by R Weir
Valerie smiled and waved to the plane. In a minute down the stairs walked Deion, still dressed as he had been when taken two days ago. He appeared no worse for wear, though his face showed the fear of the situation.
“Are you okay,” asked Athena as he walked over to her. “Did they hurt you in any way?”
Deion shook his head. “I’m fine. But what is going to happen to Olivia?”
“Isn’t she on the jet?”
Deion shook his head causing an irruption from Hunter.
“What the fuck Valerie?” he yelled, taking two steps forward before stopping, Travis’ gun now cocked and ready to fire.
“Athena walks away with the boy, while you come with us. There you’ll see we have Olivia safe and sound.”
“That wasn’t the deal.”
“Too bad,” countered Valerie. “We still need her as leverage. You’re a tough man from what we’ve learned. You’re not likely going to share with us what we need no matter what we do to you. But you will knowing what can happen to her.”
Hunter stared over at Athena, knowing he had no option. He would be at their mercy. The question was, what possible information did they want from him?
Valerie walked up, pulling out handcuffs and tossing them to him. “Put them on. You’ll be cuffed to your seat. Can’t have you doing anything stupid on the plane.”
“You believe I’m capable?”
“Quite capable from the word we have on you. Be a shame to have to shoot you before you give us what we need.”
Hunter did as he was told, while walking to the steps with Travis behind him.
“What the hell are we supposed to do?” wondered Athena. “We’re stuck in the middle of nowhere with no way to get home.”
Valerie glanced up seeing nothing but blue skies.
“You’re a smart woman. You’ll figure out a way.” She walked up the steps, went inside and then tossed two bottles of water to Athena. “That should sustain you long enough to get you to a farmhouse nearby. I’d move away as we’ll be taking off soon. Hate to have you both get hurt with flying debris. Until next time.”
“I guarantee they’ll be a next time and the outcome will be different.”
Valerie blew Athena a kiss as the stairs came up and the door closed. The engines fired up, and Athena grabbed Deion as they jogged to get out of the way, the jet soon in the air, leaving them stranded.
“What the hell are we going to do?” asked Deion, his fear level still high.
Athena looked around not finding a landmark on the horizon that offered her hope.
“Like she said, we walk. We’ll follow the road we drove in on and hope we find a house or run into a car driving.”
“Did you see any on the drive in?” inquired Deion.
Athena scanned the skies while putting her arm around his shoulder and shook her head. She knew they had a long trek ahead of them, happy the weather was bearable for their long unwanted stroll.
Chapter 46
On the walk Athena picked Deion’s brain, hoping to get any information from him on where they held him and his sister captive.
“It was out in the country, somewhere,” he explained, his mind flashing back to what he could recall. “Farmland, it looked like. You could smell livestock. A remote location, not much different than where we’re walking now. No other houses around that I could see. It was colder, though the sun was out.”
“Did you see any other cars? Notice their license plates? Maybe a state name.”
He paused to think. “I’m sorry I didn’t think to look closely. I believe the numbers were green. But I didn’t see a state name.” He paused again, closing his eyes. “There was a symbol between the plate number, though I don’t remember what it was. I’m certain the number was six digits.”
“Excellent. Gives us info to work with.” Athena glanced around watching for cars. “What about accents of the other people there? Anything stand out about them?”
“No one else talked to us other than Valerie and the guy she called Travis. Nothing odd about the way he talked.”
“And you said it was cold. Do you think you might have crossed the border into Canada?”
Deion shrugged. “Maybe. I mean it doesn’t seem much different than where we are now. What state is this?”
“Montana. Do you remember how long it took to fly?”
“Not really. They took away our phones. I had no time reference to work with.” He thought about it for a minute, seeming to count in his head. “Maybe an hour or less on the plane. They shuttled us on and off the plane quickly and into a car. Blindfolded us so we couldn’t see once on the ground. It felt weird not being able to see while in motion. Made me a bit queasy.”
Athena held out her fist for Deion to bump. “Good information. Keep thinking. You might recall additional facts we can use. Anything you tell us can help.”
Athena took a drink, encouraging Deion to do the same. The sun was warm, though the wind made for a slight nip in the air. They walked for an hour or more, along the road. They saw one pickup truck but they refused to stop, driving at a high rate of speed. It appeared the driver had an important appointment to keep. They rested a couple of times, trying to conserve their water. Athena was in good shape, the stroll hardly taxing her. Deion wasn’t used to all the walking, his days gaming on the PlayStation not providing him the exercise required. But he soldiered on, never complaining, even though his feet hurt and his exposed skin was chilled by the breeze. Another hour and they finally found a farmhouse, though it was far off the road. They made it near the front, when a dog approached them barking. They both stopped in their tracks, the black and brown rottweiler sneering at them, a lot of aggression in his eyes and the display of sharp teeth ready to latch onto them added to their caution.
“Stand still,” ordered Athena.
Deion didn’t move. “You don’t have to tell me twice. I know he is protecting his territory and sees us as a threat.”
“Hello inside,” yelled Athena, her eyes locked on the dog ready to defend them if necessary.
