18. Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

The room where the men were being held was bigger than he'd pictured. They were lined up on the floor against a wall between arched doorways that led to three bunk rooms. In each room were six bunk beds, a small closet for toilets, and a sink. On its own, there was a shower room across from where he stood with a sign reading, Contain showers to three minutes .

As the men were whispering questions and orders around the rags in their mouths, Sel quickly ran into each of the rooms, checking for ways out of the bunker that wouldn't have to be out the front door.

He didn't see one in any of the rooms, but there was a door off to the back of the main room in a short corridor.

There was a big television, couches, and tables in that big main room, shelves of books, DVDs, video and audio cassettes, and even a rack of record albums.

Once he went to that back door, seeing there was a window in it of thick glass, he saw a back entrance. "Shit."

Rushing back to the men, he took Marius's gag out first, and while getting the others taken out, Marius whispered, "What the living fuck are you doing here? Dante is going to kill us all!"

"Really? That's your big concern right now?"

After Dex's gag was out, he told his cousin, "Selestino's right, Mar. He might be our only hope. I'm sure no one knows about this bunker, or we'd have heard about it."

"No one knows," Sel confirmed as the other two gags were taken out. "It's under a big mound of earth. The door is even disguised as part of the ground. It's sick, it's so good."

"Fuck. Well, you're stuck in here too, Sel," Marius told him. "That mother fucker told us as soon as we woke up that there's no way of getting out if he gets caught out there. He warned us that even if we got free, we'd be stuck in here. We might not die, but we'd never get out. There are a couple different codes or some shit. Not saying I believe him, but in this case, I don't doubt it a bit."

Sel started working on their bindings after he finished the gags, but three of them, they were tied with metal wires attached to Master locks.

"Marius and Bennie are the only ones I can untie. And Indio," he said, untying his bindings before he took Indio's head onto his lap, holding it off the floor. His hair and clothes were still wet. Sel figured he would be cold and uncomfortable once he woke.

"He's got the fucking keys for these locks on him," Avery said. "I saw him when he tied up Jim."

Sel nodded to him. "We haven't met. I'm Selestino."

"Good ta meet ya, Selestino," Avery said, then nodded to his African American friend. "This here's Jim Delmont."

"Jim, hi."

"Hey."

Jim, Avery, and Dex were the three with the locks on their wrists and ankles. Bennie got up after untying his feet and started into the hall. "I'm going to check to make sure he wasn't lying."

Marius did the same, heading to the back. "If he comes back while we're all untied, he's going to know what's happening. He'll find Sel and most likely kill him."

Sel didn't care. Indio was still unconscious and he worried terribly that he got hurt somehow. "How long before you guys woke up?"

Avery shrugged. "Who the hell knows?"

Jim said, "We all woke up ‘round the same time. I figure it might have to do with weight, all that. I'm a big guy, Avery's skinny, so he likely got me after Avery."

"What drugs is he using?"

"He's got a syringe he was threatening us with," Dex told him. "Likely ketamine, some form of tranq that can be placed in a dart."

Sel lay Indio's head back on the floor and got up to look around a little more. "Another key, a set of bolt cutters, something."

"No," Dex said as Marius came back into the room. "You all that are free can get out. Wait for him to open the door and go. It won't stay open long enough to get us out, too."

Bennie came in then and announced, "It's true. You need a code to get out. That's so fucked up, man. If Harrison had done that and had told no one the code, he could have kept people captive in here too."

"He was scared, which is why he built this," Marius said. "When Brooks was terrorizing the ranch last year, we found out that Harrison knew about his illegitimate son but wanted nothing to do with him. I think Brooks met him a few times, and in those few times, he scared Harrison. This place, as much as it's built for the end of the world, or whatever, I think Harrison built it to hide from his own kid. With the bunks and shit, maybe his legitimate kids too, grandkids, whoever Brooks could be a threat to."

"Makes sense. The mother fucker is scary. Crazy is written all over his ugly face," Jim agreed. "I think Dex is right, man. When he comes back, get the fuck out."

"We're not leaving you," Sel told them. "What the hell would I tell Prince or any of your families? How the fuck would I ever sleep at night?" Indio started to wake up and Sel ran to him. "Indio? You okay?"

