Option to Kill (Nathan McBride 3) (27 page)

“Then we just saved her life.”

“Yeah, we did, but she’s going to have deep psychological scars for the rest of her life. She’ll have to find a way to deal with it. She’ll need counseling. Look in her eyes, Lauren. See the pain she’s feeling. She isn’t just some toy for amusement she’s a human being with feelings, just like you and me. She doesn’t speak English, but that doesn’t make her any less important.”

“People are so cruel.”

“I know it’s hard after all we’ve been through, but try not to dwell on the negatives. As a perfect example, look at what Gerry just did for us. He gave us this vehicle on nothing more than my word I’d bring it back. Keep your faith in humanity.”

“But you were both soldiers. Maybe he wouldn’t have done it you weren’t a soldier.”

“That’s true, but I was also willing to trade the Taurus for it. I suppose somebody else might’ve suspected the Taurus was stolen, and the outcome could’ve been completely different.”

“It’s that causal pyramid, right?”

“Causality. But yes. Again, a very specific chain of events is unfolding. Now that we have Abrille, the base of the pyramid just got a whole lot bigger.”

“Maybe
your
faith in humanity is a little better too.”

“How’s that?”

“You were going to just steal a car.”

Nathan didn’t respond right away. She was right. Asking to borrow someone’s car hadn’t even occurred to him until she’d suggested it. He supposed his desire to save the girl played a role in his train of thought, but he wasn’t sure anymore. Again, Lauren’s sense of intuition amazed him. Maybe it was a family trait. There’d been times during his childhood when he could’ve sworn his father knew exactly what he was thinking. He supposed all parents got to know their kids like that, but his dad’s ability seemed uncanny at times. Speaking of, he’d need to call his father soon. Washington was three hours ahead, making it just after 0530 there.

“You’re absolutely right,” he said. “It’s easy to forget there are genuinely good people in the world. I’d like to believe that most people aren’t purposely cruel to one another. I think a lot of people tend to be mistrusting in general, but very few are downright cruel.”

“Did I kill the man at the motel?”

“No, but he’s going to need orthopedic surgery. Go ahead and make the 411 call. You know what to say?”

“Yes.”

He listened to Lauren talk to the operator as he turned west on a road that would take them back toward the highway they’d used to enter Tecate. From there, they’d make a right turn onto Highway 94.

“Okay, the lady said to wait on the line.” She passed the phone to him.

Nathan waited through a brief period of silence. “This is Dr. Reavie.”

“It’s Nathan McBride, Doctor. Thank you for taking my call.”

“Do you need me to head over to my surgical suite again?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“I’ve got a Hispanic female around age twelve. She’s got a small incision on the lower-right portion of her abdomen. It’s stapled closed. The incision is inflamed and leaking, and she might have a fever. She said she had a surgical procedure three days ago.”

“It would be useful to know what was done to her.”

“Hang on, Doctor. I’ll ask.” Abrille told him she didn’t know.

“She says she doesn’t know.”

“What’s her condition? Is her heart rate elevated, and is she breathing in short, shallow breaths?”

“Just a sec. I’m putting you on speaker. We aren’t being recorded, are we?”

“No.”

“Lauren, put your fingers over her wrist near her thumb. Let me know if her pulse seems high.”

“She won’t let me touch her hand.”

“Abrille, we need to know how fast your heart is beating. Please let Lauren touch your wrist, okay? She’s not going to hurt you.”

Nathan wanted to pull over, but he couldn’t risk any delay right now. They needed to clear this area before any roadblocks went up.

“Is she letting you do it?”

“Yeah. It feels kinda fast.”

“Is she breathing quickly? And shallow?”

“Yes.”

“Did you catch that, Doctor?”

“Yes. Can you see any mottling on her skin?”

“Yes, I saw that earlier, on her abdomen, around the incision.”

“Does she seem restless or agitated?”

“Yes, but it could be a result of her trauma. She’s also fatigued. Her agitation comes and goes.”

“Bring her in as soon as you can. When was the last time she had anything to eat or drink? Anything in her stomach increases her anesthesia risk.”

“She drank about sixteen ounces of water a few minutes ago. Other than that, I don’t know.”

“If she needs surgery, we’ll do a rapid-sequence technique of inducing anesthesia to reduce the risk, but it’s better if she doesn’t have anything more than water in her stomach. She’s got four symptoms of sepsis. If she’s in full septic shock, her life’s at risk and she’ll need intensive care. It’s more than I can provide here. Since you haven’t taken her to an urgent-care facility, may I assume you’d like to keep all of this confidential?”

“Yes.”

“I can do that, but at my discretion, I’ll transfer her to Pomerado. Agreed?”

“Agreed. She doesn’t speak English, though.”

“That won’t be an issue. I speak Spanish.”

Nathan lowered his voice. “She’s been assaulted, multiple assailants.”

There was silence on the other end for a few seconds. “Before or after her surgery?”

“After for sure, but I don’t know about before.”

“Again, I’ll treat her, but I’m not set up for this sort of thing. I don’t have a rape kit, and she’ll need immediate counseling.”

“The rape kit won’t be necessary.”

“Do I want to know?”

“I think it’s best if you don’t.”

“What’s your ETA?”

“If all goes well, around an hour. Can you give me your address again?” Nathan committed it to memory. “Thank you, Doctor. I really appreciate this.”

