Trellis Read online

  They arrived in front of what looked like a forest ranger’s cabin. There were tents set up everywhere and assumed must be reporters.

  ‘Great. Well, they were going to have to leave. I can’t afford to be on camera.’ She reasoned to herself.

  Sloan and Harper walked inside the cabin and she moved from tent to tent having each reporter she encountered pack up and leave without further video recording.

  The reporters were filled with more mish-mashed information than what Sloan and Harper gave her at the airport. From what she could piece together, piles of body parts were found in the deep backcountry, all missing vital organs. There were many theories flying around but the most probable in this situation was a serial killer, not an organ harvester. If an organ harvester were to harvest organs for cash, they would not want to draw attention to themselves by dumping traceable DNA back to the organs. Unless they were stupid- then anything was possible!

  Wanting further to be apprised of the search and rescue operation she headed to the cabin the searchers were in. There were large maps tacked to the walls and search areas marked on dry-erase boards, forest rangers (men and women) hovering over the crowd and marking off search areas for each group on clipboards. None of the forest rangers was new to a search and rescue mission up there on the mountain. What was new, all the attention and help that had been summoned to get these men back home. She was getting a good read on the situation when a young woman walked in the door and she immediately recognized her as Colin’s sister, Sissy. At least she thought that was her name, it could be a nickname.

  Harper and Sloan immediately change their hard demeanor towards the young lady and rush to her.

  “Sissy!” Harper picked her up off the ground and gave her a tight hug. Sloan repeated this gesture, reassured the young woman that they would find her brother and Jase. They love this girl, in a sisterly way. To them she was still a freckled faced little girl that would come and visit with her parents when Banks was stationed on the coast. It made the men seem almost human, in a robot, they would gut you, don’t look at her wrong kind of way.

  Wait! She couldn’t read the young woman’s mind! She was only reading Sloan and Harper’s thoughts.

  ‘What! What was it about the Banks’ family? Seriously…’ Maybe she needed to get closer to Sissy Banks. She walked as close as she could to where Sissy stood- nope. She couldn’t hear a darn thought come from her head. Was she losing her ability?

  Sloan walked to the front of the room and all the women in the room followed his movement. He was certainly a beautiful force. The men were intimidated by his size and as he moved he moved like a warrior studying the crowd. He stood in front of a map on the wall and cleared his throat, silencing the people. His stone face then introduced Sissy, short and sweet again. Sissy made her way to the front to stand near Sloan.

  D stared at her with a grimace twisted on her face. D was baffled by Sissy’s shielded thoughts.

  “Hi, I am Colin’s sister, Susan Banks, but everyone calls me Sissy. I want to thank all of you for organizing this search. He is my only family and without him- I am not sure what I will do.” She took a deep breath and pushed through the pain, “We have to find my brother Colin Banks and Jase Furlough.

  Jase Furlough was a big believer in avalanche beacon receivers. Not sure Colin would have had one turned on at the time of the crash- but he could have. It had not been found. They are monitoring any activity that could come across the airwaves for a ping and location. I’ve spoken to authorities and they are pretty sure that Colin was in the helicopter when it went down, they are not sure why they would have left the crash site. The driver of the helicopter Jase Furlough had made a partial mayday call that was picked up at the time of the crash but no more info had been gathered yet. We are dealing with two highly skilled men with more training on search and rescue than most people that do it for a living, so if they left the site then there was good reason- -We have to believe that.

  I have hired two private helicopters with heat sensitive cameras and have search dogs coming in from Illinois. Although, with all the rain they have received, the dog owners informed me that these canines might not be a solid option for the terrain. I do not care. I will try all means necessary to bring them home. I also have a few real action heroes in every sense of the word here to lend their expertise in any way they can. We can all do this if we ban together and pray for God’s help with all of this.” Sissy Banks then held up an old worn bible, the one D saw in Colin’s bedroom when she had searched Colin’s apartment.

  “This bible here used to be our father’s bible, it was found at the crash site. Colin cherished this bible and would have never voluntarily left it behind. Ever. Period. I am not sure if that helps or complicates matters but I thought everyone needed to know. Now, is there anything else I can help with or answer any questions?”

  A barrage of questions ensued after Sissy finished and it got loud instantly in the crowded cabin. D saw Sloan give Harper a quick head tilt towards the door and they made their way outside, D followed on their heels.

  Sissy seemed to have a temperament eerily similar to Colin. She certainly was not whinny in that speech as D had spied her being with Colin on their video chats. Harper and Sloan gave each other a slight grin. They saw it too in Sissy, it might as well been Colin up there planning this search. It was as strategic as any civilian could have been.

  Without Colin here to make decisions for her, she really stepped up to the plate and pulled it together. She didn’t think Colin had ever seen her the way that room filled with the searchers saw Susan ‘Sissy’ Banks.