The front door opened and an older white lady in a flowery long dress with short curly gray hair stepped out. She held a shotgun at her side.
“Do anything stupid and Bullet will attack,” she commanded. “What are you doing here?”
With a name like Bullet there was little doubt he was a threat.
“My name is Athena, and this is Deion.” She said their names hoping it would make it harder for her to shoot them. Though she doubted it would matter to the dog. “Deion here was kidnapped by some bad people. I came to get him and they left us at an old airfield back that way.” She cautiously moved to point behind her. “We’ve been walking for a couple of hours trying to find help.”
“You don’t have a cell phone?”
“No. The rules for the exchange didn’t allow us. All they gave us was two bottles of water.” She held up the bottle. “As you can see, they’re nearly empty.”
The lady weighed the situation then called for her dog to stand down via a command in some foreign language. He ran up to the porch standing next to her, though his eyes still were on the prey before him.
The lady gave them a wave, showing a semi-smile. “Come on in and we’ll get you a drink.”
The two of them walked slowly, taking the porch steps one at a time.
“Can I pet him?” wondered Deion. “Bullet is beautiful. We have our own dog Pepper. He is a black lab.”
The lady grabbed his collar. “Let him sniff you first. He’s not used to seeing people of color out here.”
Deion did as he was told, his hand licked after a lot of sniffing. He started rubbing behind the ears, a pleasure point on any dog who’s lived.
“Thank you,” said Athena while finishing the last of her water. “We are tired. If I can call for help that would be wonderful. We need to get home and inform the police.”
The lady waved for them to come inside. She hung the shotgun on a couple of hooks nea
r the door, then walked into the kitchen, finding two bottles of water to give them. Bullet was shadowing her with every step, on the prowl for a treat. He had been well trained.
“Where are you from?” the old lady inquired.
“Colorado, specifically Colorado Springs. We need to get a hold of people there and get a ride back to L.M. Clayton Airport. There’s a jet there waiting for us. The call will be long distance—I’d be happy to pay for it, but they didn’t let us bring cash or ID’s to the exchange. We could send a check in the mail.”
“Not a problem. You have an honest face. Make your call.”
She showed Athena where the phone was, an old push button device anchored to the wall. She dialed up the number from memory, calling the pilots, to let them know the situation and to arrange for a car to come and get them.
“What is the address out here?” asked Athena.
The lady gave her the info, while pulling out cookies and chips. She tossed one of the cookies to the dog, who swallowed it down in two bites, before licking the crumbs off the floor.
Athena finished the call, happy they had someone coming. She took a seat and had a couple of the packaged cookies. They were nothing special, an assembly-line name brand, but she still devoured it much like the dog did.
“You mentioned exchange,” asked the lady. “What did you have to exchange for the young man here?”
Athena thought for a minute, before answering.
“A valuable member of our team. And a man we plan to get back no matter what.”
Or so she hoped. They had no idea where they had taken him.
***
Since Hunter was gone to make the exchange, Cameryn decided to take his place and pay a visit to the pilot. It was a long drive, but he didn’t care, making the trip in short order. Arriving, he found the hanger bay and office, the man not there. Cameryn hung out in his car watching the planes take off from the airport, keeping an eye out for the pilot. He spotted a woman heading to the office, and figured he’d get out and talk to her. From the description Hunter had supplied, it was the daughter of the pilot, Chevy McNair, who could be helpful. Though different persuasion tactics would be used on her than he planned on using on the father.
“Excuse me young lady,” called Cameryn before she made the door.
She turned around, dressed in work overalls with Tonya printed on a name tag, her short hair covered in a swirling colored skull cap. When she saw the big lumbering imposing figure coming towards her, she grew concerned. She reached inside her overalls and pulled out a revolver. Cameryn saw the weapon and held up his hands.
“I’m only here to talk, Tonya,” he stated, reading the name off the tag. “I’m looking for your father. I believe he might be involved in a kidnapping. At least providing the transportation after the crime.”
“Who are you?” Tonya asked, the gun pointed, but her hand shaking. “You appear to be armed.”
Cameryn glanced down, his holster exposed under his vest.
“Yes I am. But I only use it for protection. I’m not here to harm you.” Cameryn spoke in a relaxing tone. “I’m working with Hunter Divine and Detective Scanlon from the Colorado Springs police department.”
Tonya recalled the names, adding to her distress. “I remember the card with Divine and Scanlon’s numbers on it. Divine tried to break my father’s fingers. Afterwards I told him what I knew about the people who hired him.”
Cameryn kept his hands up, a friendly smile creeping across his face.
“I understand. You gave them a name, which was helpful. And your dad was supposed to contact us, if they tried to hire him again. Which we believe they did. The consensus being he may have flown them again on Saturday, when they were successful kidnapping those same kids.”
Her face scrunched up in fear. “He didn’t have a choice. He was protecting me.”
Cameryn heard the words, wondering what had happened. He tried to look passive, which wasn’t easy for a man his size. He put down his arms, his face flushed with concern.
“Tell me all about it. I’m available to listen. Maybe I can render some assistance.”
Her hand was still shaking, though it was getting tired from the revolver’s weight. It was a smaller .38 six-shooter, of which she showed no experience holding.
