Tracker (19 page)

THIRTY-EIGHT

Jones

I spent the afternoon stacking boxes and pretending that I wasn’t checking my watch every five minutes. Nearing the end of an undercover assignment was always the most nerve-racking experience for me. I had a hard time hiding the excitement the end of an OP always brought. Because of that, I spent as much time as I could away from the other men at the warehouse.

Thankfully, they didn’t notice anything abnormal, since I had made it clear that on some days I simply needed solitude. There was also the fact that they seemed a bit nervous now that they knew I wanted to see and participate in the torture of a kid. Not all of Mason’s employees were into that kind of thing. I’d almost say the guys I worked with weren’t all that bad, but they were drug dealers. By the end of this operation they would be arrested for drug trafficking and as accomplices in kidnapping and torture. They had been the ones to contact Mason’s right hand guy John and get me access to him, so they knew more about it than they admitted. They wouldn’t tell me about their involvement either because they didn’t trust me, or because they worried about the rumors that John served as Mason’s assassin whenever someone went against what he wanted.

The afternoon dragged. Unfortunately, stacking boxes isn’t the best thing to do while trying to pass the time. It left too much time for thought, and my thoughts kept drifting back to Alice Farrow. Even with the grim circumstances of our meeting, the lady had made an impression. Despite the frown on her face during our meeting, her face looked more accustomed to smiling and laughter. I hoped to see her at some point when she was happy. She was beautiful even with a frown. She’d be absolutely gorgeous when she smiled. It had been a long time since I’d had an interest in anybody. Being an undercover agent didn’t leave a lot of room for relationships, and most women didn’t understand when I had to disappear for months at a time.

But this operation marked the last time I’d be doing deep-cover work. Working so closely with criminals…it was too easy to blur the lines between right and wrong. It was hard to act friendly with people and get close, only to betray them later, and I’d told my boss that I couldn’t do it anymore. Besides, I was ready to start considering getting into a serious relationship, if I could find the right person. It just felt right to get out of doing undercover work, even if I did stay in the relatively dangerous profession of an FBI field agent.

“Jones, get out here,” Veda called from the front of the warehouse, interrupting my thoughts. My wait was finally over. It was six o’clock and my ride out to the Farm had arrived. “Oh, shoot,” I said loudly as we headed out to the car. I reached for my phone. “I forgot to call my girl. She was expecting me tonight. You don’t mind?”

The driver, someone I hadn’t seen before, shrugged and waved a hand dismissively. “Call her. Nothing worse than an angry girlfriend.”

I nodded and stepped a short distance away from the car, calling the number Detective Farrow had given me while memorizing the man’s face. He was a part of this too, and if I could get him arrested, I would. “Hey, Allie, something came up at work, so I won’t be able to come over tonight.” I paused, listening to Alice telling me they were ready to roll, and continued. “Sorry babe. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. Love you.” I hung up and went back to the car. “Sorry about that. Let’s get going.”

I allowed him to tie a cloth loosely over my eyes, as was agreed, and he started the car. Riding in a car blindfolded was an odd experience, but I still tried to keep track of where we were going. After several turns, I lost track of where we were. I could tell we were out of town after about twenty minutes, because there wasn’t much traffic and I could smell the manure used to fertilize the fields.

We didn’t talk much, and I got the feeling the guy resented that I was receiving special permission to watch what was happening. He was a big guy whose face was too narrow for a man of his bulk. From the little he said on our drive I was able to infer that he had been in the warehouse when Jason had been abducted the first time. He seemed proud to know that he’d been one of the first to know about the Earthshaker, despite not being allowed to view the torture he was now going through. I filed that information away to use against him once I was able to arrest him. It was about another fifteen minutes before we reached our destination.

I removed the blindfold when the driver told me too, and stepped out of the car. I looked around and my heart sank. The place was a logistical nightmare. It was wide open fields surrounded by a thick wooded area. There was a shed at the edge of the woods, and if that was where Jason was being kept, Mason would have no trouble escaping to the woods before the police could stop him. It would probably be at least fifteen minutes before my backup would arrive, so I’d have to play along until then.

The driver motioned for me to follow him, so I took a deep breath and walked toward the shed. I had taken only a few steps when I heard a loud rumble and the ground shifted under my feet, dropping me down into the deep pit that had appeared out of nowhere. At the same time, a massive wave of dirt hit the car, almost completely burying it.

I fell several feet, and from the surprised yell in front of me, my driver had either fallen or gotten stuck when the car was buried. The landing was awkward, and my ankle twisted painfully on impact. There was another loud crack, and the ground shook for a moment before everything went completely silent.

