The Divine Devils: Mystery Suspense Crime Thriller: Book 1

by R Weir

  Finding nothing else useful, the three headed back downstairs. Leaving one other building to check, the garage. Disabling the back-door explosives, they walked out, carefully navigating the gravel driveway, finding no more traps, before coming to the door. Figuring it was likely rigged, they found a side window. After checking it, they broke it open, where they could see the entry door with their flashlight. It and the two-car wide garage door appeared to be wired. Being Shank was the smallest, he crawled through the narrow window opening and disarmed the devices before opening the door, allowing the other two in. One car was inside, the red BMW the wife had been driving, a few tools, lawn mower and a couple of bicycles.

  “What’s this?” said Gristle, his 6’3” 225-pound frame walking on the floor, hearing a hollow sound.

  Finding a light in the garage, they discovered a door built into the floor. After carefully checking it, they found no wires, determining it was safe. Opening it up, Black Fox climbed down, gun pointed with flashlight on, in case someone was hiding down there. When he made it to the bottom, he pulled the chain attached to a neon light, turning it on. What he found shocked him.

  “Holly heavy arsenal Batman,” he called out.

  In the ten by twelve room the walls were covered with peg boards, with various types of weapons mounted. Semi-auto and automatic guns of all kinds and sizes. In the center was a wooden work bench, with stacks of bullets, hand grenades and stun canisters. Knives and bayonets took up a small section of another wall, another mostly empty. It would appear The Train Man had taken a few things with him for protection, before leaving. A scary fact to discover.

  “We found the mother lode,” announced Black Fox, before describing what he saw to the others.

  “But no sign of anyone else?” asked Cameryn.

  “Nope. I’d say he left and took a few of his toys with him. What do we do now?”

  “What do you think?” asked Cameryn of Shen.

  Shen mulled over all that had happened the last couple of days.

  “I say he’s desperate, cutting ties by killing his wife and is on the run. And we know with that attitude he’d be looking to get out of town, even the country quickly.”

  “Which means he needs transportation,” Cameryn added.

  Shen’s eyes lit up. “We know he has ties to McNair who is a pilot.”

  “With no fear of hurting a woman to get away…Shit! Guys get back here as quickly as possible.”

  “What’s going on?” inquired Black Fox.

  “We believe we know where The Train Man is headed. We need to get to Denver right away.”

  “On our way.”

  Cameryn started up the van and moved in the front of the main driveway, peeling out as soon as the three were in the back, speeding up I-25 as quickly as possible. The only question was—would they get there soon enough. Calls to the number they had for McNair went unanswered. The pilot and his daughter likely in danger from a man on the run, heavily armed, with nothing to lose.

  Chapter 57

  Cloud cover kept the stars and the moon hidden, on this cool evening. Talk of rain and even a couple of thunderstorms after midnight, would make flying challenging. A Dodge Ram extra-cab pickup with two passengers pulled up outside the hanger of Chevy McNair, the time near eleven.

  The Train Man waved with his 9mm Beretta for Chevy McNair to get out of the driver’s seat, rushing in hopes of beating the storm.

  “Open the door so I can drive in and unload,” he demanded.

  McNair pulled out keys, unlocking the main entrance, and then pushed the button on the wall to open the large hanger doors. Inside was his small jet and helicopter, the jet desired by the armed man for a quick getaway. McNair then returned to the truck driving in, up near the jet, where they both stepped out.

  “Grab my stuff from the back storage and load it on the jet,” he ordered. “And hurry.”

  Even though a couple of lights came on when the doors opened, shadows covered much of the hanger, pockets where a person could remain hidden. From out of one of those shadows behind the jet stepped a large figure holding a handgun.

  “Where do you think you’re going,” yelled Cameryn, his eyes trained on the arms dealer.

  The Train Man turned; his gun pointed. “Don’t move or she’s dead.” He held up a basic flip phone, the clamshell open, the screen lit up. “I press one speed dial and McNair’s daughter dies.”

  Cameryn looked at McNair for confirmation.

