Tanner- Year One Page 13

  The unholy alliance Cannon had formed with Shasta Shah would be worth millions in the long run. While Isaac agreed that selling the young female cultists into sexual slavery was profitable, he thought that other cultists, both male and female could be converted into revenue as well. Their faith in Shasta Shah could be manipulated to turn them into unwitting pawns to be used by extremist groups.

  The fools believed whatever Shah told them and would do anything she asked. Why not instruct them to do what they were told to do without asking questions? They could then be handed over to others and be used as alibi witnesses, unwitting accomplices, or even suicide bombers. As for Shah’s monitors, they could be rented out as hired muscle. There was no end to the income streams a slave could produce if one had imagination. Shasta Shah’s sheep were just that, slaves, of their own making, yes, but slaves all the same.

  Isaac had discussed these ideas with Shah, and she agreed they were worth looking into. Isaac smiled. If Shah believed there was money in feeding nuclear waste to her people, she’d do it. They were no more than cattle to her, and she craved wealth above anything else.

  Isaac used a key provided by Logan to enter the mess hall. The dining area was dark; it necessitated the use of a flashlight to navigate past the rows of tables. Once he had moved beyond the kitchen area, Isaac padded with slow steps down the corridor that led to Gracie’s quarters. Logan wanted Isaac to abduct Gracie and kill her elsewhere. The belief was that if Gracie went missing it would cause less trouble in the long run than if she were found dead.

  As for Isaac, once he’d completed the deed, he was off to New York City, where he would fill the role the late Robbie Vespa had. It was Logan’s idea. It made Isaac more useful while also keeping him away from the base.

  It would be Isaac’s job to oversee the new accommodations of the cult members Shasta Shah would send to New York. Before leaving, Shah would spend time with each member in a one-on-one setting. As she had with Kate’s sister, Shah would tell them that they had been chosen for a very special purpose.

  Joy and the other two women had been told to return to their old lives and pretend that they were no longer with the cult. Shah had stressed that they tell no one about their “mission.” That had been easy for Joy and the others, since they had no idea what was going on.

  Robbie Vespa had visited Joy in her home one day while Kate and her mother were out. Joy had been wary of Vespa at first, then he handed her a phone. Shasta Shah was on the other end of the line. She told Joy that the time had come for her to fulfill her mission.

  The next day, Joy and the other two women traveled by bus to Miami, where they were met by three strangers. They were rough-looking young men, only one of whom spoke English. They were gang members connected to Nick Cannon. The militia leader had been introduced to them through his contacts in the drug world.

  Joy had been full of questions; however, the goddess had made it clear to her that she was to do as she was told and to remain silent. Shasta Shah’s last words to Joy had filled the young woman with excitement.

  “Once you complete this mission, you’ll be one of my apostles, and you will preside with me over the flock and live inside the palace.”

  The naïve young woman left the bus station that day and was soon plunged into a life of pain, degradation, and hopelessness.

  Joy had been bought for seven thousand dollars, then soon sold again to others. Joy’s new owners expected to make back their money in short order by whoring her out. If she became ill or lasted long enough to age badly, she would be disposed of and tossed in a shallow grave.

  Gracie was inside her bathroom, where she stood in front of the mirror that was hung over the sink. Gracie was wearing a pink nightgown and checking her makeup. She was excited at the prospect of being with Pullo again, and knew she loved him. Thinking of Pullo placed Gracie into a pleasant reverie. She stopped applying lipstick and stood at the sink deep in a trance as she recalled recent memories.

  Lost among inner sights, Gracie never noticed Isaac’s image in the mirror. She was unaware that she was no longer alone until he stepped on a creaking floorboard.

  Gracie spun, saw the odd look in Isaac’s eyes, then the gleam upon the serrated blade he gripped in his hand. Before she could react, Isaac grabbed her by the throat and threatened her with the knife.

  “Scream and I’ll kill you.”

  Gracie managed to squeak out four words. “What do you want?”

  “Nick knows you broke into his office, and Logan thinks you went through the computer. Did you copy something?”

  “No.”