THIRTY-NINE

Jason

It took every ounce of willpower to keep from using my abilities while Mick and Mason continued their abuse. They took a break several hours in, leaving me hanging with my eyes and mouth taped shut. I had no energy to keep my feet under me, so I hung limply just waiting for the next round. Once I got out of here—if I got out of here—it would be a long recovery time to get over everything they’d been doing.

Almost worse than the abuse was the total silence; they hadn’t said a word to me the entire time they’d been beating on me. They simply took turns using various items against me, sometimes stopping to gently trace over the new wounds with their hands as if admiring their work. The almost tender touching raised goose bumps and my breath had quickened in fear. Each time that happened, I tensed nervously; worried their repulsive touching would evolve and become the torture of my childhood. If they dragged that particular item into their arsenal, I wouldn’t be able to hold back. I was already close to losing my control and any further indication that I would be hurt in that way again would tip the scales. There was no way I would allow it to happen again. I would die first and had already attempted to die rather than suffer that torment. I think Mason knew he’d be grabbing a tiger by the tail if he tried it, so he stuck to the soft caressing of his handiwork. Or perhaps he simply enjoyed the shivers of fear caused by his touch.

Their footsteps were approaching again, and I groaned at my helplessness when I scrambled to get my feet under me again. My inability to do so was frustrating, and I used that emotion to further build on the power I held in reserve. I had no idea how long the torture had gone on, and with the tape covering my eyes I had no way to see outside when they opened the door and entered. I could almost feel the satisfied smirk on Mason’s face as he entered and saw his prey hanging helplessly in front of him. I couldn’t wait to wipe that smile off his face.

“We’re going to wait a few moments,” he said. I jumped when he spoke. I had expected them to continue the silent torture. “Our visitor will be here shortly, and I want him to be able to enjoy himself fully before he goes back home tonight. I’m interested to see what he can come up with, aren’t you?”

I jerked my head as a hand suddenly grabbed me by the throat and squeezed, cutting off my air supply. “Then again, I guess there’s no reason for us to stop. There will be plenty to do once he gets here.”

Mason squeezed harder, and I kicked weakly while trying to pull out of his grip. Behind my closed eyes I saw stars and I wondered how long he’d keep this up. I nearly passed out before he finally let go, and I struggled to get enough air. I almost choked on the cloth in my mouth as I tried to gasp for breath, and my panic sent me over the edge.

I could feel people approaching the shed as my power emerged in a huge shockwave. The ground under the shed erupted, and I forced the ground under the people approaching us to drop out from under their feet. I must have succeeded in surprising them, because I felt nothing from the collar as the power continued to pour out of me. There was a loud
crack
, and I was suddenly falling, wincing when I was hit by falling debris.

I must have passed out because the next thing I was aware of was that I was being dragged over piles of broken wood and dirt. I was still handcuffed and my mouth and eyes were still taped, but I was relieved that my breathing had evened out. I didn’t recognize the footsteps of the person dragging me, but I did feel something… familiar about him. The footsteps…was this the Ghost? The other man who’d been, like me, tormented and tortured until he’d become what Mason had wanted him to be?

He must have noticed that I was conscious again because he stopped dragging me and moved himself so he was crouched over me. “You will heal, in time,” a smooth masculine voice said. “I thank you. You have done what I could not, and I owe you.”

I shook my head, wanting to be free of the confining tape. “I will leave you here for your friends to find,” the voice continued. “You and I are the same. For your own sake, I cannot remove the tape. I am darkness and shadows, and you can’t know my appearance. I am Kindred, and you will hear from me again, Tracker. Until then, be safe.”

I made noises protesting being left as I felt Kindred’s footsteps depart. I had no way to tell if he was being truthful. If he was truly grateful, perhaps he had left me where I could be found. But if he had been twisted the way Mason believed, he may have left me in a hidden place where I wouldn’t be found. Unfortunately, no matter what happened I didn’t have the energy to move. All I could manage was to keep my power alerted to any approaching footsteps. I brought my arms down and managed to work my way onto my side, taking the pressure off my injured back.

My power was weak, but I kept a small portion ready to use if any threat approached. I would be able to repeat my disappearing earth trick a couple more times. It didn’t take too much energy. The shed collapse, while easier than the house destruction, had still been difficult. I tensed slightly as I realized I had no idea what had happened to Mason or Mick. I sent out little wisps of power in all directions, vaguely feeling the men I’d trapped in holes moving around, but I felt nothing else.

