Knox Brotherhood

by Knox, Elizabeth

  I’ve seen the faces of the cartel men when they come in with the boats full of drugs. I’ve seen the payoffs and the Ratz splitting up the shipments.

  I’ve also heard Bane being called by different names. Adhir Malik is only one of his aliases’. Just as Bane is only one of his names. I’ve heard Ritcher call him Amir Hussain as well. They were arguing at the time and Conrad Bane was not happy when Ritcher did that. It was almost as if he was afraid someone would overhear the name. I don’t know what that meant but I remember the day he did it. I know who Ritcher was from the news. Everyone in Texas knows his face as our governor. I’ve seen his picture in the paper many times but I never liked the man. He’s a sleazy person always talking about doing right for the people but he’s talking out of his ass. He’s taken bribes and payoffs the whole time he’s been in office. I think he’s got something on Bane but he’s also very afraid of the man. I think he knows he can only go so far before Bane kills him, or maybe it’s just when he know Conrad Bane doesn’t need him anymore, he’ll kill him. I’m not sure but anyone who knows Bane, knows that once you’re no longer useful to him, you end up dead.

  When I saw him hanging with the likes of Conrad Bane and the River Ratz, I liked him even less.

  It was the last Fourth of July. Bane almost killed the man when he let that name slip. Ritcher was afraid of being found out I think. Ritcher also said something about a donation he had to hide from his committee. He didn’t want anyone to know that Bane had given him money. He was afraid they would see it as a bribe. Bane sneered at him and told him it was a bribe and that Ritcher wasn’t as lily white as he claimed he was. Bane also told him that he better be careful or their association would become news headlines. Ritcher was afraid of that.

  Anyway, three days ago, I was caught by one of the Ratz. Paolo wasn’t at the compound at the time so his second in command Jermanio ordered me questioned. Three of his men began beating me but I wouldn’t tell them anything they wanted to know.

  The second day I was there, another man came in, walked up to me and slit my throat. I thought I was dead for sure. When the others left us alone, the man picked me up and carried me away. I thought he was going to let me bleed out but he didn’t. He stopped the bleeding and told me I was stupid for getting caught.

  My eyes were swollen shut, so I couldn’t see his face. The next thing I knew I was in a truck and we were driving somewhere. I must have passed out again because the next thing I knew I was with you, Bull.

  Living on the streets, you learn a lot about who really runs the town, who you can trust and who to stay the hell away from. You learn where you can find a good place to rest for the night and where you’d better not close your eyes even for a moment.

  You also learn the hard way not to cross the wrong people. Most people overlook the people living on the streets. Most of the ones living on the streets aren’t bad people, life just gave them a bad deal. They aren’t lazy or looking for a handout, they just can’t make their own way.

  You may find them strange and unclean but they know better what’s going on around town than you ever will. They watch and observe what’s going on around them. They know when trouble is coming and will always find a place that is safe to go to when trouble is coming.

  You may not believe me but this is who I am. I don’t lie, I don’t cheat and I find anyone that does to be a scumbag. If I’ve learned anything from my life, it’s how to treat people the way I want them to treat me. If you want respect from me then show me some. If you want the truth from me, then be honest with me and I’ll be honest in return. And if I can’t be honest, then I don’t say anything at all.

  One of my foster mothers when I was six taught me that. She told me that it was harder to remember a lie than the truth and I’ve always found that to be true. I loved that woman and I thought at least for a while that she would be able to keep me but she couldn’t. One of the kids she had in her care had a crazy ass dad and when he came for his kids Mrs. Blake wouldn’t allow him to take her. She was beaten to death that night because she stood up to a crazy bastard and he killed her. He’s sitting in jail for what he did to her but she’s still dead.

  But what she did that night was teach me that you need to stand up for what’s right and that lesson is one I’ve tried very hard to carry with me every day.

  I know you and your friends have no reason to trust me but this is who I am. Take it or leave it but this is me.

