Shattered Valor (18 page)

A quick search confirmed the house was empty. They took a few minutes to put up some small cameras, setting their transmitters out of sight. They drove back to the road and went down to the main area of the compound. There were thick groves of pine trees at the low cattle fence around this part of the compound, giving them a good place to park their SUV. The setup was very analog. The fence wasn’t hot. No motion detectors tracked activity along the fence line. The WKB had to be damned confident no one would come visiting in the wee hours of the night to leave themselves so open.

They stood at the back hatch and geared-up. “What was your objective tonight?” Kelan asked Ty.

“Find Holbrook.”

“Kit wants him alive. At least until we see the shipments moving through,” Kelan warned.

“I’m not going to kill him. Yet.”

Kelan held up a small box. “Max gave us a stack of eyes and transmitters he wants set up around the compound. You know which building Holbrook’s in?”

“No. I’m going to start with the barracks.”

Val nodded. “We’ll start there then.”

“I’ll see you guys later. I’m going to stick a few GPS trackers on the vehicles around here. Don’t have enough to put one on every car. I’ll pick ones that look like good candidates,” Greer told them before he headed off into the dark compound.

A guard was posted outside the front entranceway to a long, low steel building. Kelan lured him around the corner, where Val caught him in a chokehold, incapacitating him. Once he was unconscious, Val carried him out to the perimeter, gagged him, and tied him to a fence post. The WKB would find him eventually, but even if he woke while they were still onsite, no one would hear him.

Kelan set some cameras on the four corners of the building, situated the transmitter where it couldn’t be seen, then went with Val to the next building over to repeat the process.

Ty stepped into the barracks. Two long rows of bunks stretched the entire length between him and a room at the far end. The bunks were little more than narrow cots. Each had a footlocker at its base. No one stood guard inside. No one roused at his entrance. He started down the aisle between the cots, looking at the sleeping men. Something wasn’t right with them. He looked closer and realized they were too small to be men. At best, they were teenagers.

A chill rippled through his mind. Children. What were the WKBers doing with a barracks full of children? Shit. Holbrook had figured out how to supply himself with the boys he so preferred. How long had this been going on? Did the rest of the WKB know and condone his behavior?

Ty slipped into the room at the far end of barracks. If this wasn’t where Holbrook slept, he’d find the bastard. Something told him Holbrook wouldn’t be far from his stable of delight, and he was right. There was only one occupant in the room, sleeping on a twin-sized steel-framed bed. Moonlight sheared across his face. This was the first time Ty had seen his whole face. It was surprisingly soft looking. His hair, cut short on the sides and left longer on the top, was a sandy color, as best Ty could tell in the darkness of the room. Light colored, anyway.

Ty tilted his head as he studied the monster lying prone before him. This was the man who’d overseen the beating, and perhaps rape, of Eden’s friends. This was the man who’d had so much fun raping Ty eighteen years ago that he’d spent a summer doing it. This was the man Ty had fought until he’d beaten Ty and left him in the den with his drunken father. When his dad had roused enough to realize his son had made an enemy out of Holbrook, he’d taken his rage out on Ty, breaking his leg.

Ty looked back into the open barracks at the sleeping boys. Kit wanted this monster alive. Well, you don’t always get what you want.

He walked into the small bathroom next to the closet and looked through the meds in the cabinet. There were three different sleep aids. Interesting. The monster obviously didn’t have a clear conscience. One side effect of those particular sleep meds was that they acted almost like a truth serum. People under their influence had far fewer filters and inhibitions.

Holbrook was still in a deep sleep. Ty pulled his sheet down. The man wore a T-shirt and boxers. Ty took out his knife and cut the sheet into several long strips. He bound the bastard’s hands and ankles to the bed, then wrapped a strip around Holbrook’s neck and tied it to the headboard.

Poking the knife into the soft underside of his chin, he issued a sharp order. “Wake up, Holbrook.”

