The Buried

by Brett Battles

  TWENTY THOUSAND FEET OVER THE MOJAVE DESERT, CALIFORNIA

  “ADDRESS CONFIRMED. TEXTING it to you now.”

  “Thank you,” The Wolf said, and hung up.

  CHAPTER 33

  LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

  LIKE A NUMBER of freelance operatives, Donnie Lupo lived in Sin City. Unlike most of them, he did all his work from his basement office, often not seeing the outside for days or even weeks on end.

  He had five regular clients, and a couple dozen others who would come to him now and then with work. Ricky Orbits was one of the five biggies, and the one currently occupying most of his time.

  Donnie had been asked to do a lot of things over the years, but auctioning off a woman was a first. Perhaps he should have been repulsed by the idea, but he’d shed his morals long ago in favor of making a good living.

  When he set up the auction, he’d worried that Ricky’s reserve bid price was too high, but boy, had he been wrong. There was still time left and the bids were already inching toward nineteen million. With the ten-percent cut Ricky had promised him, Donnie was looking at nearly two million dollars. A tax-free payday like that would be all the motivation he needed to walk away from his job and become a thirty-three-year-old retiree.

  The digital clock on his screen was counting down the time remaining. Fourteen minutes and thirty-seven seconds.

  Donnie could barely contain his excitement.

  __________

  THE GATED COMMUNITY was located in the Summerlin section of Las Vegas. A phone call placed fifteen minutes earlier ensured the two SUVs had no problem entering.

  The house in question was located on a cul-de-sac that provided its residents with gorgeous views of the western mountains. The homes were large four- and five-bedroom places, all with identical red tile roofs, tan walls, and beautifully landscaped, drought-tolerant yards. A postcard for desert suburban life.

  Visual evidence suggested that only two of the five houses were occupied at that moment, but those in the SUVs knew that the owner of a third—the house at the very top of the cul-de-sac—was also home.

  They parked their vehicles on the road just outside the cul-de-sac but did not get out.

  When the dash clock clicked down to two minutes left in the auction, The Wolf said, “Take us in.”

  __________

  BIDDING STALLED AT nineteen-point-five million dollars for a full five minutes.

  But when the clock clicked down to two and a half minutes remaining, things began to move again. The first few bids came in at fifty-thousand-dollar increments, but as the time continued to run out, both the amounts and the speed picked up.

  “Nineteen seven-seventy-five,” Donnie said into his headset. “Nineteen eight…nineteen nine twenty-five…twenty million.”

  “Woo-hoo!” Orbits shouted through the phone. “Told you, man!”

  “Twenty-one million,” Donnie said. “Twenty-one five. Twenty-three.” He paused, staring at the screen. “Whoa! Thirty million!”

  “Are you shitting me?”

  The bid seemed to stop everyone. “It’s from bidder C,” Donnie said. “Wait. Thirty-one million five. From B.”

  “B? I thought B was out of it.”

  B hadn’t made a bid in well over ninety minutes. “Must have just been waiting.”

  Something creaked in the house above him, but Donnie was so wrapped up in the excitement that his mind didn’t register it as significant.

  The bids started coming in fast again. “Thirty-four. Thirty-four five. Thirty-five. Thirty-six.” He glanced at the countdown clock. Fifteen seconds left. “Thirty-six five.”

  __________

  THE WOLF’S TEAM had the security system disabled and the door opened within twenty seconds.

  They then split in two, half searching the ground floor and half doing the same upstairs. Though the target was not on either floor, a basement door had been discovered. As soon as the door was opened, a voice drifted up.

  “…thirty-eight…thirty-eight seven hundred…dear God, forty million!”

  The Wolf glanced at her watch. The auction was almost over.

  She motioned her team down the stairs.

  __________

  DONNIE’S GAZE FLICKED back and forth between the incoming bids and the countdown clock.

  Five seconds.

  “Forty-one.”

  Four seconds.

  “Forty-one five.”