  Bull slowly placed the book on the table beside him and ran his fingers over his face. Ever so slowly, he turned to look at the woman sleeping on the bed behind him. For a few minutes, he didn’t want to think but he knew he had to do something.

  Right or wrong, he had to do to something. He picked up the notebook and walked over to where Judge was resting. He knew the other man wasn’t sleeping. His arm was up over his head and Judge didn’t sleep that way.

  Bull dropped the notebook on Judge’s chest and turned to walk away. He went over to the cot next to Charlie’s and he laid down on it. Reaching over, he closed his hand over hers and held it. Closing his own eyes, he let sleep take him at least for a little while.

  * * * *

  Bull jerked awake and for a moment, he wasn’t sure what startled him. Turning his head slowly, the first thing he saw was Charlie. She was twisting and turning lost in what looked like a nightmare of sorts. She appeared to be screaming but no sound came out of her mouth.

  Bull frowned as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the cot. He moved over to her bed and sat down beside her. Gathering her small body into his arms, he held her for the longest time. As soon as he gathered her into his arms though, she settled down and fell asleep again without opening her eyes. Whatever her nightmare had been, his touch had made her feel safe enough to let it go.

  A few minutes later Bull raised his eyes and found Judge looking back at him. The other man didn’t say a word but his eyes said he wasn’t comfortable with seeing Bull hold her. Bull frowned and stayed where he was for a while longer then carefully laid her back on the bed. He got up then and walked over to the windows. The early dawn’s light was just chasing the night shadows away and as he looked over the town below him, he saw the quiet.

  “What are you looking for out there?” Judge asked softly.

  Bull shrugged. “I don’t know. Trouble maybe? Whatever it is it’s coming for us. We can’t hide from the Ratz forever.”

  “Do you believe what she wrote last night?”

  Bull didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I do. She has no real reason to lie to us. She also didn’t have to tell us about her life. I don’t think she did that just to get our pity. She wanted us or rather you to know who she was. You may not have trusted her but it goes both ways and you damn well know that. You expected her to trust you but you didn’t want to give her that same trust.”

  Judge shrugged. “I’ll have Mustang run the names she provided and see if what she says is true. I’ve heard the name Amir Hussain before.” Shaking his head he muttered, “I can’t believe Ritcher is nothing more than a stooge.”

  “He’s a lying sack of shit.” Bull growled. “We blamed Haling for the bad intel five years ago but maybe it was Ritcher we should have been blaming all along. If he was on Bane’s payroll back then, he would have wanted us gone before we broke up the drug route that paid him millions of dollars under the table so well. Maybe that ambush was his idea of a way to get rid of us before we found the drug pipeline and his younger brother Salim.”

  “Been thinking along those lines myself,” Judge admitted. “Ritcher was the one pushing for us to be retired and disbanded after the ambush. He claimed it was the PTSD we were suffering from but if I remember correctly, he was the one pushing the doctor for that diagnoses from the military doctors. Now I have to wonder if it was something else entirely. In fact he signed the fucking orders himself.”

  “He left shortly after we did and got into politics,” Bull reminded him.

  Judge snorted. “Yeah, he fit
right in with all the other liars and bull shitters, didn’t he?”

  “Maybe too well.” Bull nodded.

  CHAPTER SIX

  The sun was high in the sky when Charlie opened her eyes. She’d been awake for a while by then but hadn’t wanted anyone else to know it. She laid there and listened to what they were doing.

  From eyes barley open, she watched as the six men gathered more information. The one they called Mustang was busy on his laptop as were Tank and Wild Child. Judge oversaw everyone and Bull stood over by the bank of windows overlooking the city. Hawk was pinning papers on the wall behind the security cameras.