Holbrook opened his eyes, then blinked as he tried to clear his mind from the meds he’d taken.

“Remember me?” Ty asked.

Holbrook smiled, his eyes still heavy-lidded. “It’s hard to forget your favorite.” He attempted to move, but quickly realized he was bound head to toe. “What do you want?”

“Personally, I want to cut off your balls. My boss, however, would like to know where Amir is.”

“I don’t have a clue where he is.”

“Oh, that’s too bad.” Ty pushed the knife deeper into Holbrook’s skin. “Where do you meet him?”

“If I tell you, you’ll release me?”

“Oh, fuck no. I’ll just do less damage.”

Holbrook smiled at him. “I’ve missed you.”

“Shut up.”

“Cut me,” Holbrook ordered.

Ty’s stomach tightened. Too late, he remembered pain aroused Holbrook. His own. Someone else’s. Even now, the bastard was sporting an erection.

“Oh, I will, but you won’t be awake to enjoy it. Where do you meet Amir?”

“Different places.”

“Where have you met him?”

“Coffee shops. Rest stops. Movie theaters. It’s different every time.”

“What states?”

“Here. Colorado. Nebraska.”

“What what kind of car does he drive?”

“I’ve seen him in a black Mercedes SUV and a silver Lexus sedan.”

“You’re fucking useless, you know that?” Ty walked to the door into the main area of the barracks. “I think I’m just going to gather up your boys and clear out.”

“No,” Holbrook snarled. “Not my boys.”

“Yes, your boys. Do their parents know they’re living with a pedophile?”

“It doesn’t matter. They want them trained for Armageddon. Whatever we need to do to break them down and build them back up again, we do. Like we did you. Look how well you turned out.”

“What Armageddon?”

“The one that’s coming.”

Ty scoffed at that. “The only Armageddon that’s coming for you will be me when I cut you to shreds.”

“Do it. It would be a kindness to die by your hands.” He looked at Ty. “Do it, and I will tell you where Amir lives.”

Ty walked over to Holbrook and pressed the tip of knife into the flesh of the bastard’s chest, not quite cutting the skin. “Where?”

Holbrook gave him an address in Cheyenne. Ty punched him in the face, knocking him unconscious. He pocketed Holbrook’s cell phone and quietly slipped back through the barracks and out into the night.

“Let’s go,” he told the guys, who were waiting outside the barracks. He tossed the SUV keys to Kelan. Once they were on their way back the house, he radioed Max.

“Does Kit have his ears on?”

“
I’m here,
” Kit answered.

“I got Holbrook’s phone and an address for Amir in Cheyenne.” He gave Max the address.

“
Nice,
” Kit said. “
Rocco and I will head down there. Swing by the house and leave the phone with Max, then you guys meet us at Amir’s. I’m out.
”

Two hours later, they pulled up in front of Kit’s SUV on the quiet street behind a motel.

Kit gave them an update. “Max said the motel belongs to a Yusuf Sayed. He came to the US five years ago from northwestern Pakistan. Last year he became an American citizen. Guess who sponsored his sons to come to the States for school?”

“Amir,” Ty said.

“Righto.”

Kit looked at Rocco. “Stay out of sight. We’ll get Yusuf to open Amir’s apartment. While we’re doing that, slip into his quarters and wait for him. Tell him Amir no longer has the support of Abdul Baseer al Jahni. Let him know it’s in his best interest to hand Amir over to you. I’ll send a taxi to pick you up in a few minutes. We’ll meet at the airport when you’re done. Your name for this op is Khalid.”

The motel was little more than a seedy motor inn at the edge of town. While the guys got into position around the building, Ty and Kit went to the main office to wake the manager. Ty showed him a picture of Amir.

“I don’t know this man,” the manager assured them. “I have never seen him.” He nodded toward the photo they held up.

“Who’s in Unit 11?” Ty asked him.

The man was hurriedly tucking his shirt into his trousers. “It is empty. No one is there.”

