Chapter 6

6

Odd woman out. Yeah, that was Brooklyn right now in the small conference room with a large table and comfy chairs. Before she joined all male Shadow Lake Survival team members just a half mile from the cabin, she’d served an easy chicken bake for dinner, then tucked Sandy up in bed with her phone to call if she needed help. Barbie would come over to stay with Sandy when the team left the compound.

Eryn and team member Micha Nichols were the only missing people for this update meeting, but Eryn was at the gate and Micha had gone to let her in. Dev took a seat on Brooklyn’s right side and Colin on her left. Sandwich filling described her right now. Colin had brought his brother up to speed, and both men had gone into a protective mode, much like Nick often did. He’d actually taken a seat next to Colin as if he needed to be close too.

Not unexpected. The other three men in the room would likely react in a similar fashion. At least from what Colin had said about them and the intensity in their gazes and posture. The three Maddox brothers took up the other side of the table. Reid, a former FBI agent, was the oldest, Russ was the current county sheriff and the middle brother, and the youngest, Ryan, was a former deputy. Reid had darker hair and a more chiseled jaw, but Russ and Ryan resembled each in lighter hair coloring but not in build. Russ was very built where Reid and Ryan were more slender.

Eryn arrived, escorted by Micha, the last teammate and former Marine. He pulled out a chair for her on the near end of the table, then dropped into a chair at the end, leaning back and assessing Brooklyn with dark eyes.

Colin cleared his throat. “Okay, we won’t waste any time. Brooklyn and Nick will fill you in on why we’re here.”

Brooklyn felt the need to stand and pace a bit, so she got up and launched into her story. When she reached the current plan to search Kane’s place, she sat and let Nick take over. Though Nick was talking, the men continued to study her, making her uncomfortable. Were they thinking she’d put them all in danger and shouldn’t have come here?

Reid was married with two children and lived in the big lodge that served as the company office too. He had to at least be considering that they could be in danger. Russ and Ryan had kids, too, but they didn’t live in the compound so they might be more okay with her decision. Or maybe they were worried for their nieces and brother and sister-in-law.

“His house isn’t in Portland as we expected,” Nick said. “It’s a little over an hour north of here.” He tapped a remote, and the screen on the wall filled with a grainy satellite photo of a small, single-story house on a rural lot. “The good news is his rental house is on an acre lot, and he doesn’t have any close neighbors to interfere with our visit. We should have free rein to determine if he’s home.”

“Have you thought about someone tailing him if we do find him home?” Ryan asked.

“Thought about it,” Nick said. “It would be nice to have eyes on him, but I don’t want to risk spooking him and have him go underground. If we locate something that could help bring criminal charges against him, then we want the police to be able to find him.”

“Good point,” Ryan said.

“The real problem I see,” Brooklyn glanced around the table at the others, “is that he’s always been a hermit and doesn’t like going out unless it’s urgent.”

Ryan leaned his elbows on the table. “Then we need to give him a reason to leave home.”

“Like giving him a potential lead on Brooklyn’s location,” Micha added.

“My thoughts exactly,” Nick said. “But we’ll have to make sure that it’s not obvious, or he won’t fall for it.”

“I can whip something up,” Eryn offered.

“How do you know he didn’t do the same thing here?” Reid asked. “Maybe he created a bogus address and he really doesn’t live at that address.”

“It could be a trap,” Russ said, leaning back in his chair.

Nick rested his hands on the edge of the table and studied the men. “In my opinion, the lead was far too indirect for that. He’s also turned into quite the anarchist, and he was protesting government interference in his life by shooting up a road sign. He posted a picture of the sign on a dark web forum. I used that photo to ID the location where it was taken. Guess he didn’t think anyone could or would do that.”

Russ raised an eyebrow, looking interested now. “But you did?”

“Would you expect any less from me?” Nick grinned and came to full height to pull back his shoulders, looking like the fierce contender she always knew him to be. “I ran a detailed algorithm to search for the photo. Got a match on Google Maps just down the road from this house. I still didn’t know if he lived there or the name he’d been living under, but he’s always been one to keep anything to ID him off the internet. That included banking. So I knew he had to pay his bills in cash.”

Russ frowned. “Don’t tell me you could find him based on that.”

“I did.”

Russ pursed his lips. “How?”

“I started by locating the utility companies for that property.” Nick locked his focus on Russ. “You might not want to listen to this next part.”

“Let me guess.” Russ cocked his head. “You hacked into their files.”

“You said it, not me.” Nick smirked. “The electric company has a security camera at their teller window. So I downloaded those files and ran an algorithm to compare his photo to the feed until it found him, cash in hand. I zoomed in on the bill and read the property address and his bogus name.”

“Which is?” Micha asked before Brooklyn could.

“Tom Bombadil.”

