18. ‘Wildcat’

EIGHTEEN

‘WILDCAT'

FRANKIE

Son of a bitch, I swear to whatever is holy that I wish I was made more like Shadow. These motherfuckers are beyond sick. We think we found five of the six missing women in deplorable conditions. We haven't tried to talk to them yet because Tink wants a better vantage point, so everyone is shifting. From what I can see the women are doubled up in the tents, each one with one ratty-ass blanket. Most of them are walking around like zombies so probably drugged up. There are also a few younger women or maybe even girls, can't tell. They are huddled off by one of the huts, peeling potatoes, I think. No sign of Cici yet.

Glancing around, something seems off. There are no guards posted around their camp. And besides the women, we've seen no one else. There is smoke coming out of the big cabin's chimney though. In my earpiece I hear Tink telling everyone to hold. I see Glory trying to make her way down to scope it out. Before she takes a few steps, I quietly whisper, "Check for trip wires." I see heads start to shift back and forth then I hear the words like shit, damn, and fuck . Tink calls Glory back before she gets too far into whatever they set up. Motherfuckers probably did it to keep the women in. I'm thinking the one we don't see tried to get out, poor girl.

Suddenly there's a scream like nothing I've heard before in my life. It was full of pain and suffering coming from the big cabin. All the other women shift toward each other, two putting their hands over their ears. The younger girls move slowly toward the women. They are brought in close, all in the middle of the circle, so when you first glance that way you don't see the girls. We hear voices but can't make out what is being said.

This is the part of our rescues that sucks big time. We can't just run in and sometimes waiting is the hardest thing to do when someone is being brutally tortured or raped. Just about all the Devil's Handmaidens sisters have experienced some form of brutality in their lives, so we do understand. Bottom line is to get out as many as we can alive. With that thought, I lean back on my calves, taking a minute or two to breathe and try to relax. The screams have lessened but the agony hasn't. When the door opens, I almost vomit seeing a very heavyset man naked as the day he was born with a huge cigar hanging from his mouth.

"One of you bitches get in here now. She's fuckin' passed out again, and worth shit if she's not awake and fighting. Come on, don't make me pick someone. Let's go, whores, move it. Where are those girlies we like to play with? Never mind, Freckles, get your ass in here now."

I watch in horror as a woman with brownish hair moves from the circle. Two of the women try to hold her back but she shrugs them off. I can see she's got bruises all over her body, as she's barely got any clothing on. She walks toward the cabin and when within reach, he pulls the cigar out of his mouth and grinds his mouth on hers. She doesn't moan, cry, or scream, just lets him do what he wants. When he pushes her to her knees, I have to close my eyes. I can't watch. That's when my earbud whispers to me, "We're going. Try and be observant, stay close to each other. No noise 'til we pass the perimeter. If seen then shoot, otherwise, let's get as close as we can before we turn this into a massacre. Freak says, as far as he can see with the drone, there doesn't seem to be any traps going directly in. On the backside he made out a few dug-up spots, he's thinking they are mines or something. He also spotted a freshly dug grave, so not sure how many or who. Keep your eyes open and watch each other's backs. We move in five, four, three, two, one. GO."

Next to me is Peanut on one side and Dottie on the other. Slowly and methodically, we move toward the small area, trying to watch every step we take. Every single one of us has a black knit hat on our heads to hide our hair and the color. We have nighttime riding glasses on because it helps with glare and manages the clarity of what's in front of us. We do have night vision goggles, but sometimes they hamper our vision. Looking past Dottie, I see Yoggie and off to his other side I see Enforcer.

When we finally make it through to what I guess you could call an overgrown campsite, we break into teams of four or five. Our team is Yoggie, Enforcer, Dottie, Peanut, and me. As we start to move toward the quarters, I see all the other teams branching out so we are coming in from all directions. The circle of women must have felt our presence because one by one they turn and look our way. Like a synchronized dance, we all raise our fingers to our lips and motion for them to be quiet and to stay where they are, not to move at all. Surprisingly, they all listen except one of the young girls. She makes a move to run to us and one of the women gently grabs her, pulling the girl into her, hugging her tightly, and whispering in her ear. As I watch, the girl starts to cry silently and that woman absorbs every ounce of pain coming from that girl, wrapping her arms around her even tighter. I look over to Dottie and she reads my look, nodding. No matter what, they are all getting out of this shithole tonight.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, we hear a four-wheeler making its way to where we are. Before even thinking about it, we all move quickly to take cover. Dottie, Peanut, and I crawl into one of the huts and, fuck, what a goddamn mistake. These aren't to give those folks somewhere out of the weather. This is where those men abuse these women. The smell literally covers you when you crawl in, and I guess you can call it a sleeping bag is covered in all kinds of shit. Peanut scrunches it up and throws it in the corner. We can almost stand but stay on our knees, keeping silent. The flap swings open, and we all reach for our guns when we see a small head poke in before crawling inside. The young girl is short enough to stand and she does this off to the side as the woman who grabbed her follows. No one says a word but something comes to mind, so I reach into my kutte and pull out my deputy star. I see the sparkle in the girl's eyes as the woman is more guarded. That kind of tells me she's not trusting of police, so somewhere she's experienced abuse from someone who should have protected her.