“That a fact? Then come open it up. We’d like to take a look,” Ty ordered him.

“No. Come back in the morning. I don’t want to disturb my customers.”

“We’ll be quiet as mice. Let’s go.” Ty dragged him out of the office and across the parking lot to the unit where Holbrook had told them Amir stayed.

The room was empty but had been used recently. The bed was disheveled. Clothes were scattered about. Toiletries were spread out on the bathroom counter. It was impossible to tell if the room belonged to Amir or one of his associates. Perhaps he had several similar hidey-holes in the three states where Holbrook said they met.

“Looks like this room is being used after all,” Ty said as he glared at the man.

“Perhaps one of my sons rented it without my knowing.”

Ty nodded. “That must be it. Why don’t you go wake them so that we can talk to them?”

“I can’t. They are at school.”

Kit handed him one of his cards. “If you see Amir or hear about him, I want to know about it.”

The innkeeper looked at his card. “Why do you want him?”

“He’s a person of interest in a case we’re investigating.”

Rocco took the steps to the innkeeper’s apartment that was over his office. It took only seconds to pick the lock on the kitchen door. A woman heard him come inside and hurried into the room, quickly drawing on a robe and asking her husband what was happening in Pashto. She saw Rocco and came to a full stop.

He answered her in Pashto, using the same dialect that Abdul Baseer al Jahni spoke. “Your husband is being questioned about one of our lieutenants, Amir Hadad. Come with me, we will wait quietly for him in the living room.”

“Please. We don’t want any trouble. We are building a new life here.”

“Of course you are,” Rocco smiled in a cool and emotionless way. There were benefits of speaking to Yusef’s wife. Yusef may or may not involve her in their life decisions, but if she knew what was happening, she would want to protect her family. “Unfortunately, you are tied to Amir Hadad since he is sponsoring your sons to attend college here. Amir is no longer representing our interests. He has drawn too much attention to himself and must be eliminated.”

“I don’t know who you are, but I beg you—my sons have to go to school. It is their only hope for a future different from ours. Without his support, they will be deported.”

“My name is Khalid.” Rocco gave her a slight bow. “If you help me find Amir, I will find another sponsor for your sons’ education.”

She nodded vigorously. “I will do that. We will do that.”

Rocco stayed and repeated the message for Yusef. Instead of the blustery, belligerent man he’d shown Kit, he now looked old and frightened. He told Rocco that Amir had indeed been in the apartments, but that he had not seen him for a couple of weeks.

“Amir is no longer of service to us,” Rocco told him. “It is in fact best if he were to be turned in to me rather than the men who were just here.” He wrote a number down for Yusef that Max had given him. “If you see him, call this number. Ask for Khalid.”

* * *

When Eden came down for her morning jog the next morning, Angel was waiting for her at the front door. “Hi! Where’s Rocco?”

“Out. I’m filling in for him. Ready to go?”

Eden groaned. She knew from her morning workout that Angel had only one speed—fast and hard. “I am.” They headed out to the trails and as expected, his jog was a full-out run for her. She was sucking in air by the time they returned to the house. She’d slowed to a cool-down walk five minutes before Angel did.

He was standing at the front door when she slowly approached. “You’re a mad man,” she huffed as she bent over to catch her breath.

“No, I’m not.” He grinned at her. “Running’s a pure defense mechanism. If you’re in a situation where you have to run, you’d better be fast at it. So why practice in slow motion?”

Eden shook her head and crossed the front patio. “God, I hope Rocco’s back tomorrow.”

“Hey, Eddie,” Angel stopped her. “Ty’s out with some of the guys. You won’t see him at breakfast.”

“Thanks for the heads up, Angel. Should I worry about him?”

“Nope.”

She nodded. “Great. I’ll see you later. Thanks for the run.”

CHAPTER TWELVE

Eden didn’t see Ty for the next two days. She found herself constantly looking for him, hoping to see him at meals. When she’d asked where he was, the guys said he was working the case.