“Of course.” Eryn pressed a hand against her chest. “From Lord of the Rings.”

Brooklyn had the same thought. “Kane’s favorite book and movie series.”

Colin shot forward in his seat. “And about the only semi-normal name in the series that he could choose without drawing a lot of suspicion.”

“I confess I’ve never read the book or watched the movies,” Dev said.

“Can that be true?” Eryn dropped her hand to the table and gaped in feigned horror at Dev.

He laughed. “I’m not one of you nerds who clearly all watch the same thing.”

“I fall in the nerd category too. I loved the series.” Brooklyn smiled at him. He made a comical face, and she joined in with his laughter. She was really coming to like him for his humor. And his brother? Well, she was liking him too, but for far different reasons.

He stopped laughing. “I suggest we take two vehicles to the house. One with the assault team, and the other, the nerd mobile. That way you all can figure out the security cameras. Then once you clear us real warriors to go in, we do.”

Colin rolled his eyes. “It’s hardly an assault vehicle.”

“I know, but I sometimes miss my law enforcement days, so humor me.” Dev chuckled.

“He does have a point, even if he’s calling us nerds.” Brooklyn ran her gaze over the guys to see how they were receiving her comment. “I mean, we are nerds, but with Kane’s skills, we’ll likely need to work together to hack his network and not leave an obvious trail. The last thing we want is to make one false step, raise his suspicions, and let him know we’re on to him.”

“Agreed,” Nick said. “It’ll be a challenge, but I figure between the four of us, the guy doesn’t stand a chance and won’t know what hit him.”

Brooklyn looked at Dev. “Same goes for whoever is on your team. Kane will have an early warning system set up. Something physical, like a thread or piece of paper on the entry door. Probably additional items at his office where he’s bound to have a room full of pricey equipment, and you’ll have to avoid those.”

Russ stood. “I obviously won’t be on either team. In fact, I need to step away before official plans are made, making me complicit in breaking the law.”

Reid looked up at his brother. “You can hold down the training fort tomorrow if we don’t get back in time.”

“What’s the topic?” His cautious tone and skeptical expression said he wasn’t onboard yet.

“Newbie orientation.” Reid clamped down on his lips as if he was stifling a grin.

Ryan snorted. “That’s priceless.”

Russ groaned and looked at Colin. “You’re going to owe me big time for this, man. And you know I’ll collect.”

“Of course,” Colin said as if there was no arguing with Russ.

Russ might be younger than Reid, but Brooklyn got the sense that he acted independently and pushed his older brother. It would be interesting to see the family dynamics play out as she worked there. If she worked there for long. She really did want to stay. Surprised her. Maybe because these guys were obviously a family. Not just the three Maddox brothers, but the other three too. A team, yes, but a family as well, and she was missing that so very much.

She waited until Russ exited, then turned back to the others. “What about a security system? Surely he’ll have a top-notch system in place that we’ll be facing.”

Colin nodded. “But the four of us should be able to disable it.”

“ Should be are the key words here,” Eryn said. “From what you say, this guy is crafty, and it’s going to be a challenge to get in and out unnoticed. Especially without proper intel and time to plan.”

“Should we hold off?” Reid asked. “Do more due diligence?”

“No time,” Nick said. “This is the first lead in three years where we know his potential location, and we can’t hang back. He could skate before we get there.”

“So we’re a go, then.” Colin stood. “And we play it by ear, knowing every second that he could have a backup to his backup and probably another one so he can bring anyone down who dares to enter his property.”

Brooklyn’s gut tightened. She desperately wanted to find something that would put Kane behind bars. But would they also find something that might hurt or even kill one of these fine people?

That was her greatest fear right now. She prayed God was on their side and would protect each and every one of them as they entered a dangerously unknown situation.

Colin watched Brooklyn pick lint from her slacks and fidget in the back seat of Nick’s SUV as they approached Tarver’s rental house. She’d been jumpy and ill at ease since they pulled out of the compound. Not that there’d been anything unusual in the surrounding area to cause agitation.

A winding country road spread out before them with copious hills lined with typical evergreen trees and thick undergrowth made lush from all the Oregon rain. But that was it. That was all they saw out in the moon’s bright glow.

Well, actually, he saw that and Brooklyn sitting next to him in the SUV that Nick drove with Eryn riding co-pilot. Colin had wanted to drive. To declare that he was in charge. But Nick had brought surveillance and other electronic equipment when he’d made the trip from Portland, and it didn’t make sense to reload it all into Colin’s company vehicle.

That didn’t mean Nick was in charge. Not if Colin had his say. But Brooklyn’s good buddy wasn’t used to playing second fiddle, so Colin might be challenged. Didn’t mean he would give in easily. Not at all. Not when Brooklyn’s life was on the line. He would give his all to protect her even though she’d lied to him.

