Minus

After a late night of strategy planning with generals Duke, Pearl, and Cricket, which included a meal fit for royalty and emptying a few bottles, Cricket and I crashed in one of the bunk rooms. This wasn’t just any room, however. This was the room I stayed in when I first got here. Back when my heart was still an open wound, and I’d cry like a little kid some nights. Tonight, Cricket was in my arms, and I was going to make sure she stayed there, no matter what.

“Jase?” Cricket asked, in a sleepy voice.

“Yeah, baby, what is it?” I whispered.

“Where did you end up putting Cutter’s ledger?”

“Baby elephant,” I said, with a yawn.

“The tree?”

“No, it’s safe, don’t worry. I’ll tell you all about it in the morning,” I said, and passed out.

* * *

Cricket

At least one of us could sleep. After the fourth pillow fluff and side roll, I gave up and got out of bed. I was jetlagged, overheated from the wine, and having a hard time getting the sheep to slow down long enough for me to count them.

After a failed attempt at finding my pants in the dark, I decided the night was warm enough to go out in the sweat shorts I’d worn to bed, so I slipped on my shoes, and opened the sliding door that lead outside. The cool night air felt amazing against my burning skin, and I followed a path that lead all the way to the front entrance of the house, then up the long driveway toward the main road.

Large open fields flanked each side of the road, and the wind played a tranquil song through the tall grass reeds. Minus was right, this place was magical. I could see what spending time here with Duke and Pearl and the horses had done for him. His soul seemed at rest here. And even amidst all the club drama he was going though, I’m not sure I’d ever seen him as relaxed as I did at dinner tonight. Even as he and Duke sat and strategized, afterwards, he had a stillness about him. I could see the leader that Cutter and Duke saw coming to the surface, with a quiet intensity.

He was right, Jase was going away, and Minus was taking control. It was exciting to see... and scary at the same time. It was also sexy as hell. I’m not sure that I ever would have classified myself as someone who was attracted to a man in power, but something about Minus made me want to let him take charge. I began to heat up again when my thoughts turned to him, and my exposed thighs burned against the night air as I continued my walk.

My thoughts were broken when headlights appeared on the road, off in the distance.

“Goddamned pothead poachers,” I muttered in my best Duke voice.

I hid out of sight, in the tall grass, as the oncoming vehicle continued its approach. Just before the car reached my hiding spot, the driver cut the headlights, but continued driving. I could hear the sound of tires on the dirt road, as the vehicle slowed and eventually stopped approximately seventy-five yards away from the house. In the moonlight, I could barely make out the silhouette of the car parked along the fence line.

After a few moments, the driver quietly got out of the car and began briskly walking up the road, toward the house. If this was a pot grower, he was after more than a patch of out-of-the-way soil. Staying low, I carefully made my way to the parked car and peeked through the rear window. The car was empty, and I breathed a sigh of relief, having now realized I was completely unprepared should it have been filled with bad guys with machetes. In fact, I didn’t even have pants on, I was out here, stalking God knows who, in the middle of the night, unarmed in nothing but short shorts, a t-shirt and sneakers.

Oh, and the ring that Minus gave you. You mustn’t forget that.

That flippant thought sparked an idea, and I felt along the side of the ring and pressed the tiny lock release. I removed the nano-tracker from the ring and wedged it between two flexible pieces of the car’s plastic bumper. I didn’t know who this guy was, but at least Minus would be able track him later if he got away tonight.

I made my way back down the road, being careful to stay hidden, and trying not to think about every scary movie I’d ever seen as a teenager. You know, the one where the stupid half-naked blonde is walking alone in the woods, while a shadowy figure lurks about.

Cricket, you are just lousy with smart choices lately, aren’t you?

I followed the path back to Minus’s room, but when I got there, he was gone. The slider was wide open, and all his stuff was there, but there was no trace of Minus.

I quietly opened the bedroom door and peeked into the hallway. There was no trace of him there, or in the bathroom.

“Minus,” I called out quietly, but got no response.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and turned on the flashlight. I checked the top drawer for Minus’ gun, which he had placed there before bed. It was right where he’d left it and the safety was on. If he’d heard a noise and gone to investigate, he obviously didn’t feel the need to take his gun. Maybe, he woke up and found me gone and went outside to look for me. Either way, I didn’t want to be alone with someone creeping around outside.

Just then, I was startled by a loud thump coming from somewhere inside the house. I grabbed the gun and my cell phone, and quietly walked down the hall to the great room to continue my search.

“Minus,” I called out again, a little louder this time. I’d almost reached the kitchen when I heard another muffled thump. This time, I could hear that it had come from the master bedroom, so I quietly made my way in that direction, hoping that I would find Minus or Duke and not a homicidal maniac. Once I reached Duke and Pearl’s room, I saw that it was ajar. Pointing the gun with my right hand, and holding the phone light with my left, I slowly nudged the door open. Moonlight poured through the room’s windows, bathing it in cool blue light.