  There was very little noise and everyone looked busy. Charlie woke up this morning and for a moment, she didn’t feel the fear she usually did when she opened her eyes. She knew she’d had a nightmare the night before. She could still feel a lingering fear in her soul but for some reason she could push it aside. She remembered being half awake and suddenly feeling safe. She didn’t know what happened but for now, she felt safe.

  Her eyes searched the room for Bull and she found him still standing at the windows looking out over at the city. She lifted her hand to her throat and felt the wound she had there. It wasn’t as sore this morning and she didn’t seem to have a fever so she thought that was good.

  Looking over to where Mustang was sitting, she noted papers had been taped to the wall behind him. Frowning, she narrowed her eyes to try to see what the papers said but she was too far away to read them.

  Feeling a full bladder, she tried to sit up. Her whole body hurt from the beating she taken and she groaned as she got into a seated position. Barely a sound passed her lips but it was enough to alert Bull she was awake. He rushed over to her side and assisted her. When she made a motion to get to her feet, he held her steady while she got her balance.

  Looking into his eyes, she mouthed the words, “Gotta pee.”

  Bull chuckled and helped her walk to the bathroom. Helping her inside, he turned to leave while she took care of business. “I’ll wait outside.” He closed the door behind him.

  Pulling down her sweatpants, she relieved herself. Pushing herself off the toilet, she took stock of her injuries in the mirror above the sink. Her long black hair was matted with dried blood and sweat. Her turquoise eyes were dull from pain and lack of real sleep and the skin underneath was bruised. Her jaw was black and blue and one eye was still swollen where Jermanio had struck her during his questioning.

  Looking further down, she noted the fresh bandage wrapped around her throat. It was unmarked by the blood that stained the shirt she’d worn earlier and Charlie tugged at the bandage to see just how badly she was cut.

  When she saw the thin red line across her throat from the knife that cut her she realized something. The cut was nowhere near where it should have been to end her life but remembering the pain and all the blood she couldn’t help but think the person who cut her hadn’t wanted anyone else to know she was still alive. Then she remembered his voice and she knew who it was.

  Pulling the bandage back up into place, she washed her hands and stumbled to the door.

  When she opened it, Bull was there waiting for her. He helped her back to the table a few feet away from the bed, she’d been in the night before.

  When she was sitting there, he opened a bottle of water and handed it to her.

  Then the other men gathered around the table. The one they all called Judge took the seat across from her. He stared at her for a moment then pushed some papers in her direction.

  Charlie looked down at them and flushed when she saw they were the papers she’d written out the night before. She raised her eyes to him but didn’t say anything. Instead, she waited for him to ask what he wanted to know.

  “Is all of that true?” he finally asked.

  Charlie nodded slightly.

  Mustang handed him a photograph. Judge pushed it toward her. “Is this the man you call Conrad Bane?”

  Charlie stared at the phot for a moment. It was of an older man standing on the beach in nothing more than a swimsuit. In one hand, he held a cigar while in the other hand he held a drink of some kind. His body was trim and well defined. He was a tall man with dark hair unmarked by grey. His eyes were narrowed but you could still tell they were dark in color. His left wrist was facing the camera and you could see some sort of birthmark there.

  The photo also showed a tattoo on his chest and when Charlie noticed it, she pushed herself away from the table. Tears rolled down her face and she stared in horror at the photo. Her fear of the man caused her to shake uncontrollably but she didn’t make any sound at all.

  Bull jumped to his feet and tried to embrace her but she struggled in his arms.

  “Shhh…” he whispered in her ear. “No one is going to hurt you. No one here will hurt you.” He assured her as his arms tightened around her.

  It took several minutes for Charlie to settle down. When she was calm again, Bull led her back to the table and helped her sit down. Then he looked at the photo and asked, “What is it about this photo that scares you? You’ve seen the man before. It’s Conrad Bane.”

  Charlie stared at the photo in question and slowly raised her eyes to his. Grabbing her throat, she tried to speak but the pain in her throat wouldn’t let the words through. She closed her eyes and tried again but again, no words came out of her mouth.