He lifted his head and shook it. "What the fuck happened?"

Dex scoffed, "We've been taken by the big bad serial killer, that's what."

"No way! Fucking hell, man."

As Indio sat upright, his eyes found Sel. "You too, huh? How'd he get you?"

"He didn't. This shithead snuck in here," Marius told him, looking Indio's head over for injuries. "You were out a while. Did he hit your head or something?"

"How would I know? I fell into this fucking hole full of water and then…I don't remember."

"He shot you with a tranq dart, then brought you here."

Indio scowled at him, and Sel was instantly pissed. "You snuck here? How pissed off are you trying to make your uncle at us?"

Sel pushed Indio's chest as he got back to his feet and spat, "You're welcome and fuck right off, Indio."

"Enough, you two. Save the foreplay for after we get loose of this place," Marius drawled. "Hey, speaking of, well, guys I'm fucking. How are Dallas and Ruben? They're not caught up in this, are they?"

Sel shook his head, pointedly ignoring Indio. "Dallas was still at the ranch, but Ruben was fine."

"They're gonna lose their shit over this. Dallas is going to come out with some shotgun, ready to gather up a posse."

"Dallas is a good man," Avery defended, although he didn't need to. "We'll get rescued if Dallas has anything to say 'bout it."

Dex struggled more with the wire around his wrists. "All of them are trying, I'd bet. Especially with Sel here. Dante's likely losing his mind." He gave up and let his hands drop. "Fuck, these are cutting into my skin."

"We need a plan," Sel said as he looked around at everyone except Indio. "He'll be back soon. I have a gun, but if I shoot him, we'll be stuck in here with a rotting corpse."

Indio got to his feet and looked around, cussing under his breath as he tore up the bunks in each room. "Fuck!"

"We've looked through there already," Sel sniped.

"Yeah, well, you'd probably hit one of us if you tried to shoot him."

Sel's temper was rising, and he knew better than to let it loose. They didn't have time. "Go fuck yourself, biker."

Dex groaned, "Knock it off! Think!"

"Why can't we make ‘im tell us the code?" Avery asked.

"And if he doesn't, we're still stuck in here with him," Jim said, sighing. "The only way is him going in or out. Can't we, I don't know, block off the door, so it can't shut all the way?"

Sel liked that idea. "Hey, once he comes in, one of us blocks the door, another holds the gun on him."

Marius groaned, "That door. When he left, I heard a whooshing sound. It's got to be sealed, like air-locked."

Avery asked, "Like in that movie…War Games? That big ol' door with the steel running through it."

"I doubt it's that elaborate, but yes," Marius said.

"The front door is a gull-wing, swings up instead of open to the side," Bennie said. "The hinges are on the roof."

"That's right," Sel agreed. "It swung up. With that kind of weight coming down, there's no way we could find something that wouldn't be crushed, but the back door…"

"He's been coming through the front, though," Marius grunted. "If we could find a way to make the front not work, he'd have to come in the back, and the back is just a regular door. I don't know where the hell it opens to. It's solid steel, but unless there is another outer door, it's our best shot."

"The food, water and other stuff stored here are on metal shelves," Sel remembered. "Even if the backdoor somehow crushed it, it might be enough time to get out. If all of us don't, the ones left drag Brooks in here, after disarming him, and hold him until he tells those left the code."

"Code…" Dex whispered, staring off.

"What, Dex?" Marius asked. "Do you know it?"

"My beautiful fucking boyfriend is a computer genius, remember?" Dex let his head fall back on the wall. "Fuck. Okay," he said, turning to Avery and Jim to his left. "This cannot go any further than this fucking room, or I'll kill you both, and I'm not exaggerating."

As Avery's eyes widened comically, Jim laughed a little and said, "Mafia shit."

"Yeah. Mafia shit. Swear, no further than this room."

"I swear," Jim said. "I don't want concrete cowboy boots."

"I…I ain't sayin' nothin'," Avery stammered.

Dex turned to the rest of the men and said, "We went on that trip to Italy. It was part vacation, part, well, like a honeymoon, you know? But there was a bit of business too. The Carrillo's from the time they left Italy, had an enemy there. They, well, started a war that the Carrillos couldn't win at the time. That other family made a ton of money, grabbing up all the Carrillo businesses when they left Italy. It's been a sore spot for generations with them."