  Enough. Smooshy. Kindness. Sissy was going to hinder D’s ability to help this situation if she insisted on coming with the team. Moreover, by team D meant Harper, Sloan and herself. She will have to be manipulative with Sissy in a crafty imaginative way. D placed the idea in Harper and Sloan’s head that they ‘move and work better alone, which was true. Even though she actually did work better alone, she may need them with her so they would be tagging along. Willingly or not…

  When they stepped outside, she sees a military grade Hummer pull up and uniformed men climb out. Sloan and Harper immediately walked up, introduced themselves to the soldiers, and offered their assistance. She was done waiting around to get this show on the road.

  She realized the soldiers were new to the info on the search and rescue, they were sent here by the local military base to offer assistance in the search. When she was about to manipulate the situation, a female wrench physically walked up and threw herself into D’s plans- Sissy Banks.

  “Where did all the news-reporters go?” Sissy asked the men standing around the large military vehicle.

  “Who knows,” Sloan answered, “You never know what pulled them away, a breaking news story could be happening a town over. This story has received a lot of national coverage they aren’t going to be gone long. The public will want to know how the search is going. They will be back.”

  D thought to herself, ‘They won’t be back anytime soon.’

  Harper stepped up and became her first puppet, “Sissy, I think you need to stay here and be our eyes on the ground back here at base camp. We need to know if anything new comes in and you can feed us info over the radio.”

  “No.” She snapped rather quickly.

  *sigh* D knew this was going to be hard.

  Sloan’s turn, “There isn’t another option. You are staying back here where it is safe, we are going out there alone, and you are staying behind. We work better alone.”

  “No.” Sissy repeated resolute, her jaw set.

  ‘This girl!’ When D thought all was lost and Sissy was going to have to go with them, she heard a familiar brain pattern, Agent Hinkle. He was wandering around trying to gain information on where he could help. ‘Well, Billy, you can help here.’

  D quickly placed a thought in Hinkle’s brain that he and D were good friends, steering him to where the group was standing. To D, Hinkle’s mind was li
ke coloring in a child’s coloring book, simple.

  D suppressed a smile from spreading across her face when she seen Billy had started to grow a beard. His dark facial hair had started to fill in, yet it had a lot of growing to do to make him look older. He still looked like he was nineteen and she wondered what her new hodgepodge’d group would think of Agent Banks’ CCD partner.

  “Agent Hinkle,” D tried to remain somber as she introduced Hinkle to the small group. “This is Banks’ partner at the bureau.” She could hear their callous thoughts about Banks’ partner but it didn’t matter, these men were going to make it audible.

  “Wow, you are awfully young to be a CCD agent aren’t you?” Sloan asked.

  She knew their time was limited but she wanted to hear how Hinkle answered the question. She was sure he was asked this a lot, and from what she gathered, he didn’t like the question either. In addition, she had gathered he was enamored by Sissy’s looks. Of course, who wouldn’t be, she was gorgeous. Banks would certainly not approve.

  Before Hinkle had a chance to reply to Sloan about his youthful appearance a man in a military uniform on a four-wheeler soared near the group and shouted, “They are searching an area about 5 miles north of the crash site!”

  Sissy looked at each of them and asked, “Where are you guys going?”

  D manipulated the whole situation. She commandeered the man on the four-wheeler and he climbed off it and looked at Agent Hinkle and Sissy and commands them both, “Here take this, both of you and follow that caravan of four-wheelers headed out of here,” as he pointed to the line of ATV’s that were leaving the base camp.

  D looked at Sissy and said, “You both better hurry.”

  Agent Hinkle, D could read was apprehensive, he didn’t know how to drive the four-wheeler, which worked out because something unexpected happened.

  Sissy looked at Hinkle getting on the ATV and declared, “You are on the back. I drive.” Sloan and Harper glance at one another smiling. They knew she was a tomboy and this young agent Hinkle was going to be holding on for dear life.

  Sissy and Hinkle zoom off on the ATV at the same time a tall pudgy man walked up to the group, immediately he was greeted by Sloan and Harper with a bear hug that lifted him off the ground. The man was the missing link for the search party, Doc. The one man of the group, from what she gathered, was married and had children. His mind was easy to slip into as well. Enough with the salutations. D sees a large ATV Gator that had two rows of seating. She figured this mode of transportation would be easier to keep them within her mind-control if they are in close proximity. If they had gone off on different four-wheelers they would have been more than forty-feet from her, thoughts disconnected, and therefore not a unit she could control.

  The group set off for the crash site and traveled through several checkpoints, mostly moving through them with ease. Usually she would manipulate the situation but the more law enforcement they came in contact with, the more information she gathered and that helped her piece together her own hodgepodge of, what she’s finding out rather quickly, was useless information. That was until a short man with a dark mustache, wearing a uniform, startled her with his thoughts.

  He was worried he was going to be caught. ‘Caught?’ He was thinking that there were too many people in the area, and he was fervently surveying for a van.

  Chapter Twenty-One ~

  Jase and Colin were scrambling against the clock to break free of the metal bonds that tethered them to the damp concrete floor. Now that nighttime had settled in the darkness was not their friend. As they worked to free themselves, Colin kept having flashbacks to the time he and his men were being held in captivity in a strange hostile environment. If Colin and Jase broke free, God help the people on the other side of the basement door.

  “Sargent, I’m,” Jase grunted. “I’m,” he grunted again, “I’m free.” With those last words Colin heard the sudden snap of the chain.