  “He’s telling the truth,” explained McNair, running to the front of the truck, his hands extended in front of him. “He came to the house and got me by surprise. Tied me up and called my daughter saying if she didn’t come over, he’d kill me. When she arrived, he tied her up and rigged her with explosives attached to a cell phone detonator. Says if I don’t fly him out of town tonight, he’ll push the button and kill her.”

  “Then she is at your house,” remarked Cameryn, before calling out the address. He did this for the other three men, who were listening in on his com.

  “Yes. Please let us go. She doesn’t deserve to die because of me.” McNair’s extended hands were now clasped together, pleading.

  “What’s your plan, Owen,” asked Cameryn, using his real first name. “Keep killing until you escape?”

  “Whatever it takes.” His eyes were fixed on Cameryn, wondering when he’d make a move.

  “Where are you headed?”

  “South, beyond the border. I have friends there to help me.”

  Cameryn continued to question, stalling for time. “Why did you have to kill your wife?”

  The Train Man laughed. “I’m guessing you found her at the house.” His smile was creepy. “She was dead weight and would slow me down. I didn’t need her anymore as cover. What can I say? She was great in bed. She’ll be plainly missed for that reason.” His tone dripped with sarcasm as he scanned the area behind him. “Why are you stalling me? Where is your little Asian buddy? Is he about to pounce on me?”

  Cameryn feigned sadness, followed by anger. “One of your booby traps killed him, you SOB. You rigged the whole damn house to bring it down and kill anyone entering. Not sure how I survived. But you’ll pay though for his death.”

  “Do you want another on your consequence? If you don’t put down the gun, laying it on the ground so we can leave, I’ll kill McNair’s kid. I’ll give you ten seconds.”

  Cameryn laughed. “Be my guest. She doesn’t mean anything to me. All I care about is getting you. I plan on beating the snot out of you, until you give me the information I want.”

  The Train Man was about to press the button, when a fighting star hit him in the hand. He screamed, his left arm falling down, his fingers numb from the pain. Then Shen appeared out of nowhere and struck the left forearm with the Nunchaku. The phone fell to the ground, the crack of the bone echoing through the hanger. The Train Man tried to fire his handgun, but a kick from Shen sent it flying, a second sweep of the legs dropped him to the ground, his head cracking against the pavement. Shen then sprung on top of the arms dealer, his foot pressed against his chest, giving him nowhere to go.

  McNair ran towards them in a panic, yelling. “Did he push the button?” He looked down at the phone lying on the ground, uncertain if the call was made.

  Cameryn walked up, holding a device in his hand. “Not to worry. We jammed his cell signal. Even if he had dialed, it would have been blocked.”

  “I need to get to my daughter and release her.”

  “No worries. I have a team heading to your house. They’ll have her loose in no time.”

  “What do we do now?” wondered McNair, relieved at the news.

  “Shen and I are going to have a chat with Owen here. Hopefully he can give us insight into where a young lady and one of our co-team members are being held.”

  “He had all kinds of weapons he was taking with him,” noted McNair, pointing at the truck.

  He walked to the storage unit in the bed, opening it up. Several automatic
and semi-automatic weapons, a couple hunting knives, grenades, gas canisters, boxes of bullets and explosives. He was ready for war if necessary.

  “We suspected as much. Found even more in a house he had, along with his wife which he murdered. We figured he’d come after you to make his escape. Where was he headed?”

  “Tijuana.”

  Cameryn walked over to The Train Man who remained on the ground. He was moaning in pain from the blows Shen had inflicted on him. Cameryn leaned down and picked the man up, flinging him into the side of the truck, holding him there, their faces inches apart.

  “Talk or we break more bones,” stated Cameryn, seeing the man’s left arm dangling from the fracture.

  Despite his pain, The Train Man spit in Cameryn’s face as a show of defiance. Wiping away the saliva, Cameryn punched the arms dealer in the stomach twice with the force to knock the wind out of him. Then twice more in the side of the ribs before letting him slide to the ground gasping for air. Cracked ribs added to his broken bone total.