Pearl was sleeping soundly on a giant four-poster bed. As I continued to approach, I could see that the spot next to her, which I assumed was reserved for Duke, was empty. My heart skipped a beat as I heard another thump, and I looked to see Duke, lying on the floor, struggling to move.

“Oh, my God, Duke!” I exclaimed and rushed over to him. “Pearl, wake up! I think Duke’s having a heart attack!” I cried out, but she didn’t stir.

“Shhhot,” Duke said, barely able to speak.

“You’ve been shot?” I asked as I examined him for a bullet wound.

“Pearl,” he whispered as he tried to extend his hand out to her.

“Where were you hit, Duke?”

He shook his head, while fighting to keep his eyes open. “Pearl,” he said one final time, before his head hit the carpet with one last thud. His breathing was shallow, but at least he was breathing.

I tried to wake Pearl again, this time gently shaking her shoulders. “Pearl, wake up sweetie. Wake up, it’s Cricket.” Her head fell to the side and I could see a raised red circle forming on her neck, with what appeared to be a needle mark.

Duke wasn’t trying to tell me he’d been shot with a gun, but that he and Pearl had been injected with something.

I dialed 911.

“911, what’s your emergency,” the operator answered.

“I’m at the Double H ranch, off Highway 95 and the owners have been injected with something... I... I’m not sure what.”

“They injected something, but you’re not sure what?” the operator asked. “Are they drug users?”

“What? No, I think someone broke into the house while they were sleeping and injected them with something, a sedative, or poison... I don’t know!”

“Ma’am, did you say, someone has broken into the house?”

“Yes, I think so. I don’t know if he’s still here, or where my... my... boyfriend is.”

Oh my God, where is Minus?

“Okay, ma’am. I need to you get someplace safe and stay put. Fire, EMT, and police are all on their way. I’m gonna stay on the line with you until they get there okay?”

“Okay.”

Just then, a voice sang out from somewhere inside the house, “Christiiiiiinaaaa.”

* * *

Minus

I awoke in the middle of the night and immediately noticed Cricket was not in bed with me. What I did not notice right away, was the man that was in the room with me. I felt a quick pinch in my neck and recognized it as the stick of a hypodermic needle. A wave of heat washed over me, and I was immediately rendered unable to move. I tried to fight back, but it was useless.

“Whathafuck didju putinmeeh?” I slurred, barely able to speak.

“It’s a special cocktail that I’ve designed myself. A mixture of tranquilizers, anti-psychotics, and mood stabilizers,” he said, now standing over me. “I have a few questions for you, and this will help ensure your cooperation. I’ve given you just enough to keep you immobile, but still able to talk to me”

As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could now see that this was the same pock-marked creep from the video feed, that worked over Warthog.

“Lucky me,” I said, finding it harder and harder to focus. The meds making me foggy and nauseated.

“So, how about you tell me where the book and the girl are right now?”

I was glad Cricket wasn’t here when this guy showed up, but where the fuck was she? Hopefully, she was hiding someplace safe with Duke and Pearl.

“Gofuckyerssselfff,” I said.

“I’ll do you a favor and ask one more time, then you and I are going to get serious.”

“Sorryman, I jusss gotintah somthin’ seeriuuuuss with someone elsssse.” My tongue was swelling, and my speech was getting worse.

“Fine, have it your way, but just remember that I gave you the chance for you and your girlfriend to die quickly.”

With that, he picked me up, and carried me out over his shoulder, military style. This guy had either served, or had military training at some point, but was clearly currently living life as a mercenary. He was Hispanic, but I didn’t detect a hint of an accent of any kind. The fact that Los Psychos were hiring mercs, further bolstered my thoughts that they didn’t have enough muscle of their own for a full-scale war, but who knows, maybe this guy’s just an old summer camp buddy that owes Viper a favor. None of that shit mattered right now. I had to figure out a way out of this, and somehow find Cricket and the others, and get them to safety.

With some effort, crater-face managed to get me out to his car, popped the trunk, and stuffed me in. Although I was still unable to move, he bound my wrists and ankles with cable ties and duct taped my mouth.

“I’ve already taken care of the old geezers, so I’m gonna go back to the house and look for that girlfriend of yours,” he said, smiling.

My blood boiled in my veins as I lay there, trapped in a car trunk; trapped in my own body.

“I’m glad I brought plenty of cocktail with me, because I’m gonna take my time with her. I’ll be sure to take lots of video, so I can show you when I get back. I’d bring her back here for a private show, but I think the lighting will be better inside, don’t you?”

The blood vessels in my eyes began to burst as I fought against my bonds.

“Alright, you just wait here, then, and I’ll be back for you once I’m done having my fun. Maybe she can tell me where the book is, or maybe you’ll be ready to talk once you’ve seen what I’ve done to her.”

He slammed the trunk closed, and I laid in the darkness unable to move.

* * *

Cricket

“Christina, where are you?” the creepy voice echoed through the house.

I turned the gun’s safety switch to off.

“I’m sorry,” he continued. “Your friends call you Cricket, don’t they? Well then, I’m gonna call you that, because you and I are gonna be really good friends.”

