17. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Dante was watching the tablet like he'd lose his eyes if he looked away. In the bunkhouse, where they'd made the temporary headquarters for the operation, other men were milling around, watching the tablets too, on the phone with the volunteers or other tasks.

Blaine was drinking coffee beside him and asked, "More coffee, honey?"

"Yes, please, BB."

"Dante, I get it. You're worried, but you haven't taken that map off the farmhouse in an hour."

"I have to make sure he's safe. Call it…uncle's intuition."

"Call it the fact you know Carrillo men almost as well as I do, and you know he's itching to be involved. I get it, but we have a lot more people to worry over."

Dante took the hint and used his fingers to switch screens, moving the map around until he could find each and every volunteer. "There, Bennie and Marius are still in town. They've been at the corner of Main and Elm for hours. It's a good vantage point. It's basically the whole fucking town." He moved the map again after switching screens. "There is that ranch hand, Avery. He's been by the creek like he's supposed to since he went on duty."

Again and again, he showed Blaine the map, but when he came to the last one, he stopped. "Wait. Wait, wait, wait."

"What?"

Without answering Blaine, Dante called Tango, Lonnie, and Eight over. Blaine moved so Tango and Lonnie could sit on either side of him to better see the map. Eight was across from him and Blaine peered over his shoulder. "This is where we had Indio, correct?"

"Yes, that's where I assigned him tonight. He was there, not an hour ago," Tango said.

"Is he off taking a piss or something?" Eight asked, and Dante moved the map around in a circle that was a mile around the area where Indio was supposed to be.

Eight got on his phone to call, but Tango warned, "The reception there isn't the best."

"Dante," Blaine said, "can't you go back? It's recorded, right?"

"Right! God, I love you, Blaine."

He rewound the recording until the red dot that was Indio's GPS tracker came on the screen. "There," Lonnie said. "Watch where he goes."

They watched as the dot moved slowly to the west, moving, moving, and then, just like he was captured by space aliens, the tracker went offline completely.

"Tango," Lonnie said, "Check the other computers! It might be just this one glitching."

Tango rushed around to the others, then they all called the watchers and right after, the volunteers. Those that were supposed to be watching Indio weren't answering.

Lonnie and Tango agreed with Eight when he said, "We're going to check."

"Wait," Blaine said as he picked up the tablet. "Right after his dot disappears…what the hell?"

Dante demanded, "What? Tell us!"

"Dayton Binx? What the hell is he doing there?"

Lonnie heard Binx's name and rushed over to them. "What about Binx?"

"He's…he's there," Blaine told him, his voice shaking. "He's supposed to be at the farmhouse."

"Who?" Bonita ran over to see what they were talking about. Her brother, Ruben, was also at the farmhouse.

"Lonnie's friend, Binx, he's there at the place where Indio is supposed to be, then his tracker moves west too, then it keeps moving."

Bonita was on the phone with her brother. "Ruben! Hey, why isn't Binx at the house with you?"

Dante asked her quietly to place it on the speaker. As she did, Ruben was just finishing his sentence. "…right here."

"Repeat that for these guys, Rube."

"He's right here. I'll put him on speaker."

As Ruben did, they all heard Binx's voice. "I'm right here! What's going on?"

It came to Dante like a boulder had fallen from the sky right on top of him. "Binx…Binx, where is Selestino?"

"He went to bed early. He had a headache."

"Please, will you go check him for me?"

"Sure."

"Break down the door if you have to."

"I'd better get my Sirs."

Dante's hands were in fists so tight, his nails were cutting into his flesh. "What the hell is going on?"

Travis growled as he stared at the tablet. "Watching Blaine forwarding it, the Binx dot moved farther than just west. It was going too fast to be walking or even running. It stopped, and it's been unmoving for ten minutes now."

Dante asked him, "Can you check to see where Selestino's tracker is?"

"It's at the farmhouse. All those supposed to be there are there. Your lawyer's been calling."

"Blaine, call Sel's phone, please," Dante whispered to his husband.

"Dex was watching," Barry said as he came over to them. "My cousin is not answering his phone. I've tried three times now. He knows how important it is to pick up. All their trackers are there, where they are supposed to be."

Dante was still waiting for word on Sel. "Call Marius. Call everyone and have everyone that you can get ahold of come back here. We need to count heads and regroup. If you can't get them by phone, take groups to go get them. Everyone, now!"

Just then, Nathan Lee was on the phone. "Dante, Lonnie? Sel's not in his room. He's nowhere in the house, and Mal's hoodie and gun are missing from the breezeway."

Dante sat hard at the table. "My god. My god, he switched trackers. He's…out there."

Blaine sat with him and soothed, "Binx's tracker is still there. It's not offline like the others. He might have followed, well, whatever is going on."

Dante found he could barely breathe. "Get Victoria on the phone. We need the police. Tell her it's time to call the federal agents. My nephew and others are missing." To Bonita's phone, Dante pleaded, "Nathan, please stay close and call Jet, too. We may need doctors."

*****

Inside the concrete tomb, Sel felt himself begin to shake. There was a long, descending hall on the other side of the door that Brooks had gone through with Indio. He'd waited until he heard no more footsteps. He descended the long slope until he came to a hall and once he looked, saw a door on either side of the hall.

Sel did not know which Brooks had gone through, or if there was a turn at the end of the hall. The place was only lit dimly with halogen lights on either side of the hall near the doors. He held the gun in his hand, but that hand was shaking like an alcoholic who hadn't had a drink in days. As tough as he wanted to be, he was scared right through to his bones.