  “Your turn Shen.”

  Cameryn stepped away and Shen took his place. He took the Nunchaku swinging it around several times, back and forth, gaining momentum, channeling Bruce Lee, before striking the injured man on the side of the kneecap, the snap spooky to hear. Shen began swinging again, when the Train Man held up his remaining good arm in surrender.

  “Enough…please…no more.”

  Cameryn grabbed him and pulled him back to his feet, seeing the fear in the man’s eyes.

  “Are you going to tell us what we want to know?”

  The Train Man nodded slowly, a couple of tears in his eyes to match his painful expression.

  “Let’s reunite you with your daughter and then we’ll take him somewhere private to chat,” stated Cameryn to McNair.

  McNair walked over, nodding his head.

  “May I?” he asked.

  Cameryn stepped away, and McNair took his own shot, kicking him in the groin area. The Train Man doubled over, before Cameryn grabbed the back of his shirt to prevent him from falling.

  “Feel better?” asked Cameryn.

  “Not really. But I’m glad I did it.”

  Cameryn got a notice in his earpiece as they walked, dragging The Train Man to his truck, tossing him into the extra-cab back seat.

  “Your daughter is safe,” he said to McNair. “Scared to death, but happy to be alive.” Cameryn listened further and then laughed. “Oh, and she says kick the SOB in the balls for her.”

  McNair smiled, the two sharing a likeminded reaction. “Like father, like daughter.”

  Chapter 58

  The next morning Cameryn and Shen dragged themselves into the Hawkins home at around 9 a.m., tired from the wild and violent night they’d experienced. Rest was on their minds, but they needed to brief Athena on what they learned. Finding hot chocolate in the kitchen, Cameryn drank a cup, while Shen decided on green tea in hot water instead. Each had grabbed a breakfast sandwich and devoured it on the way over. Hardly a feast, but enough to calm their hungry stomachs.

  They had taken The Train Man to a warehouse in the Cimarron Hills neighborhood of Colorado Springs. The large facility off Woolsey Heights road was gated, with secure access via a keycard, isolated with a large parking area on both sides. The warehouse was unused, owned by Amari Sarr, providing them the privacy they needed to question the arms dealer. Into the wee hours of the morning they got answers from the injured man, his pain making him easy to manipulate. Though the information he provided wasn’t as much as they’d hoped.

  Athena came into the kitchen with the iPad borrowed from Paige, sitting it on the center island, far enough back so that the camera could see the three of them. A couple of swipes and presses later she made a video connection via Skype. Amari Sarr’s face filling the screen. The man providing them important resources.

  “Morning,” he said, seeing the three faces clearly.

  Each of the three nodded, introducing themselves, checking out the man’s face for the first time. They had talked on the phone previously, catching his deep baritone voice, which matched his deep black smooth skin. His head covered in tight cornrows, a thin mustache and dark soul patch along with his neatly trimmed eyebrows, furrowing downward in concern for the pending discussion.

  “I’m sorry to say the email sent to Athena is a dead end,” stated Amari. “IP address in the email headers didn’t give us anything. Shows it came from an internet café in Europe. No way to trace the origin of the email or the file. They knew what they were doing.”

  “That is disappointing to hear,” remarked Cameryn. “Though not surprising. We aren’t dealing with dummies.”

  “Were you able to gather intel from the suspect?” Amari inquired.

  “The man involved in the kidnapping is Conn Ives Reinbach,” replied Cameryn from memory, happy the sugar from the hot chocolate was kicking in.

  Amari immediately reacted to the name. “He is supposed to be dead.”

  Cameryn sipped a little more. “It would seem, that isn’t the case. Who is he?”

  “A gangster, mob boss from Germany. Ran his business in Europe and then branched out into the US. Guns, drugs, prostitutes and bribing politicians. He was about to go to trial when he disappeared. He had been on the run for a while. Word came later he was killed in a car bomb by someone inside his organization.”