  Jase pulled and crawled his way over to where Colin was secured to the floor and they both began working on the chains with the reliable screwdriver that freed Jase moments before. Jase knew he was in no shape to defend himself. He wasn’t even sure he was able to stand up much less walk. He also knew Colin was their only chance out of this dungeon; however, he also knew he would be unleashing a beast once Colin was free. People were going to die, and quickly.

  “Colin, once you reach the target you want to immobilize them, not kill them. We don’t need you reliving the Middle East and we definitely don’t need you sinking further into yourself riddled with guilt again.” Jase tried to reason then deliberately reached out and grabbed Colin’s arm, “Brother, we need them immobilized but alive. We need to gain intel from them. Do you understand?”

  Colin seemed far away, he heard the words of his comrade, he knew they made sense, he also knew that the person or people upstairs were serious trouble for them. He did not want to take someone’s life, to feel the breath leave their lungs, the light dim in their eyes, and the soul leave their body… he would not hesitate to take a life it meant saving others…

  Pure adrenaline was the only thing fueling both of the captives. As the screwdriver bent the last of the chain holding Colin, he breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded at Jase and then he tried to stand up. Stretching isn’t something that his body was doing willingly and he tried not to groan. He reached down and grabbed Jase’s hands and tried helping him up. They both knew that they had to stick together if they wanted out of here but Jase was seriously injured and wasn’t sure if he was able to make it up the basement stairs, at least make it up them quietly.

  Colin helped Jase hobble over to where the workbench was grabbing the snow pants that were hanging on a hook. Colin feverishly looked for the beacon that he had placed in the bottom of a leg pocket. It was there! ‘Why haven’t they found us yet, then?’ He thought.

  “Can you make it up those stairs?” Colin asked knowing it didn’t matter what the answer was, he was not leaving Jase stranded in the basement, alone.

  “With help.”

  Colin then acted as a crutch for his friend and they slowly and soundlessly moved up the stairs to the upper floor, the trusty screwdriver tightly in hand.

  Colin was anticipating that the door would not be locked. He was certain that he heard no bolts or chains being moved the last time their captor came to check on them. Could they be so lucky?

  Meanwhile, D and the men were riding along in the gator ATV tightly holding on, now though, they had an extra passenger, the cop whose mind D had read. The man’s name was Phillip Perkert and he was a local law enforcement officer. The perfect cover. She knew exactly why Jase and Colin were being held and she knew that if they didn’t reach them soon their organs would be harvested. She hadn’t given the people that were holding Jase and Colin enough credit. She thought they must have been reckless, this was far from the case. These men were making a lot of cash selling these organs to the highest bidder. Pulling people apart like a Lego set and giving them to someone else to reassemble. Their biggest buyer was a research facility and these men were making a solid living taking other people’s lives. Since they were supposed to be on the law’s side, they were getting away with murder easily by maneuvering around the clues and investigations. D knew if she played her cards right she could save Jase and Colin and bring these buyers to justice and expose the whole operation.

  She had never done something on such a large scale to benefit the public before; it was always government motivated for political purposes or something small to benefit the here and now. Even when she decided to donate to the Children’s home, she did it to stick it to Coughlin. Now though, she had the chance to help others. To make a difference, to save lives, to bring peace to the families that had their loved ones taken too soon. She liked this adrenaline sensation of being good. Of being the good guy. Of being the hero and not the rogue villain.

  D would soon be connected to Colin in a deeper way than she ever imagined. He would abruptly be
the one protecting her when she wouldn’t be able to protect herself.

  D and the men drove to an old farmhouse nestled back in a shadowy tree line. There was a struggle going on between males in the home and D was having trouble honing in on one thought. She was exhausted from the last twenty-four hours and even though adrenaline raced through her veins, her brain was a different story. Sloan pushed the fake Phillip Perkert up the stairs to the front door.

  No one was speaking but that was because D didn’t want them to speak. She could hear thoughts on the other side of the door, pain, struggling…

  ‘Could Colin and Jase really be in there?

  Could they have broken free? Could it be this easy?’ D resolutely thought to herself, ‘So help it, if Colin Banks was injured these killers were going to pay severely.’

  Perkert opened the door slowly, once the door was open completely they saw a struggle between Colin and a large dark headed man who was holding a gun. Sloan bolted first towards the chaos and knocked a table out of the way as he barreled towards the fight, ‘Sloan was definitely a pit-bull’, D thought.

  Before D could think one more thought, a bullet had blasted with a loud echo of a crack from the chamber of the gun. It happened so quickly, the bullet, the lone bullet, the life-altering projectile pierced D’s stomach pushing her backwards. Her ears reverberated as a vociferous sound and for a second the thundering noise covered up the pain and force of the bullet wound.

  Jase had steadied himself upright against the wall and hit the assailant over the head with a fireplace poker knocking him cold but it was too late for D.

  D’s vision started to fade, her last thoughts were of placing thoughts in the men’s heads, protect her brain and body at all cost. Do not leave her side. Protect her mind at all costs. She faded in to a blackness that swallowed her whole.