They both slowly move toward us until Peanut waves them to stop. The girl leans a bit closer. The smell from her is so bad but not one of us turns away. We would never make her feel bad so as Shadow would tell us, suck it up. We all carry Vicks nasal inhalers so I reach back into my kutte, feel for it, and turn so she won't see me. I quickly take a breath then put it away before turning back to them. As we wait, I take in their appearance, which if graded from one to ten; one being the worst and ten being the best. I'd say they are maybe a four or five. Crust in their eyes, skin blotchy, very thin and malnourished from the color of their bodies underneath all the bruises and goddamn bite marks. The young girl seems to be in better shape than the woman. Either she's new here or they are going to sell her off for large amounts of money and she must be kept in good shape, while the woman can be abused constantly because when they're done she'll be buried next to whoever is in the grave in the back.

Suddenly, we hear gunfire so I reach for the girl and Dottie grabs the woman. We all drop to the ground, though the three of us pull out our guns. I get to my knees off to the side of the entrance as everyone stays close to the walls, so if someone tries to come in, they have to turn their heads to see who's in here. Before I can think about it, I reach behind me and grab my Sig Sauer. I look to the woman who is watching us like a hawk. When I move toward her, she puts the girl behind her. Yeah, mothering type, for sure. In a very hushed voice, I do what is necessary.

"We are here to get all of you out. Is there a girl here who is called Cici? I'm going to give this to you for protection; we have to move out. Stay in here, spread out that bag, and make it look like someone might be sleeping in it. Timing is everything. I've taken the safety off so if you feel threatened by someone, just aim for their chest and fire. Shoot to kill."

I give her the gun and an extra magazine. She drops her head for a quick second then looks at me, a huge smile on her face. She's been here a bit; I can tell by her teeth. That's okay, we'll get them fixed up when they get to the ranch. The shooting starts again sporadically. Dottie taps my shoulder then points to the flap. I nod and one by one we leave, not saying another word. Detachment is the hardest part of doing this. I hate leaving victims to fend for themselves, but we have to look at the whole picture.

Peanut starts toward the largest cabin with Dottie and me following closely. She raises a hand and stops. I start to look around as I feel eyes on us but not sure if it's a threat or hope. When I see three women peering out from a tent, I give them a nod and motion for them to go back in. They stare for a second or two then follow my orders. Just as we start to move again, I see Tink, Shadow, and Duchess. Shadow lifts her hand, telling us to go around the back. When we get back there the smell is horrific, as it seems these idiots have been pissing and shitting behind the cabin. Lucky fucking us , I think to myself. I take my bandanna from my neck and cover my mouth with it. Learned a long time ago to keep one on me. And it smells just like fresh laundry.

Once in position, I hit my earbud twice to let Tink and Shadow know we are in position. Right before the explosion, it is so quiet I am freaking out. Then the large boom and all hell breaks loose. We hold as Tink, Shadow, and Duchess breach the front of the cabin. I hear gunfire and know it's coming from us, then nothing.

"Wildcat, get your ass in here now. Be careful! We got one hiding in the spare bedroom door, barricaded in, but we'll get him. Need help, oh my God, what did they do to you, sweetie? No, don't move. Stay there. Shadow, put pressure on that. Wildcat, get in here and have one of them call in Malcolm. We're going to lose Cici if we don't move fast."

I'm already on the move when I hear Dottie quietly telling someone to get Malcolm here stat. I check the door first then slowly open it. The cabin is not too shabby but you can tell it's been used. At first, I don't see anything, but under the stairs is a weird bed with, fuck, a goddamn cage underneath it. Two dog bowls are in the cage zip-tied to the sides of the walls, guess so they won't spill. Water is filthy and the food has maggots in it. I can feel my head starting to pound, but I keep looking and that's when I see them. My eyes take in the scene but my mind can't process it at first. When it does, I literally run toward the body that is in something like those medieval contraptions where they have someone's head and hands in the stocks. This had to be similar to a pillory that was used primarily for public humiliation, though instead of her head and hands stuck in the holes this has a long piece of wood that she's lying on, with her arms stretched above her stuck in boards that are held together by a lock. Same with her legs, she's spread-eagled on this thing, which gives these motherfuckers access to her twenty-four seven. When I get to her, I kneel down and touch her forehead gently. She doesn't move and she's barely breathing. If she's lucky, she was unconscious through most of their abuse. I grab the bottle of water Heartbreaker hands me and I pour just a little on her mouth. At first nothing, but human instinct kicks in. She struggles to open her eyes but when she does, she swallows the little bit of liquid. She turns her head and I'm looking into the most devastated brown eyes that I know deep to my soul I'll never forget.