  Athena sat at the center island of the kitchen, listening intently while enjoying cereal and grapefruit for breakfast. “Is he linked to the person Hunter wants us to find; Adin Dillenberg?”

  “He was the accountant for Reinbach. Feds turned him, getting key information about the business. Then put him in witness protection when there were threats on his life.”

  “And with Hunter being a former US Marshal, I’m guessing he may have crossed paths with Adin in his former duties,” added Shen while swirling the tea bag in his cup.

  “Likely that is the case.” Amari typed on his keyboard, checking out his other monitor. “Adin appears to be related to Reinbach. Was married to Reinbach’s sister. Says here she is deceased as of shortly after he was supposed to testify. Died of cancer from what I’m reading. I don’t recall if she went into WITSEC with him or not. Did Train Man know where Reinbach is holed up?”

  “Mentioned Canada, but nothing precise,” answered Athena, after a mouthful of corn flakes. “We already suspected he was in Saskatchewan from the license plates the Hawkins son saw while he was held. Been nice if our train enthusiast had a city to narrow it down.”

  Amari knew from his days in the business, one guarded their location carefully. “If it is Reinbach, then he is going to be cautious giving out that info. He is a highly wanted man. Or was since they thought he was dead.”

  “Do you have pictures of him?” wondered Shen.

  Amari went to work on his keyboard, this time pulling up a photo, sharing it for all to see.

  “Big guy,” commented Cameryn. “Or should I say fat.”

  “Don’t be surprised if he changed his appearance,” remarked Amari. “When one goes on the run, you don’t want to look like your wanted posters.”

  “You sound like you speak from experience,” declared Shen.

  Amari nodded, a scowl on his face from the memory. “I do. Though for different reasons.”

  “What about Adin?” wondered Athena. “Any pictures of him?”

  “No. They would have cleaned up most of that when they gave him his new identity. And you won’t find any current social media under his new name. What was it again?”

  “Steve Zorn is what Hunter said,” replied Athena, now working on her grapefruit. “I’m guessing the Feds won’t allow them on Facebook?”

  Amari shook his head. “Exposes them too much. Hell, it exposes all of us. I’m amazed what people share for the whole world to see.” Amari shivered at some of what he’d viewed through the years. “Best to keep their pictures and comments off the web and out of the paper. The bad guys who want them dead are always scouri
ng to find them.”

  Athena enjoyed the grapefruit, the bitter taste of the acidic fruit never an issue for her. “It would seem we know a little bit more about the man and the motivation to keep Olivia and Hunter captive. Did we learn anything else?”

  “Gave us a little bit about Valerie,” stated Shen, contemplating more tea after finishing his cup. “Last name is Wilson. Though that might be a fake being how common it is. Has a long history of employment working for criminals. Adept at hand to hand combat, martial arts and an expert marksman. Comes across as a sex kitten one minute and a cold-blooded killer the next.”

  “Don’t call her Val,” added Cameryn. “Riles her up.”

  Athena filed that one away for a future use. “I’ll be sure to weaponize that the next time we meet.”

  “Be warned, he claimed she is one tough female,” continued Shen. “Goes to any length to win a fight and never loses. Cheats if necessary.”

  Athena expected nothing less and would be ready the next time they faced off. She could get dirty in a fight herself.

  “The big question is, can you use any of this?” inquired Amari, leaning back in his chair, placing hands behind his head.

  The three glared at each other, wondering the same thing. Neither could come up with a concrete answer.

  “Then I have to ask what else can I do for you?”

  “Well we can fumble around Salt Lake City and try to find Adin,” noted Athena. “But with little idea where and if he is even living there with the minute information we have, we would be hard pressed to locate him in the short time remaining. Unless you have an avenue to locate him?”

  Amari laughed. “I’ve got connections, but nothing to get that information. Those are well guarded secrets. Maybe the only ones remaining in the federal government.”

  “Too bad, because we have the same issue with Saskatchewan,” added Cameryn. “Large area and not enough data and time to find Olivia and Hunter. We could keep pressing The Train Man, but I believe he doesn’t have much more to give.”