ll be ready, Rainhorse.”
“So will I.”
“My father will kill you,” she sneered.
“What makes you so sure?” Rainhorse asked.
“Let’s just say . . . it’s a surprise.”
“How did I do?” Chapa asked.
“You did very well, better than I imagined,” Ellie conceded, washing the fake blood off her hands and off the fake ear she’d used as a prop. “The screaming in particular, was most convincing. I think you may have saved your Auntie Rose’s life.”
“Do you have any food in the house?” Chapa asked. “I’m hungry, and oh, I really have to pee.”
Chapter 19
Lindsay sat in a small chair next to her husband. Matty was still in a coma. There had been no change in his condition. Red Feather, on the other hand, was continuously improving.
Summer Rose wheeled Red into Matty’s room earlier in the day. He cried when he saw his friend lying so still. Doctors expected Red would be in the hospital for another three days.
Lindsay looked at her watch. It was five minutes before seven o’clock. She yawned and stood, walking through the room’s door toward the nurse’s station. She paused to speak to the FBI Agent assigned to guard the room.
“I’m going to run down to the cafeteria,” she said. “The special is meatloaf. I’m sure it’s awful but I’m hungry. Can I get you anything?”
“Thanks ma’am,” the agent replied, “but I’m on duty. Maybe I should go with you.”
“No, that’s okay, I’m just going to the cafeteria. I’m not leaving the building. I’d like to call my mother for a few minutes. I could use some privacy.”
“I’m not supposed to let you leave the floor unsupervised,” the agent said.
“Come on, man. You guys have this place locked down like Ft. Knox. I’m just going to the cafeteria and back. Relax. I could use a break from having all of you guys up my ass twenty-four seven, you know what I mean?”
“I don’t know if I’m allowed,” he said, shaking his head.
“C’mon, the only thing that can kill me is the hospital meat loaf,” she argued.
The agent silently stared into Lindsay’s eyes, as if processing the pros and cons of arguing with her. He finally shrugged and said, “Please don’t be gone long.”
“I won’t,” she promised. “You want anything? Coffee, maybe?”
“No thanks,” he reiterated.
She ambled at a casual pace until she rounded the corner, out of the sight of the agent, then began trotting, bypassing the staircase and heading to the service elevator.
Rainhorse pulled his truck into the alley behind the Sheridan Memorial Hospital and pulled up to the service entrance. He’d turned to check on Rose Rattling Thunder. Her right wrist was tethered to the safety handle over the rear door with zip ties. Another zip tie secured her left wrist to the waist band of the seat belt.
Lindsay was walking out of the rear entrance just as he pulled up. She walked directly to the passenger door, opened it and jumped in, closing the door behind her.
“Drive,” she ordered.
“What do you have to tell me?” Rainhorse asked.
“Just drive,” she urged. “It’s not safe here.”
Rainhorse shifted the transmission into gear and pulled away. Lindsay turned to face the woman who’d kidnapped her son and nearly killed her husband and Red Feather.
“Look who’s here,” Lindsay said to Rainhorse. “I thought I smelled shit.”
“I see you still have your little white rich bitch, Rainhorse,” Rose hissed.
“You’re an animal, you know that?” Lindsay barked. “You kidnapped my son. You had my husband shot. Don’t you feel any regret?”
“Sure, I do, princess” she sneered. “I regret they didn’t actually kill him.”
Lindsay’s face reddened with anger. She was seething, “I want you to know something Rose Rattling Thunder.”
“And what exactly is that?”
“If my husband dies, you’re going to be executed. You will be just as responsible for his death as the men who pulled the trigger,” she grumbled. “I will spend every waking hour of my life to make sure you fry.”
Rose Rattling Thunder laughed.
“Rainhorse, why don’t you put a leash on your little white puppy dog,” she shot back.
“Both of you be quiet,” Rainhorse demanded.
“Did she tell you where Rattling Thunder is?” Lindsay asked.
“She did, and after I drop her off at . . . a friend’s place, I’m going to find him. This
ends tonight.”
Lindsay knew ‘the friend’ was Ellie Limberhand and knew why he wasn’t mentioning her name. She knew Ellie was not on HRT’s radar.
“Do you want her to see where you are going?” Lindsay asked.
“No. When we get past this corner, I will slip a bag over her head. I also have sound-deadening headphones. She will not be able to hear our conversation.”
Rainhorse did as promised, stopping the car long enough to place a bag over the head of Rose Rattling Thunder and securing sound deadening headphones over her ears.
“Where is Ellie holding her?” Lindsay asked, when they were moving again.
“Do you remember her rental cabin at Todd Lakes?” Rainhorse asked.
“I do,” she replied. “It’s very secluded.”
“You have heard nothing from the FBI that would lead you to believe they know of Ellie, have you?”
Lindsay shook her head, “No. She is off their radar as far as I know.”
“Good. What is it you needed to tell me?”
“You can’t go after Hank Rattling Thunder,” she said. “He’s set a trap.”
“What kind of trap?”
“He’s brought in a hired killer from Yemen, a super assassin,” Lindsay said. “Andrews tells me he is a thirty-year younger, evil version of you.”
“Relax, Lindsay, I know who Aretas is,” he said, “and I knew he’d come after me here.”
“You knew about Aretas?”
“Yes. I lived in Yemen, remember? I may be retired as an assassin, but it does not mean I have lost complete contact with the people I knew in my former life.”
“And you’re going in, anyway?” Lindsay carped. “Are you out of your mind?”
“Aretas and I are fated to meet,” he said. “I killed his father thirty years ago. Now that he knows I am alive he will stop at nothing to find me. It is unavoidable. Now is as good a time as any to settle things.”
“Bullshit!” Lindsay boomed. “You are going to report HRT’s position to the FBI and step out of the way, Mister. Let them deal with Rattling Thunder, Aretas and this Al Wasabi character.”
A Good Samaritan Page 11