  Finally, Mustang pushed a notebook at her.

  Grabbing the pen, she began to write, “The tattoo on his chest. I’ve seen it before.”

  Bull read the words and glanced at his friends. Then he looked at her. “Where and when?”

  Charlie shook her head. Tears rolled down her face. “I don’t know. I’ve seen this man before that’s true but when I saw him, he always had his shirt on. This is the only time I’ve seen him without a shirt. I don’t know why but the sight of it makes my heart ache.” She wrote shakily. “It was just a flash of fear but it hurt so bad, it took my breath away.”

  “You said in your letter you got a bad vibe from the man,” Judge reminded her. “Could that be why?”

  Charlie shook her head. “No this is something different. It’s like I’ve seen the tattoo before and it’s from a nightmare from my past. I don’t know where I saw it but I know I’ve seen it before.”

  Judge stared at her for a moment then ran his fingers through his hair. He glanced quickly at Bull then turned his eyes toward Charlie. “And you can’t remember where you saw it before?”

  Charlie shook her head. Turning her eyes back to the photo, she studied the tattoo again. Racking her brain, she tried but the memory wouldn’t come to her conscious mind. Finally, she shook her head. Turning to Bull, she planted her face in his chest and wept again.

  Bull wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her shaking body to him. “I think that’s enough for now Judge.”

  “I know but we’re running out of time.” Judge snarled. “Bane won’t wait for her memory to come back. You’re down twenty four of your seventy two hours before he burns the town down.”

  “I know but yelling at her isn’t going to bring her memory back any sooner.” Bull growled.

  “You could always fight for the man for the remainder of your contract,” Hawk said as he crossed his arms across his chest.

  Charlie pushed herself away from Bull chest and shook her head. Grabbing the pen she wrote, “You can’t go to him. When he doesn’t want you to fight for him anymore, he won’t let you walk away, he’ll kill you instead.”

  Bull read her words and frowned. “How do you know that?”

  “I just remembered something. I overheard him on the phone one day. He was outside and I was watching him. He was pacing and I was hiding in a tree near his office. He came outside to smoke a cigar and came to stand under my hiding spot. He never knew I was there. Whoever he was talking to knew your name. Bane said he couldn’t let you near him in case you recognized him or his tie to his brother. Bane told him he would take care of you for whoever the cal
ler was.”

  “I wonder if the man on the other end of the call was Ritcher?” Hawk suggested.

  “It could have been.” Bull nodded. “If I’d seen them together, I would have said something.”

  “And exposed Ritcher to public questions about his association with Bane,” Judge surmised. “That was something Ritcher couldn’t let happen.”

  Bull tightened his lips. “Ritcher let Smokey die to hide a connection he didn’t want known? That lousy fucker.”

  “Do you think he knew Bane would kill him?” Charlie wrote in the notebook.

  Bull’s lips tightened. “Yeah honey, he knew. Ritcher knows exactly what kind of man Bane is. Bane has to protect his sources and Ritcher is one of his sources. That’s how Bane works. He pays for secrecy and the men he pays protect his secrets.”

  “Not to mention the men Bane pays to protect him aren’t exactly upstanding citizens.” Wild Child sneered.

  “Let’s check and see what Bane needs Ritcher in his pocket for,” Judge finally said. “There has to be something Ritcher is providing for him.”

  Mustang nodded and left to table to begin his search of Ritcher’s political career.

  “How about we get you something to eat?” Bull suggested. “Are you hungry?”

  Charlie nodded. “Coffee?” she wrote in the notebook.

  Bull chuckled. “Yeah, we got coffee.”

  “Shower?”

  Bull nodded. “Yeah we got that too.”

  An hour later, Charlie was clean and fed. Hawk rewrapped her throat to keep the cut clean but told her it was closing nicely. She had to lay down again afterward as she had used up all her energy washing the blood out of her hair.