  Three seconds.

  “Forty-two.”

  Two seconds.

  “Forty-three.”

  One second.

  “Forty-three five.”

  Four bids came in right as the auction ended. One was for forty-four, and three at the same higher amount. Donnie had to adjust the data so he could see the entry times to the hundredth of a second.

  “Well?” Orbits asked.

  “Forty-seven million,” Donnie told him, hardly believing it.

  “Son of a bitch! Seriously? Forty-seven?”

  “Yes, indeed. Forty-seven.”

  Orbits laughed. “Who’s our winner?”

  “B.”

  “B? Well, how about that? Please inform our winner that we await the transfer of his funds. Once that’s confirmed, we’ll pass on instructions for—”

  Donnie didn’t hear the rest as the headset was ripped from his ear and a hand slapped tight against his mouth.

  He started to struggle, but stopped just as fast when cold steel pressed against his cheek.

  “There’s a good boy,” a female voice behind him said.

  Someone twirled his chair around so that he was facing the rest of the room. There were five of them, four men and one woman. In the woman’s hand was Donnie’s headset, her palm covering the mic.

  “What’s your boss’s name?” she asked.

  Donnie said nothing.

  She looked at the man holding the gun against Donnie’s head. “Kill him.”

  “Orbits!” Donnie blurted out. “Ricky Orbits.”

  ILLINOIS

  “ONCE THAT’S CONFIRMED, we’ll pass on instructions for picking up the merchandise.” Orbits paused, expecting a response. “Donnie, did you hear me?”

  There was some noise over the line but no Donnie.

  “Hey! You still there?”

  Was that a voice?

  “I think there’s something wrong with the line. Let me call you—”

  “Mr. Orbits?” Not Donnie’s voice. A woman’s. “There’s been a slight change in the winning bid. The good news is that it’s in your favor. Fifty million dollars, and you give the girl to me.”

  The initial moment of panic he’d felt when she came on the line all but disappeared when she mentioned the amount. Cautiously he said, “I appreciate your initiative, but I don’t know who you are. You could be screwing with me.”

  “Have you ever heard of The Wolf?”

  The name tickled something in the back of his mind, but it could have just been a memory of some Animal Planet show he accidentally saw.

  “Sorry, I don’t know anyone called The Wolf. And I’m certainly not doing any business with you until I see the cash.”

  “Of course not. That’s why I’ve created two escrow accounts, each holding twenty-five million dollars. With the help of your colleague here, I’ll send you information on the first account.”

  “The terms are full price, up front,” he said.

  “Half now, and half when I see the girl. That’s my terms, Mr. Orbits. They are more than fair.”

  Orbits wanted to tell her where she could stuff her terms, but if she’d been able to get to Donnie, then she might be able to get to him, too. He’d much rather keep things civil.

  “I let you see her, but I get the money before you take possession,” he said.

  “Agreed,” she said. “When and where?”

  “Nine a.m. tomorrow morning,” Orbits said. “As for the where, give me your phone number.”

  “I’m not sure I like where this is going,” she said. />
  “You don’t have to like it. Just give me the number.”

  He wrote down the number as she recited it, and then said, “Be in Minneapolis by seven a.m. local time, ready to fly. I’ll call you then with further instructions.”

  Before she had a chance to reply, he disconnected and turned his phone off.

  __________

  NATE GLANCED OVER at Quinn. “Sounds like the party just got hijacked.”

  “It certainly does,” Quinn said.

  “By The Wolf.”

  “Apparently.”

  They were silent for a few moments.

  “So if he wants her in Minneapolis by seven,” Nate said, “and the meeting’s at nine, then, assuming they have to do some ground traveling when they arrive, wherever we’re headed can’t be much more than an hour and a half’s flight away from Minnesota.”

  Quinn nodded. The direction they were headed narrowed the choices down to somewhere in an area consisting of western Illinois, most of Missouri, eastern Kansas, and the northeast corner of Oklahoma.