Sliding down one side of the hall, making himself less of a target in case Brooks came back through, he inched his way to the first door, which was metal and locked. Across from it was the other door and Sel hurried to that side, and tried that door, and it was unlocked. He turned the knob all the way, quietly, and pushed the door, praying that it wouldn't make a noise.

It didn't.

Pushing it open, he saw the room was dark, but the little light from the hall showed him tall metal shelves filled with boxes. Wishing he'd kept the tablet with him to use the screen for light, he searched the wall next to the door for a light switch and found one. He closed the door and turned on the light to investigate the room, hoping for more weapons, a phone to the outside, anything he could use against Brooks.

There were a dozen shelves or more, each holding boxes marked MRE , 5 Gallons Dehydrated Meals , or Water-Drinking-5 Gallon Glass Jugs . Food and water for…years.

Sel saw more boxes with markings for medicine, water tablets, emergency glow lights, and other things any survivalist would collect. There were no guns, however, and no ammunition. Sel thought of the other room, how it was locked, and knew that was where those were kept. Just in case a prisoner got out, Brooks couldn't have them easily accessing weapons.

He turned off the lights before opening the door again, peeking out to ensure he was alone. When he got to the end of the hall, he saw a turn and the continuation of the hallway.

There were pipes and thick cable lines running the length of the ceiling and the gentle whirring of motors. Figuring they were air vents and filters, he ignored them, trying desperately to hear any movement or voices.

Alex Brooks sure liked to talk it up while taking Indio hostage, so Sel figured he'd continue his diatribe. Sure enough, as he got to the only door down the shorter hall, he heard Brooks.

"When your new friend wakes up, I'll let you all decide who's going first. By the time I'm done with all of you, those mobsters will abandon my land."

Sel's eyes narrowed, his gun clutched in his hand. If he rounded the door, surprising him, he should be able to get a round off before Brooks could react. Still, if he missed…

He had to do it right. He couldn't risk Indio and whoever else might be in the room with Brooks. If he hit any of them, he'd never be able to live with himself.

On the other hand, if he didn't try, and someone died because of his inaction, it would be worse.

"I'm going to go get one more, unless they realize you're all gone and have called everyone back to whatever place they're gathering. I'll find out, and when I do, they'll all die."

Muffled grunts and voices sounded, and he heard feet scuffling, but what sounded louder than all of it was Brooks's maniacal laugh. What a tool, Sel thought. He even had a stupid, evil laugh.

Sel headed back to the storage room to hide until Brooks left to kidnap someone else. If he could get the men free, they could escape and lie in wait for Brooks when he returned.

Brooks whistled like some creep as he walked by the storage room, drumming hands on his legs. Sel watched through a thin crack in the door as he disappeared through the door at the end of the hall and then he heard the big door open and close again. Waiting to make sure Brooks wasn't playing around, when he didn't hear the man, he ran back to the door and opened it to see Brooks was gone.

Running to the other door, Sel burst through it, seeing eyes staring at him. All the men except for Indio, who was still knocked out.

Bennie, Dex, Marius, and Avery, the ranch hand Ruben spoke about often, mostly because he liked him, but he smelled from never showering, were all staring at him, including a man he didn't know, an African American, wearing cowboy boots.

"Hi guys. I figured I'd come rescue you."

*****

Dante picked up the phone while walking around outside, with Bruno sticking close to him. When Antonio answered, he was laughing. "What did my kid do?"

"Uh, Tony, it's…serious."

His tone changed instantly. "What the fuck, Dante? I thought you were going to watch him!"

He knew that was coming and what's more, he knew he deserved it. "I know, Tony, I know. I had him surrounded by our men, and he still slipped out, but that's not an excuse. He should have been with me, all the time."

"Fucking little punk. Why the fuck now, Dante? Where is he? What's happening?"

"It's a long story, and I'll tell you when you're on your way. Get on your plane and get here. Just be warned, I've already had the sheriff call the feds."

"That serious? Dante, he's not…he's not in that kind of danger, is he?"

"We're figuring it out now. He switched trackers with someone, which is why we didn't know he was missing right away. He did this on purpose."

"Of course he did. My wife will blame the Carrillo blood in him. I don't even know what to tell her."

Dante was possibly more afraid of Selena than he was his brother. "Tell her by the time you all get here, she can drag him herself. I'm going to turn over this entire fucking ranch until he's found."

When he was off the phone, he sidled up to Bruno. "Where the fuck is he?"

"A car is waiting to take us to the location of Dayton Binx's tracker."

"Good. I want Lonnie and Tango along with us."

"Yes, sir."

Vic was calling him, so he picked up immediately. "Vic, anything?"

"We're at the scene, and there's nothing, Dante. Wait," she said, making him want to throw the phone as he had to do just that, wait. "My deputy just found the tracker and a tablet."

"All the tablets are 1234 pins."

"Got it. Okay, yeah, it's one of yours. It was at this location. I'd say it's a clue, but where is your nephew?"

"Good question. The feds?"

"They're coming all the way from Salt Lake, so it'll be a while before they can get here. It's us and your people, Dante."

Lonnie and Tango came out of the bunkhouse with Bruno. "I have our head of security and a man who was a detective in Denver and a sheriff for a mountain town. I think we've got the best people we can get."

"Lonnie and Tango, I know," she said of the two. "I love Tango and Lonnie has grilled me endlessly, so maybe this will get him working instead of asking me questions. Get them here. They'll find something, I'm sure of it, plus the sun's going to be up soon."

They all traveled to the scene together, and as they neared it, Dante saw the sunrise in the rearview mirror. The light would help, of course, but what it may illuminate also scared him half to death…