  Isaac laid the knife in the wash basin and slapped Gracie hard across the face.

  “Keep playing games and I’ll get rougher.”

  “Go to hell.”

  Isaac looked down at Gracie. Her curvaceous body was visible beneath the gossamer silk of her negligee.

  He smiled. There was no reason he couldn’t have a little fun before killing her. Isaac began strangling Gracie with both hands.

  She fought him and managed to scratch Isaac on the neck until he leaned closer and buried his face into her hair. An attempt to knee Isaac in the groin was futile as his weight trapped her against the sink. When Gracie tried reaching behind her to grip the knife. Isaac slammed her head against the mirror, causing stars to dance before Gracie’s eyes.

  The violence and the closeness stirred something sick in Isaac, and peripherally, beyond her terror, Gracie became aware of Isaac’s arousal, as he pressed against her.

  And still she fought, until darkness claimed her. Gracie passed out, only moments from death.

  When he was sure she’d been rendered unconscious, Isaac released Gracie’s throat, then he held her up before she could hit the floor. After dragging her out of the bathroom and over to the bed, he laid her atop it. The nightgown had slipped up around her waist revealing her lower half. Isaac was about to slide off the panties she wore when he reminded himself that he had limited time.

  From a pocket he removed lengths of cord and a tie. He used the cord to bind Gracie’s wrists and ankles, before gagging her with the tie.

  Once he had her secured, he began his search. It took Isaac only a few minutes to find the thumb drive Kate had used. It was inside Gracie’s purse, along with the keys that allowed Gracie access into the main house and Nick Cannon’s office. Isaac took the thumb drive into the kitchen and fed it to the garbage disposal. It made a ghastly noise but accomplished the task of destroying the device.

  After checking to see if Gracie had stirred to consciousness, Isaac left to get his truck. He had parked it near one of the shipping containers when he arrived. The Tahoe’s rear door was sitting open when Isaac went back inside to gather his prize.

  Gracie had come to and was struggling to free herself. Isaac laughed at her effort.

  “I could give you a week and you wouldn’t get free.”

  Gracie’s eyes spoke of the hate she held for Isaac. Her mumbled words were nearly intelligible, as the tie made for a poor gag. The truth was it hardly mattered, his aborted strangulation of Gracie had left her unable to speak above a whisper, while it hurt each time she swallowed.

  Isaac went to the closet and found a winter scarf. He wrapped it around Gracie’s mouth several times before tying a knot at its end. It did the trick, and Gracie’s attempts at speech were muted.

  After picking her up and tossing her over his left shoulder, Isaac smacked Gracie on the ass.

  “I am going to have some fun with you, bitch. You’re going to wish you’d been nicer to me.”

  Isaac tumbled Gracie into the rear of the Tahoe, then slammed the hatch closed. With the vehicle’s deeply-tinted windows, it was impossible to tell that Gracie was inside. Isaac shut the rear door of the mess hall and went to get behind the wheel. It was time to leave the base.

  26

  Surprise, Surprise, Surprise

  After finding their tent empty, Kate laid down atop Tanner’s cot and waited for him to return
. Twenty-eight minutes later, Tanner shook her awake, as he and Pullo returned from their raid on the biker’s drug den.

  “This is a nice surprise,” Tanner said.

  Kate smiled, then yawned. “It would have been better if I hadn’t fallen asleep. Where were you guys?”

  “We were taking a test,” Tanner said.

  Kate looked confused by his answer, then she gazed past Tanner to Pullo.

  “Gracie would like you to drop by. I’m sure she’s waited up for you.”

  Pullo grinned. “I won’t keep her waiting any longer.”

  When Pullo left the tent, Tanner joined Kate atop the cot. It was a tight fit for two people on the small mattress, but neither of them seemed to mind.

  Tanner’s hands were exploring beneath Kate’s clothing when Pullo came back. Seeing the worried look on the mobster’s face told Tanner something was wrong. He left Kate’s side and stood.

  “What is it, Joe?”

  “Gracie’s door was unlocked and she’s not at home. The mirror in the bathroom is broken too.”