  He figured that St. Louis, the biggest city in the target area, was probably their destination, but less than fifteen minutes later, the ambulance transitioned onto the I-72 westbound, knocking St. Louis out of the running.

  Conversation in the other car had dropped to almost zero.

  “How much battery life did your phone have left when you gave it to me?” Quinn asked.

  “Not sure. Maybe eighty percent.”

  Both phones had already been on and active for a few hours, and while Quinn’s had been plugged in as they drove, Nate’s had not. If the battery ran out of juice, they’d lose the ability to even passively track it.

  Quinn hesitated a moment longer, and then disconnected the call.

  CHAPTER 34

  LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

  ORLANDO HAD DAENG take them to Nate’s house in the Hollywood Hills. Technically, it was Quinn’s, but he’d moved in with her in San Francisco and had allowed Nate to use the property rent free. Nate had, in turn, let Daeng use one of the guest rooms.

  “So this is the famous L.A. bachelor lair,” Ananke said as they walked inside. “I’ve heard so much about it.” She looked at Orlando, an eyebrow raised. “Tell me, is this where Quinn made his move on you?”

  And I was just beginning to tolerate her, Orlando thought.

  Stifling the string of obscenities that wanted to leap from her lips, she asked Daeng, “First-aid kit still in the same place?”

  “Yeah,” he said.

  While Orlando was grabbing the kit out of the closet by the bathroom, the muscles in her lower abdomen contracted. She latched on to the shelf to keep from staggering, and took a few deep, quiet breaths. When the pain subsided enough for her to walk again, she returned to the living room.

  Orlando sat next to Helen on the couch. The woman was clearly exhausted, but the dazed look she’d had in her eyes when they first found her was gone. Now there was only anger.

  Using a damp towel Ananke had brought in from the kitchen, Orlando started to clean the dried blood from the director’s face.

  “You don’t have to do that,” Helen said.

  “I know,” Orlando replied.

  “Did you get her?” Helen asked.

  “Who?”

  “Nanou Deschamps.”

  “I don’t know who that is.”

  “The Wolf. Did you get her?”

  Orlando shook her head. “She wasn’t there.”

  Helen stared off in the distance for a moment before turning back to Orlando. “Tell me what’s happening.”

  Two hours later, weakened from her ordeal but out for blood, Helen flew north to San Francisco.

  __________

  WHEN THE AMBULANCE stopped to refuel in Hannibal, Missouri, Quinn and Nate did the same at a station a block away. While Nate filled the tank, Quinn walked down the street and found a place where he could watch the others without being noticed.

  The driver was out of the vehicle, pumping gas. After a few moments, the ambulance’s back door opened and another guy got out. He shared a few words with the driver before heading toward the snack shop.

  When the driver returned the nozzle to the pump, the third man got out and stretched. He was the one who’d been shielded from view back at the building in Broadview, so this was the first time Quinn was able to get a good look at him.

  Suddenly, Dani’s disappearance at the roadblock in Washington made more sense. Quinn knew this guy. Orlando had forwarded him the man’s picture the night before.

  Ananke’s hunter friend.

  Ricky Orbits.

  __________

  THANK GOD THE ambulance had a good air conditioner, because even with the sun down, it was still blazing hot and sticky outside. Orbits let the thing run at full blast for a while after they left Hannibal before finally turning it down again.

  He should be happy, he thought. He was on the cusp of receiving a fifty-million-dollar payday. He already had the account number for where half was waiting. He’d checked, and it was all there. The only problem was that it was time locked to prevent him from transferring it into one of his own accounts until 9:01 a.m. the following morning, and only after The Wolf gave a final authorization.

  She could be tricky in her way, and he could be tricky in his. He was going to get a kick out of handing the girl to her within miles of her ultimate destination. No doubt, the woman would fly the girl somewhere else to question her. By the time The Wolf discovered the truth, Orbits would have already taken whatever was of value at the location and gotten the hell out of there. The only thing he would have to worry about for the rest of his life was whether or not he was getting too much sun as he lay on the beach of some tropical paradise. He just needed to get the combo out of the girl.