“The people involved nearly killed my friend. Put him in the hospital with critical injuries he could still die from.” Cameryn was passionate in his invocation. “I understand what you’re going through. We can make it so they never bother you again.” He twisted his head sideways, cracking his neck and smiled. “I’m a tough guy, working with people who are tough as diamonds…and skilled.”
Her eyes were searching his, trying to read his soul. Tonya, feeling the pressure of all that had happened, concluded he was no threat. She relented, lowering the gun, arms still twitching. Opening the door, she waved for him to follow. Once inside she took a seat at her father’s desk, laying the gun cautiously on the tabletop, pointing at a chair for Cameryn to sit in.
He leaned against the wall; his massive tattooed arms crossed. “I prefer to stand. Tell me what happened.”
Tonya rested her arms on the tabletop, eyes glancing down at her hands, fingers locked together. It took her a minute to find the words. But Cameryn didn’t care. He had time to wait.
“Dad got a call about picking up some folks on the east side of Colorado Springs using his helicopter. He needed to be at the location waiting by 9 a.m. He told them no, saying a cop had warned him not to work for them again. They offered him more money, but he repeated his negative answer and hung up the phone.”
She paused again, gathering herself. Getting up, she retrieved a caffeinated energy drink out of the small fridge and took a long drink.
“I’m sorry, where are my manners. Would you like a beverage?”
Cameryn shook his head, not caring for the ingredients he considered poison in those beverages. “I’m good. Please continue when you feel comfortable.”
Tonya sat back down, sitting the can near the gun.
“Two men showed up on Friday. One talked with me…a black man who was a smooth operator being polite and all, saying he needed a charter to another state for work. I had no idea who they were. I smiled and took them back to my father’s office where he was doing paperwork. Once inside, they closed and locked the door.” She stopped, her hands shaking, tears in her eyes, the memories intense. “I felt the arm of the other man grabbing me around the neck pulling me against him…he was too strong for me.” The tears came harder now. “It was then I felt cold metal pressed against my head and I soon realized it was the barrel of a gun.”
Cameryn remained calm hearing the story, but inside he understood the fear she must have experienced.
“That must have been terrifying.”
“It was. To be that close to death…is unnerving. I started to plead for them to let me go.”
Tonya took another drink, then grabbed two tissues to wipe her eyes and blow her nose. Cameryn knew the super-charged caffeine drink would only amp up her emotions. A thought he kept to himself.
“Dad started pleading as well. The black man made it clear that if Dad didn’t take the job they would kill me and make sure he was watching when it happened. Right then and there he agreed. You can see he had no choice.”
“These are bad people who would have carried out the threat,” noted Cameryn. “Your dad did the right thing in agreeing.”
“They were men with no conscience. To prove their point, the man with the gun pressed the barrel harder to my head…and pulled the trigger.” The recollection of the horrible moment brought more tears. “My knees went weak and Dad screamed. There was no bullet in the chamber…he released me to slump to the floor in horror. They walked out with the black man saying next time the gun would be loaded.” She needed more tissues, dabbing at her eyes. “Dad came over and hugged me. We cried quite a bit, shaking in fear for a long time.”
Cameryn shuttered at the cringe worth
y moment. “Can you describe the two men?”
Tonya blew her nose again, gathering herself. “As I mentioned the man talking was black. The one with the gun, white.” She went on to give basic descriptions. The black man was likely Jamaal whom Cameryn remembered clearly from the bombing. The other could have been the driver of the getaway SUV, though he didn’t get a clear look at him.
“I’m sorry you went through this hell, but these people have killed others, even when they cooperated. I don’t think you’ll be safe until they’re in custody. Getting your father to help and testify would be the best option.”
“That is why he gave me the gun. Said not to hesitate to use it, if I felt threatened. I’m sorry I pointed it at you.”
“Perfectly understandable, but pointing a gun won’t scare these men. You must be prepared to use it. And from what I could see, that wasn’t the case.”
Tonya nodded. “You’re right. It was in my hand, but I couldn’t pull the trigger.”
In this case Cameryn was happy for her hesitation. But it wouldn’t help her if they returned.
“Maybe killing a human isn’t in your DNA. Practice might help. But in reality—your only option is to put these people away in prison.”
“I believe I can persuade my father. Though it won’t be easy for him, he worries about losing his business.”
At that moment the door opened and in came a big man. He saw Cameryn, quickly lunging at him he threw a fist which Cameryn dodged, deflecting the arm. The man reached into his back belt and pulled out a revolver. Cameryn could see the rage in his eyes, knowing he wouldn’t hesitate to shoot. He grabbed the wrist, twisting it to the side and then up, the man yelping in pain. Cameryn punched him hard in the stomach, pulling the gun out of his hand, as he slumped to the ground. Cameryn pointed the gun, pulling back the hammer, ready to fire if necessary.
“Don’t shoot!” yelled Tonya. “That is my father.”
Cameryn took a closer look at the man’s face, the picture on the wall confirming who it was. He lowered the gun, placing it on the desk next the other one. He then stepped back, crossing his arms again, as Tonya came around to help her father up.