Cutting off the flow of power, I considered the possibility that I’d been able to trap or injure Mason when the shed had collapsed. My body shook as I remembered what Kindred had said. I’d done what he couldn’t, and now he was free. Free of Mason? If so, that meant…was he dead? I had no idea, but the thought that I’d used my ability to kill someone made my trembling worse.

My mind had drifted, and I lost some time, which caused me to once again miss someone’s approach. I lay helpless and trembling as an unknown person stood over me, my powers failing to come to my rescue.

FORTY

Alice

We only waited about five minutes before my cell rang. Jones used the agreed line, so we were on. I turned on the GPS tracker that we’d been given and responded. “We have you. We’ll have to stay quite a ways back so they don’t see us,” I told him. He made a small noise of affirmation before saying goodbye.

“Let’s go,” I told Dan. “They’re headed away from us, and they’re on the opposite end of town.” He started the car and I got on the radio. “All right everyone, the call came in. It’s time to move.”

I received affirmative responses from all units, and suddenly realized. “I never set up an ambulance. Jason’s going to need one; I can’t believe I forgot…”

“Relax, Alice. Call for one now and have one unit wait for it. We’ll stay in radio contact so they know where we’re going,” Dan interrupted calmly.

I took a deep breath and did as he suggested. About five minutes after I’d called, I received confirmation from the squad car that had waited for the ambulance that it had arrived. They were headed our direction, moving quickly to try to catch up to us. No one wanted Jason to have to wait for medical attention.

According to the GPS tracker, we were only about ten miles behind Jones. He wouldn’t have to wait long for backup, which was very good. The less time he had to stall, the better. Mason would probably not take kindly to Jones practically begging to come out, and then stalling once he was there.

The tracker stopped, staying in the same place for over a minute. “He’s there,” I said, picking up the radio again. “Let’s pick up the pace, people,” I said, both to Dan and to the others following us.

It took about eight minutes for us to reach the field where the tracker had stopped, and I gasped when I saw the collapsed shed and multiple large holes surrounding it. I heard Dan’s soft grunt, showing his surprise at finding Mason’s farm like this. I shuddered to think what Mason had done to cause Jason to use his power so destructively. As we continued onto the property I noticed several trees near the shed had been knocked down, and the car Jones must have been in was tilted, the front half hanging over open air, the drivers’ side almost completely buried in dark soil.

Dan gave a low whistle as we parked and got out of the car. “It looks like an earthquake hit,” he said in amazement.

I peered down one of the holes as we headed toward the demolished shed. “There’s someone down there!” I exclaimed. “Get someone to check all the holes and arrest anyone in them,” I instructed Dan and the officers behind him as I rushed to the destroyed shed. Jason had to have been kept there, and if he’d been in there when it collapsed…

My eyes danced over the rubble, frantically searching for any sign of a person, and my heart sank when I saw an arm sticking out from under a chunk of splintered wood and tiles. I began digging at the debris hysterically, not noticing the slivers of wood getting stuck in my hands as I dug. I nearly sobbed in relief when I uncovered Mason’s face, his eyes glazed over and lifeless.

I leaned back slightly, my hand over my mouth as I took several deep breaths to calm myself. When I continued digging, I discovered the large chunk of wood that had lodged itself in Mason’s chest. As I uncovered him further, I saw a leg under him. I continued digging, hardly noticing when a couple other officers joined me, one of which handed me a pair of gloves. I paused to put them on, and breathed another sigh of relief when I realized the second body wasn’t Jason either. This guy was huge, with a slightly sagging face. It looked like he’d broken his neck in the collapse.

“Does anyone see any sign of Jason?” I inquired, glancing up from the rubble.

“No,” Dan replied, glancing around and getting negative responses from the other officers as well. “But we did find Jones. He was stuck in one of the holes. He has a sprained ankle, but insisted on helping with the search.” He nodded slightly toward the edge of the woods. “He and the other agents are checking the woods for Jason and any of Mason’s men who could be trying to hide there.” Jones had separated from the other agents and was headed deeper into the woods behind the shed, searching around each fallen tree.

“I’ll get these two unburied; you can go join the search,” Dan said, halting my attempt to continue digging through the rubble.

“If he’s here—” I started.

“Then you don’t need to be the one to find him,” my partner said tenderly, with a light squeeze to my shoulder. He was a good man. If he could do anything to keep me from hurting, he would.

I placed my hand over his in acknowledgment. “Thanks, Dan. Let me know if you find him?” I asked, hoping he wouldn’t have to. He nodded and I headed to the woods to help with the search effort.

Since Mason and one of his bodyguards had been in the shed, it was logical to believe that meant Jason had been there too. The question was… where was Jason now?