Where the fuck is Minus?

Pearl and Duke were both out cold. Whatever this sonofabitch injected them with was serious. I had to get them, and myself, somewhere safe. Whoever was in the house had come back for a reason, and I wasn’t about to rely on my aim alone if he should make his way back here. Emergency services were on their way, but who knew when they’d reach us all the way out here.

I closed the bedroom door and locked it. The door looked solid, but it surely wouldn’t keep him out for very long. I looked around the large master suite for a place to hide, trying to quickly choose between the master bath, and one of the two walk-in closets. I don’t really like any of those options but didn’t seem to have much of a choice. Considering how “low key / high tech” the rest of the house was, I was surprised Duke hadn’t built a panic room in here.

Just because he didn’t mention it to you, doesn’t mean he didn’t.

I sized up the closets and couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary, like reinforced doors, that would suggest they were designed to keep intruders out.

Scooby Doo.

There had to be a hidden door somewhere that lead to some sort of safe room. I felt around the closet’s back panel but couldn’t find a latch or knob.

There must be a hidden release mechanism somewhere.

I looked around the room for anything that might serve as a lever or switch until something caught my eye. A decorative brass robe hook, in the shape of an elephant, with its trunk in the air, fastened to the wall right next to where Duke lay flat on his back.

Baby elephant.

I ran over, pulled on the elephant’s trunk, and the wall back panel next to it immediately slid open, triggering lights, which illuminated a state-of-the-art safe room. Inside, there were four bunk beds and shelves stocked with food, water, and supplies. There was also a gun cabinet, and a wall of closed circuit TV monitors, which displayed live feeds from cameras all around the property.

Thump, thump, thump!

The creep was at the bedroom door. “Cricket are you in there?” he called out. “You in that room with those sweet old folks?

“I have a gun and I’ve called 911!” I called back, as I grabbed Duke’s ankles and began sliding him into the panic room. Fortunately for both us, he was wearing a silk robe, which helped him slide along the carpet a bit easier, and by that, I mean, I had to use every muscle in my entire body to move him.

“Guns, ooooh, I don’t like guns,” he replied. “I prefer to do my work with knives, needles and ropes, but you’ll see soon enough.”

Once Duke was inside, I went over to Pearl’s side of the bed.

Thump, thump, thump! “Cricket why don’t you let me in now and we can talk about the book?”

“Fuck you! Did you hear me? The cops are on their way!”

“Oh, I doubt they’ll be here any time soon, given how far we are from the highway. That is... if you even called them.”

“Believe me, I did, plus when Minus finds you, he’s—”

The sound of the creep’s laughter through the door made me feel sick. “I don’t think Minus is going to give me any trouble. Viper said he wanted him awake when I worked him over, so I only gave him a half dose. I’ve got him on a time-out someplace safe.”

He’s lying, don’t listen to him.

“What did you do to Duke and Pearl?” I asked while rolling Pearl over to the edge of the bed.

“I had to give them a full dose, so they’d go to sleep, and stay that way. I couldn’t have them making a fuss while I looked around for the book.”

“You fucker. You’re gonna pay for all this.”

“Wrong!” he shouted. “I’m getting paid for this. Now, let me in right now, or I’m going to break down the door. And if you make me do that, when I get in there, I’m going to cut the old lady’s throat. Cricket. I like that old lady. She reminds me of my granny, but I swear to God, I’ll do it.”

I saw no other way of getting Pearl to the ground other than to roll her off the edge of the bed, so I gathered up all the pillows I could find, and threw on a sheet, laid out on the floor. I gave her a push and hoped for the best. She hit ground with a thud and I said a silent prayer to St. Calcium, patron saint of broken hips.

“Cricket, I’m going to count down from five, and you’d better open this door, or our date is going to start out on a very unpleasant note. Five...”

I grabbed ahold of the sheet and pulled with all my might.

“Four...”

My muscles burned, as I struggled to get the makeshift bedding sled inside the safe room.

“Three...,” he continued and began throwing his weight into the door.

“Come... on... Pearl,” I grunted as I pulled with all my might. My muscles were already spent from dragging Duke in, and he’d started out closer to the door.

“Two. You’re gonna be sorry you made me do this Cricket.”

With one final groan, I pulled Pearl’s limp body into the safe room, just as the bedroom door splintered with a crack.

“One!” he yelled, as he crashed through the door into the bedroom.

I scrambled to my knees and pulled on the matching robe hook, located on the inside of the closet, and the door slammed shut just as the creep lunged at my feet, causing him to run straight into it with a dull thud.

I checked the TV monitors and could see him through a camera positioned directly above the panic room door, pounding away at it, until he suddenly stopped, turned, and ran out of the room. I watched him on the various screens as he made his way out of the house, and out through the front door. He must have been heading for his car, but I had no idea why. He still didn’t have the book, and he obviously hadn’t found a way in here. Perhaps the police were on the way and he heard sirens in the distance. Whatever the reason, I was glad he was gone. I had to get medical attention for Duke and Pearl right away, and I had to find Minus.