  “Boss,” Parnell called from the back. “She’s waking up.”

  Orbits unlatched his seat belt and worked his way to the rear of the ambulance.

  Moaning, she moved her head side to side in a slow roll. Her whole body began to tense in a stretch, but when she knocked against the straps holding her down, she stopped and opened her eyes.

  “Evening, princess,” Orbits said. “I trust you had a nice, comfortable sleep.”

  Even though she was tied down, she lunged at him, rocking the gurney.

  “Careful, sweetheart. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

  She settled back, seething.

  “Let me tell you what’s going to happen,” he said, smiling. “A nice lady with lots of money has shown a real interest in you. In the morning, she’s going to give me some of that cash and I’m going to give her you. She calls herself The Wolf. That familiar to you?”

  He could see that it was.

  “You know how much she’s paying? Fifty million. That’s dollars. Not bad, huh? I bet it’s even some kind of record.” He paused. “I wonder if Guinness keeps track of that.”

  Again, she lunged. This time the gurney popped from one of its holds and moved a few inches toward Orbits. He jerked back, ramming his head into an equipment cabinet.

  “You bitch! You think you’re so damn smart.” He wrapped his hand around her neck and squeezed. “But guess what? I know your secret. I know about the numbers under your tongue. Who’s the clever one now, huh?”

  He shoved her down and let go, then returned to his seat up front to the sounds of her coughs.

  “Everything all right?” Stafford asked.

  “Everything’s fine,” Orbits said, shutting down any further conversation.

  Only it wasn’t fine. He had just screwed up big time. He should have never told her he’d found the numbers. She could tell The Wolf right after he handed her over and he’d have to kiss whatever treasure she had hidden good-bye.

  Dammit, dammit, dammit!

  He would have to do something to rectify the situation. At the very least, drug the girl so she wouldn’t wake up for a day or two. Of course, The Wolf wouldn’t be pleased by that. Maybe she’d even r
efuse to authorize the final payment.

  Son.

  Of.

  A.

  Bitch.

  __________

  AS THEY NEARED Kansas City, Quinn thought the others would be exiting the interstate soon, but the ambulance passed right through the center of the city and headed west into Kansas.

  “Where the hell are they going?” Nate asked.

  “We’ve got Lawrence and Topeka coming up,” Quinn said, after a quick check of the map. “After that it’s a long haul through farm country to Denver.”

  “If we keep going much longer, you’re going to have to take over.”

  Quinn looked at his partner. “You need me to drive now?”

  There was no missing the exhaustion in Nate’s eyes. “I’m good for a little while longer.”

  “Pull over.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “Pull over.”

  With a resigned nod, Nate eased the car onto the shoulder. By the time they were on the road again, the ambulance was nearly a mile ahead.

  They passed through Lawrence and soon after were driving through Topeka. By that point Nate was more asleep than awake, so when Quinn’s phone vibrated in his partner’s hand, Nate jerked and nearly dropped it.

  “Sorry, sorry,” he said. “It’s, um, Orlando.”

  “Speaker.”

  As Nate hit the button, Quinn increased their speed to be back in sight of the ambulance in a few minutes.

  “Don’t tell me you’re still following them,” she said.

  “Driving through Topeka, Kansas, right now,” Quinn told her.

  “If you’re lucky, maybe they’ll come all the way to California.”

  “I’m not sure I’d call that luck,” Nate said, trying to stifle a yawn.

  “How’s Helen?” Quinn asked. He’d been less than pleased earlier when Orlando told him about the rescue, but begrudgingly had to admit she, Daeng, and Ananke had done the right thing.

  “Haven’t heard from her since she got back to San Francisco.”

  “What have you guys been doing, then?”

  “Sleeping mostly. Nate, just an FYI. Ananke is using your bed so you might want to burn it.”