"The Martinellis," Sel whispered. "It's legend in our family. Dante wanted to regain the territory in Southern Italy from them someday, but there was always so much going on here."

"Well, someday was this winter. While we were there, we not only got ahold of encrypted files given to us by a very well-paid insider to the Martinelli family, but it was also a test for my Prince. He decrypted them in three days, something most computer nerds couldn't do in a month. It was from software he developed as a hobby when he was bored at school," Dex bragged.

Sel knew he loved Prince. "So, he might be able to decrypt the code for the doors."

"These guys chased y'all out of Italy and it took you this long to fight back?" Jim asked, but when all the family men in the room glared at him, he shut up and mumbled, "Sorry."

"What if he can't?" Indio offered and Sel was ready to strangle him.

"Why don't you shut up? If you can't offer anything but negativity, shut the fuck up!"

Indio was in his face in a second, pushing him to the wall, hand grabbing a fistful of Sel's hair. "Your uncle ain't in here to protect you, punk."

Bennie flew to him and pushed Indio off, causing Indio to pull out some of Sel's hair. "Don't fucking touch him."

Sel suddenly felt like total shit for hating on Bennie so much. "Thanks, Bennie."

"No problem, Mr. Carrillo."

"I'm Sel. In here, no one's above anyone else. We must work together," he said, and pointedly glared at Indio. "Everyone."

"Oh? I thought I was so far below you," Indio spat at him, then turned to Marius. "Let's me and you go get one of those shelves."

"Right," Marius said, like he was anxious to get away from the tension between the two.

As they left, Sel asked Bennie to go with him to what he thought must be the armory. "If we can get that open, we'd have more than one gun, and there might be tools in there to get these guys loose."

Bennie looked at the three on the floor. "We're gonna get you loose if I have to bite through those fucking wires."

"I just believe you might, big fella," Jim said with a wink.

Sel got down the hall in time to see Indio and Marius coming out of the storage room with the shelves. Ignoring Indio, he showed Bennie the door. "It's locked tight, and it's metal too."

Bennie tried the knob and pushed hard, seeing it didn't give at all. "Not even enough to slide something through."

"There's no way," Sel groaned. "Dammit."

"Sel," he said in a low voice, checking over his shoulder to make sure no one heard him. "We have to get you out of here. If there is any chance, you leave the rest of us. You need to promise me."

"I can't do that, Bennie."

"Yes, you can. You're the future of the Carrillo family. I know that sounds like a load of bullshit, that you have a sister and brother, but they both show aptitude for other things, wish to do other things. You are going to head this family. You."

Sel dropped his head as he understood. "I'm tired of being protected, like I'll crack if I see the real world, Bennie."

"Yeah, I know, believe me. I'm being honest with you, which is something I don't think your family has been. Antonio and Dante will retire one day if they don't get killed first."

Sel's head shot up and his hand reached for the bigger man's throat, tightening the grip as he grunted, "Watch that talk."

Bennie pulled off his hand easily. "I'm not saying that to hurt you. It's the lives we all lead, Selestino. It could happen to any of us."

He understood. He just hated it. "Sorry, Bennie. I…I know. I…I know."

Bennie grabbed his arms gently and said, "Sel, you know they are counting on you, but they're also worried about you, because they love you so much. It's both, this concern."

"Thanks, Bennie, and I'm sorry about…about how I've been acting. It wasn't you, you know that, right?"

"Get your fucking hands off him," Indio called to them and then rushed over to them, pushing Bennie away from Sel.

Sel was in total shock, but he watched Bennie's smile spread, and it wasn't a friendly smile. "You don't want to do that again, Indio."

"You think I'm afraid of you, ese ?" Indio asked as he moved right in Bennie's face.

Finally, Sel came out of his shock enough to intervene. "Indio, stop! We were…just talking and what the fuck do you care?"

Indio didn't move. It was like he hadn't heard a word.

"Back down now, Indio. I'm warning you."

Before either could back down, suddenly the lights clicked off and the soft whirring of the air filters and fans stopped, leaving them in complete, eerie silence.

Indio turned from Bennie and grabbed the front of Sel's shirt. "Come on. We need to get back in with the others."

For once, he didn't plan to argue.