by Dan Decker
I tried to keep my pace normal, hoping that if Gurley was going to follow me, I’d at least have a chance to get around the corner. I’d been forced to handle this evening without backup because Cherry and Tom had thought my idea was ridiculous and they’d refused to come.
“Trying to ditch me?” Kris called out as I turned the corner.
Not knowing what to do about the crazy woman, I didn’t turn back and kept walking even though I could hear her footsteps following me. Once she turned the corner as well, I reached into my pocket for my pistol.
I stopped. It was doubtful that she was a threat to me, but I didn’t want to take a chance. It could just be a coincidence that she’d been at the club. Kingstone University was close by. It wasn’t too big of a stretch.
I released my hold on the pistol and turned around, feeling a little foolish that I’d reached for my gun. I was uncertain what I was going to say and I didn’t want her getting caught up in the aftermath of what I’d just done in there.
“You aren’t working for the government,” she said when I turned around.
I laughed. “Government? I’m a student, just like you.” Our organization was a big enough secret that Beltran would sometimes say the President didn’t know about it. I wouldn’t expect Kris to be any different.
It was starting to look as though my instincts were good, something was off about her. She’d been a little too desperate and a normal woman wouldn’t have followed me from the club, particularly after I’d assaulted somebody. I should have thought of that sooner.
I thought back to Shannon’s warning that Kris was out of my league. The signs had been there, but I’d been too dense to put them together.
“I know who you are, Jake Ramsey.”
I was taken aback. It had been a long time since somebody had called me by my full given name. To her, I was supposed to be Sam Chever.
“I know what happened to you as a boy,” she continued. “The murder of your father and the kidnapping of your mother. What you don’t know is that you were kidnapped that day as well.”
“Kidnapped?” I sputtered. Both of my parents were dead. What was this nonsense? I don’t know how she learned my name, but at the moment I didn’t care. “I’d run if I were you, I have an angry man on my tail.” I turned away from her.
“I’ve been looking for you for a long time,” she called out. “You don’t know what you’ve got yourself into. I am the only one who can help you.”
“Take care of yourself Kris.” I didn’t look back.
Chapter 10
Cherry let me into their hotel room a short time later. It was cramped for three people, but the windows were facing the direction we needed. It smelled of cigarettes and the bedspread had to have been twenty years old. There was a television, but it looked like one of the first ones ever made. The walls had probably been white once upon a time but were now varying shades of yellow and covered in grime.
Tom was sitting at a small table and monitoring the video cameras we’d set up earlier. The bed was covered with guns, computers, and cameras.
Cherry had rings underneath her eyes but she greeted me with a tight smile. Shannon's kidnapping had been hard on her for multiple reasons, not the least of which was Martinez. Beltran was cracking the whip and everybody was running on less sleep.
“Did it work?” I asked, glad to have the hotel door shut behind me. I’d been looking over my shoulder since the club. Cole Gurley was part of the Fifteenth Street gang which was known for its creative brutality. It wasn’t uncommon for them to mutilate their victims.
We didn’t know for certain that they were connected with Martinez, but security camera video from that night had shown Gurley and a few others entering the headquarters a few minutes before Martinez and Payne.
In addition to keeping an eye on this place, there was a bookstore in a mall several blocks from here that had a connection to the gang. We didn’t know what the connection was but members of the gang frequented the place. Beltran had set up surveillance over there as well.
My actions at the club were intended to flush Gurley out. I was hoping to either prove that he was working with Martinez or that he was unrelated.
“Yep,” Cherry said. “The bug picked up Gurley calling Martinez and he’s on his way back to their lair now. Any hiccups?”
“None.” I didn’t tell her about Kris and the problem she posed. I knew that my contact with her was something that Beltran would expect me to report, but I didn’t think that Kris would cause me any trouble.
My guess was that she was trying to recruit me. For what, I didn't know. For all I knew, she could be working for Martinez. I’d have to be more careful with her in the future.
I picked up a pair of binoculars and went to the window. The apartment building was rundown. There were a number of broken windows and it was covered in graffiti. It was an ideal place for an outfit like the Fifteenth Street gang to set up shop.
Was Shannon in there?
I shuddered when I thought about what Martinez might be doing to her. I should have called Martinez out when he’d broken that man’s knee or done something about it myself. I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
It had taken me months to work up the courage to make my move on Shannon. When I finally did, she’d laughed and said, “I thought that’s where you were going.” She’d then taken me into her arms and kissed me.
My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door and I pulled out my pistol.
“Settle down.” Tom snickered. “It’s just room service.”
“You should get some sleep,” Cherry said. “When we find Shannon, we can’t have you pulling the trigger and killing the wrong people.”
After I ate, I cleared a big enough space on the bed for me to lie down. I settled in and tried to sleep while trying to not think about the last time the bedspread had been washed.
My heart was beating too fast for rest though. Every time I closed my eyes, I’d see Martinez torturing Shannon.
We were so close.
I awoke with a start when I heard a gun cocking. Cherry was holstering a pistol and I smelled gun cleaner. It was a nervous habit of hers to be over prepared. Even though she'd probably cleaned and oiled her pistol several times earlier today, she'd just cleaned it again. I looked at my watch and was surprised to see that it was seven in the morning. I'd slept for longer than I thought.
“We've identified other men from the gang,” she said when she noticed that I was awake.
“Anything unusual?”
Cherry shook her head. “By the way, Black Brick was able to dig up more information on Cole Gurley. He is the type that doesn't forgive easily. A girlfriend crossed him several years back. She was later found with an ear cut off and a large flap of skin missing from her arm. Even after all that, the poor woman refused to testify against him. Do yourself a favor and look over your shoulder, ok?”
I grunted.
“Gurley is moving with two women,” Tom said. “One blonde, the other brunette. He’s herding them to a van.”
“Can you make out faces?” I asked, getting out of bed and moving to the window.
“No, but do you want to take the chance that it's not them?”
“This is a trap,” Cherry said. “It’s foolish to be moving them like this. They’ve got to know we’re tailing Gurley.”
“Agreed,” I said. “We’ll have to be more careful than normal.”
Cherry raised an eyebrow. “That’s funny coming from Mr. Slash and Burn himself. I know about you and Shannon. You’re in no position to make this call.”
“What's to know?” I gave Cherry a toothy smile. She was guessing. Shannon wasn't the girl talk type.
“You two hooked up.”
“Don’t let our cover go to your head,” I said. “We take risks. That's what we do. We took a risk rescuing you from Payne. Shannon led the charge and I ended up getting shot.”
Cherry looked ashamed. It was low of me to remind her of th
at, but I didn’t regret it. I didn’t have time to waste. The longer Shannon was with Martinez, the closer she came to death.
“Come if you want,” I said, heading to the door.
BLACK BRICK
PART THREE
Coming March 24, 2015.
Author’s Note
If you have enjoyed this episode, please leave a quick review and tell your friends. Also, if you would like to receive notifications about the sequel to this episode, other upcoming works, sneak peeks, and other extras, go to dandeckerbooks.com and sign up for my newsletter.
About the Author
Dan Decker lives in Utah with his wife. He has a law degree and spends as much time as he can outdoors. You can learn more about upcoming novels at dandeckerbooks.com.