He sat back and eased out a slow breath of frustration. He hated that she’d lied. Well, technically, withheld information from him. But he could understand why she’d done it. She needed a safe place to land after being stalked by a lunatic, and their compound was a secure location for her. Plus, she was right. She hadn’t put them in danger. At least not yet. And it also explained her need to carry.

But more important now, he couldn’t look the other way and pretend she’d just come into his life to care for his mother. To ignore the threat. He felt compelled to find this Kane guy and bring him to justice. Colin had dealt with so many abusive people in his FBI career that he wouldn’t let this go until he’d resolved it. Let Tarver keep stalking Brooklyn. She deserved to live her best life. See her family again. Get married and have a family of her own.

He glanced at her again. Did she want to get married? Want a family? He did, but not now. Not while he was still torn up inside over the things he’d seen in his IT job with the FBI. Kids. Women. All placed in horrific positions to be exploited, and he had to look at the photos to help find them. Horrible, terrible things he could never unsee. Never let go. Never forget.

Never.

For a time he could handle being exposed to it. They’d brought enough of these abusive monsters to trial and put them behind bars to help erase the images. But then the abusers just kept coming. One after another. Long line after long line. Relentless.

How could he get married and bring a child into the world when the world was so messed up?

His hands started sweating, and he focused on the road and mission to force the images from his mind. For now at least. They’d be back all too soon, of that he was certain.

Nick glanced in the rearview mirror and made eye contact. “Get ready. We’re about a mile out, and all cell phone Wi-Fi should be turned off.”

“Already done,” Brooklyn said.

“Did it miles back.” Colin had made sure of that as their phones could appear on Tarver’s network list and, if he was home, alert him to people in the area and put him on edge.

“Me too,” Eryn said. “I only hope he picked up on and bought into the tracks I laid on the dark web. If so, he should now be on a wild goose chase to Portland to find Brooklyn.”

Brooklyn leaned forward to face Eryn. “I’ve always wanted to leave him a false trail like that. But I’d have law enforcement waiting on the other end to arrest him. Couldn’t do it. Not without just cause for an arrest. So there would be no point in it other than to mess with him.”

Eryn glanced back. “I might’ve done it for that reason alone.”

“Trust me,” Brooklyn said, “I was tempted. But I figured if I did it too often when it really was time to trap him, he would be suspicious and run.”

“Good thinking,” Colin said. “I’ve tracked down my share of online criminals, and they’re a suspicious lot. I can’t tell you how many times we lost a suspect in the end due to minuscule things that they blew out of proportion.”

He swallowed away the images from the last pervert who skated. A guy who’d abused twenty children. Mostly in his family. The day he’d snuck away from Colin’s team and vanished for good was the day Colin put in his resignation.

This would not end the same way. Not if he could help it. He wouldn’t let Tarver get away with stealing from so many people, but more importantly to Colin, he wouldn’t let the creep skate on terrorizing Brooklyn.

He reached for his sidearm just to assure himself that it was on his hip where he’d placed it. Sure, he was tasked with hanging back and doing electronic work in the vehicle, but first he and Nick would form a recon team and approach the property on foot to assess the electronic surveillance. they both had to be prepared mentally and physically for an incursion onto Tarver’s property.

“It’s go time.” Nick pointed ahead where Reid pulled the lead vehicle to the side of the road about a mile from Tarver’s house.

A surge of adrenaline flooded Colin, and his hands started sweating. He scanned ahead for any threat, but the moon had moved behind clouds, and the pitch blackness of a country night was the only thing that greeted him.

Nick pulled in behind Reid and shifted into park.

Colin looked at Brooklyn. “Promise me you’ll stay here, no matter what.”

She hesitated but then nodded.

“I mean it, Brooklyn.” He locked gazes with the woman who kept doing funny things to his insides. “I can’t do my best on this recon mission if I have to worry about you.”

“I won’t go anywhere,” she said.

Her tone was so earnest that he believed her and let out a breath. He tapped the seat in front of him. “Let’s do this.”

He and Nick got out. An owl hooted in the distance, and the scent of wood smoke drifted their direction as they moved to the rear of their vehicle.

Nick opened the hatch and looked at Colin. “Smell that?”

Colin nodded. “Could be a campfire or someone burning yard debris. It’s still Oregon’s open-burn season. Runs for another week or so.”

Nick gave him a quizzical look. “A fact you just happen to know.”

“Only because we’ve been doing that for weeks in our spring cleaning of the Shadow Lake Survival compound.”

“They got you doing maintenance work, eh?” Nick reached inside for a backpack filled with surveillance items. “How the mighty has fallen.”