“I’m glad to help,” said the doctor. “But I need to disclose something you might not be aware of. The girl’s treatment can start off as emergency care, and I can help with that, but as I mentioned, if she has a life-threatening infection, she’ll need admission to Pomerado, and because she’s a minor, she’ll need legal consent. If she doesn’t have a legal guardian available, the courts will get involved. There’s no way around it.”

“I hadn’t considered that. What can we do?”

“If her identity’s at risk, a pseudonym can be used, like they do for gang risk or prominent public figures. The assault also triggers the involvement of Child Protective Services. I am legally and morally required to report even the slightest suspicion of child abuse, and if I don’t, I could see license suspension or revocation, and even jail time.”

“I won’t put you or your career at risk, Doctor. I’ll take her straight to Pomerado.”

“You don’t need to do that yet. For now, this is an emergency treatment. We’ll deal with the other issues later. I just wanted to make you aware of what’s involved with a minor.”

“Does her citizenship matter?”

“Not when it comes to emergency treatment. I can’t say for sure, but if she was brought into the US illegally, ICE will probably get involved.”

“Let’s try to delay that for as long as we can. She’s in the best possible hands in your care.”

“That’s kind of you to say. I’ll do everything I can to insulate her. I have an ace up my sleeve, but we’ll talk about that later. Right now, my only concern is treating her condition and making sure she makes a full recovery.”

“I agree. We’ll see you in about an hour.”

“I’ll be ready.”

“Thank you, Doctor.” Nathan ended the call.

Lauren asked, “What did you say? I couldn’t hear you.”

“I wanted to spare you from certain details.”

“I already know what they did. They raped her.”

“Lauren,
rape
isn’t just a word. Short of murder, it’s one of the worst offenses committed. It’s a form of torture. Try not to dwell on it. Abrille is safe now. Dr. Reavie said she shouldn’t drink or eat anything in case she needs surgery.”

Nathan told Abrille she couldn’t drink any more water until the doctor said it was okay. He made the turn onto Highway 94 and accelerated to the safest speed he could maintain. Until they reached the Dulzura area, the highway remained laced with dangerous curves and steep canyons.

Something about Voda’s operation wasn’t making sense. If he were behind the border murders, raping and killing these girls after his men had their way with them, then why did he want the list so desperately? The female victims didn’t have any intrinsic value to Voda that Nathan was aware of. Something else didn’t make sense. The man sitting at the table in the motel had said,
Voda said it was okay
. But it was plainly evident Voda hadn’t known Abrille’s location. Maybe it was common knowledge that Abrille’s captors could do whatever they wanted as long as the girl was delivered alive. Common knowledge…the sick bastards.

A new thought arose: What if Abrille hadn’t been the primary target in the motel room? Nathan realized now that a quick look through the room would’ve been best, but there hadn’t been time. Even if the additional gunmen from the parking lot hadn’t been there, Nathan had needed to leave in a hurry.

In his mind’s eye, he reexamined the motel room. Nothing jumped out. There hadn’t been any crates, boxes, or plastic bags, but he’d noticed several empty one-gallon water bottles tossed in the corner. Actually, he’d seen something similar at Marchand’s warehouse...

Nathan didn’t think the motel room was a stepping-stone in a chain of locations that ultimately led to a “pot of gold.” It seemed unlikely the room held instructions leading to a subsequent location. One thing
was
certain: if Abrille had been the only asset in the motel room, Voda considered her extremely valuable.
Why?

In her note, Jin said Marchand didn’t know Voda was involved with murder, but that seemed a little naive. The border murders case was a front-page story. Marchand obviously knew Voda was complicit in various criminal activities Jin’s note said as much but a giant chasm separated smuggling from murder. Whatever the case, it seemed as though Marchand had withheld the paper containing the coordinates from Voda and gotten himself killed in the process.

But that only raised more questions. Obviously Voda hadn’t been the person who hand-typed the list of numbers, or he would’ve simply taken the paper with him. Why risk leaving it in Marchand’s office? And if Marchand had hidden the list under the granite desktop for safekeeping, maybe even to use it as leverage against Voda, how did Voda know about the hiding place? In her note, Jin had said Voda bragged about torturing Marchand for hours. Marchand must’ve given it up. Voda had probably wrung the secret hiding place out of him. The timing was a little suspect, though. If Voda knew about the piece of paper the night he captured Marchand, why not head over there right away and get it? Since Jin had relayed the hiding place to Lauren, Marchand must’ve told Jin about it first. Marchand could’ve endured Voda’s brutality in order to buy time for Jin and Lauren or himself knowing that once he gave up the hiding place, he’d be killed.

Something else Jin had written stuck in Nathan’s memory. She’d mentioned paying back an old debt. What debt, and to whom? He wondered if there was a tie-in with North Korea. Clearly, she was born there, so how did she get out? Escaping North Korea wasn’t easy without inside help. She’d referred to a powerful man helping her mother over the years. Maybe the same man had arranged her exit and smuggled her out. Could that be the debt? If so, how did it relate to their current situation? Maybe Voda had ties with North Korea. It was common knowledge that DPRK was essentially a giant criminal enterprise with tentacles all over the world, and counterfeiting US currency was one of its key operations. Nathan didn’t think the piece of paper was about counterfeit money. He’d read an online news story recently about DPRK and counterfeit pharmaceuticals and cigarettes. DPRK also manufactured and exported meth, crack, and heroin. You name it, they were into it. If Voda had ties to DPRK, it might explain Jin’s involvement.