"Please kill me. Don't save me, just put a bullet in my head. I don't want to live."

By this time the cabin is filling up. Some of my Handmaiden sisters are standing close, but I don't care. Need to get her head on straight.

"Are you Cici? Just nod for me if you are. Good, nice to meet you, Cici, I'm Wildcat. We're here to take you back to your parents. No, listen to me, honey. No one knows what you just went through, but please stay with me for a few minutes. They grabbed you yesterday and we are here now to take you back. What about the other women? How long have they been held against their will? I'm not trying to upset you but, Cici, this only works if you want to live. Fight, sweetie, with everything in you, and just maybe this will take a turn and you'll survive. I didn't say you'll be okay because I'm not going to lie to you, nothing is ever going to be ‘okay.'"

"You think? How do you know that? I don't want my parents to know what they did to me. Wildcat, I don't feel too good."

Looking at her color, she seems a bit grayish-white. When I take a closer look its then I see the puddle of blood underneath her. Son of a bitches.

"Cici, hey, honey, listen to me. A few years ago, something similar happened to me. Yeah, I'm telling the truth and believe me, I wanted to die. And sometimes I still do but then they win, and I won't let them win. Cici, did they sodomize you? This is very important, please tell me. Promise, I won't say a word to your parents. Hey, Peanut, get Malcolm in here right now."

She must recognize the urgency in my voice because she runs out screaming for Malcolm. That's when it hits me, where the hell are all the assholes responsible for this human destruction? Then I hear the first wail and it brings joy to my heart. That tells me Shadow is at work and we will be listening to her special kind of music for some time. I lean down and look Cici right in the eyes.

"You hear that? They will pay and continue to pay until Shadow's done. Then she will put them to ground. None of them will walk away from this or live to tell their sick stories. That I can promise you, beautiful girl."

The tears roll down her cheeks. I move the blanket Peanut covered her with to check how badly she's bleeding. I see Enforcer making his way over with Yoggie.

"Need something to cut through that cuff and lock. It's not a standard cuff so whatever you can and as fast as you can. She's lost a lot of blood, and from the disaster on her arm they were shooting her up with something. Dehydrated, beaten, raped, and sodomized in less than twenty-four hours. I hope to Christ Shadow takes twice as long with them."

Yoggie reaches into a bag and pulls out a huge keychain with keys on it. I have no idea but watch as he patiently goes through each key. When he puts in a key that opens the cuff, I hear a soft whimper but nothing else. I feel Cici's wrist for a pulse and it's there but faint and thready.

I feel his presence before I see him. Malcolm is moving quickly to me, Avalanche following with the huge duffel bag. When he's close, Malcolm reaches for me, squeezing tightly for just a second. Then he turns his attention to the person on the floor covered in a blanket only. Cici's arms are now free and Peanut is rubbing them to get circulation flowing back through. When Yoggie gets to where her legs are cuffed, he looks once then twice before his eyes find mine.

"These on her ankles are police-issued handcuffs. Need to talk to Sheriff George, maybe one of the Thunder Cloud Knuckle Brotherhood followers is on a police force somewhere. Not here in Timber-Ghost, but close by. Come on, Malcolm, look at her, she needs medical attention now."

I move so Malcolm can assess Cici's condition but can't see his face. When his body tenses up, I know he's getting the full picture now.

"Hurry up, Yoggie, need to check out her injuries. Especially the one bleeding so heavily. I'm going to try and start an IV to get some fluids into her. Quickest way to rehydrate her."

As we all work to keep Cici alive, it dawns on me that today we won. We not only rescued Cici, but all these other women and young girls are coming back to the ranch with us. And in time they will realize they are given the best gift of all: a second chance.

Another wail, louder this time, hangs in the air as they come more frequently. I can't help the smile that covers my face, knowing they will all get what they deserve. When I glance down, Cici is looking at me, eyes still filled with tears but she has a tiny smile on her face. Then I look to Malcolm, who is trying to keep his feelings from Cici, but I've known the man my entire life. It's killing him to see the damage done to her. Though when he lifts his head and takes in both Cici and me smiling as we hear another pain-filled shout, he then smiles right along with us. Yeah, today is a great day as the good folks won this fight, though the war is still raging.