“I don’t mind. I’m contributing to the business, which is still in startup mode. Means we all have to be jack-of-all-trades kind of guys right now. A way to say thanks to the Maddox bros for giving us awesome jobs. Plus it keeps these guns in shape.” He lifted a bicep and laughed to lighten the tension.

Nick quietly closed the hatch, and they started up the side of the road. They paused by Reid’s door and he lowered the window. “You good to go?”

“Roger that.” Colin reached into his pocket for a comms unit that would connect him with the team and pressed it into his ear. “Testing. Testing.”

“You’re coming through loud and clear,” Reid said.

“So don’t say anything dumb,” Dev said from the passenger seat and laughed.

Colin rolled his eyes. Each man took his turn testing their unit, ending with Micha.

“You all should have your cell phone Wi-Fi turned off so he can’t pick up on our signals.” Nick glanced around the guys.

He got an affirmative nod from each one.

“Okay, then,” Colin said. “We’ll keep you updated on anything we find so we can start figuring out a work-around right away. Any questions?”

“Yeah, why you still standing there?” Dev chuckled.

Colin liked his brother’s sense of humor most of the time, and usually when he offered something lighthearted in a really tense situation like this one, but tonight it grated on his nerves. “Then we’re off.”

He started out, traveling at a rapid pace, but cautiously taking in the area as he moved.

Nick came alongside him. “Dude. Slow your roll. We don’t want to miss anything.”

“Sorry.” Colin eased up. “Just want to nab this guy, and the sooner the better.”

“I get that.” He shifted his backpack. “After all, I’ve been hunting him for years. But you’ve only known Brooklyn for like a minute, so what’s behind this urgency?”

Yeah, what? “Past experiences on the FBI cyber squad.”

“Ah, that,” Nick said as if he understood. “You probably had to deal with some real bad actors.”

“Indeed,” Colin said and left it at that.

“It’s hard to see the atrocities humans are capable of committing.” Nick sounded like he spoke from a place of firsthand knowledge.

Colin looked at him. “You see it all the time in your job too, right?”

Nick winced. “Maybe not all the time, but enough to know the internet has made it easier for bad people to be even worse.”

Colin wanted more information on how Nick dealt with this. Colin had burned out at the FBI, but they needed to keep their full attention on their search. They started off again, tiptoeing through pine needles, pinecones, and fallen crispy leaves and branches.

Nick grabbed Colin’s arm and pointed through an opening in the trees. “You see that?”

Colin pivoted. “Flames on Tarver’s property. The fire we’re smelling.”

“Could mean he’s there.”

Colin agreed, but he didn’t want to say it aloud and make it true. “Let’s check it out. Single file. I lead. You monitor Wi-Fi signal strength to see if we’re in range of his network.”

“Got it.” Nick dug out his electronic meter from the backpack. “But watch for visuals on any cameras too.”

“Roger that.” Colin set off, plunging down an incline into the knee-high scrub of grasses and weeds until he reached level land and started moving under the trees. He had to skirt large ferns and other woodland plants but basically kept to a straight path.

The burning smell grew more caustic. “Not a campfire.”

“Hold up,” Nick said. “I’m picking up a Wi-Fi signal ahead. We need to take a good look for a hidden camera.”

Nick passed Colin a night vision scope, and he scanned the trees, the green-tinged images reminding him of days at the Bureau when they’d surveilled properties before affecting an arrest.

He caught sight of an item that stood out, as there was nothing perfectly square found in nature. He zoomed in. “Found one. Dead ahead maybe three hundred feet.”

“Let me look.”

Colin handed the scope to Nick. “Top-of-the-line cameras have a range of around three hundred feet. Could be more.”

“And you know he has the best cameras, right? So we have to expect coverage to at least that distance and account for it.” Colin nodded at the backpack sitting on the needle-covered ground. “We’re still out of range though. Grab a flag and mark this spot so none of our guys come closer than this.”

Nick pulled out a blue flag affixed to a wire stem and inserted it into the ground.

“Follow me.” Colin turned right to keep from triggering the camera. He counted his steps and stopped once he was sure he’d cleared the camera’s likely max range. “Check for another one.”

Nick lifted the scope and swung it over the area. “There’s one about the same distance in. I’ll plant a flag.”

They continued moving until they found a safe gap and headed deeper into the property. Colin kept an eye on the area through the scope to be sure no camera recording lights activated. God was with them, as the devices remained dark. They inched closer, the smoke smell growing stronger and filling the air.

They crested a final ridge, and Colin dropped to his belly. He lifted the scope to take a good look ahead. “Whoa.”

“What is it?” Nick plopped down next to him.

He took a longer look, and even with the night vision green tinge, the sight ahead of him was clear.

“Come on.” Nick shoved out a hand. “Give me a look.”

“Go ahead and take your look.” Colin handed the scope back to Nick. “But you’re not going to believe what you see.”