  Kate got to her feet. “That mirror wasn’t broken when I left, and Gracie was in there putting on makeup.”

  Pullo nodded. “There’s makeup on the sink, and I saw a tube of lipstick on the floor.”

  “Let’s go take a look,” Tanner said.

  Concern clouded Kate’s face as she stared at the broken mirror. When she walked around the rest of the compact living space, she saw that nothing else looked different or out of place. Tanner stayed with Kate while Pullo went to get Logan. Luckily, Logan had still been awake after coming back from the raid.

  Logan feigned confusion as he looked at the scene. After pulling a radio off his belt, he made several calls.

  No one had seen Gracie in hours, and she hadn’t left through either the front or rear gates. When Joe remembered that Isaac was jealous of his relationship with Gracie, he asked Logan to call him.

  “Isaac isn’t here,” Logan said. “He was sent on an errand by Nick Cannon.”

  “What time did he leave?” Tanner said.

  “In the late afternoon,” Logan lied. If asked, the gate guard would back up the story, since Logan had placed two Inner Core members on guard duty.

  “Gracie was still here then,” Kate said. “We didn’t finish in the mess hall until after eight o’clock.”

  Pullo ran a hand through his hair. “We have to search for her. Gracie could be hurt, or maybe she got sick.”

  Logan smiled reassuringly at Pullo. “The base isn’t that big. We’ll find her. I’ll go gather more men to aid in the search.” Logan left out the rear door.

  The base was searched by nine people, including Tanner, Pullo, and Kate. In the morning, Logan led a door-to-door search of the homes in the neighborhood. The residents opened their doors willingly. Gracie was well-liked and many were worried for her. Within hours it was obvious that Gracie was nowhere on base.

  “How could she have gotten off the base without the gate guards seeing her?” Pullo asked Logan.

  “She couldn’t have… unless she climbed over the fence.”

  “Why would she do that? No, she has to be here,” Pullo said. “We need to keep searching.”

  Logan laid a hand on his shoulder. “It won’t do any good. We’ve already looked everywhere.”

  “We can look outside the fence,” Tanner said.

  Logan answered after releasing a sigh. “I’ll organize a new search team; the other men need rest.”

  “I’m not sleeping until we find her,” Pullo said.

  By noon, the areas outside the immediate perimeter of the fence had been covered and the search teams were moving out farther. Logan had given Tanner and Pullo a two-way radio. When the word came that a body had been discovered, Tanner saw a look of pain enter Pullo’s eyes. Tanner spoke into the radio to learn the location of the find and headed there with Pullo.

  The body had been found four miles north of the base on an old dirt road that had once been used by loggers. The corpse lay along the side of the road. There was an ugly gash across its throat and blood coated the face.

  Joe swallowed hard when he looked down at the body, but it was Logan who was shocked by what he was seeing. The dead man on the ground was Isaac, and Gracie was nowhere to be seen.

  27

  Alliances

  No trace of Gracie or of Isaac’s Tahoe were discovered. The populace of the base speculated on what had happened, but no one had any answers. That ended when Tanner, Pullo, and Kate returned to the tent and found Briggs inside waiting for them.

  Brigg’s face was flushed, and his tired appearance hinted that he also hadn’t gotten any sleep. Tanner looked him over and realized he didn’t remember seeing him all day. He also noticed that there was a bloodstain on Briggs’ right sleeve, and more splotches speckled his pants.

  “Have you seen Gracie, Briggs?” Tanner asked.

  “That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Briggs said, then he gestured at Kate, “especially you.”

  “You want to talk to me?” Kate said.

  Briggs took a phone from his pocket. After fiddling with it, he passed it over to Pullo. He then stood near the tent’s open flap, as he made certain no one was close enough to overhear them.

  “Gracie wanted you to see that right away, Joe.”

  Pullo took the phone and saw that there was a photo of Gracie on its screen. She was smiling and holding up a copy of the current day’s newspaper.

  “What the hell is this?” Pullo said. When he looked over at Briggs his eyes had narrowed into slits of suspicion.

  “She’s safe. Gracie is safe, but Isaac abducted her last night.”

  Tanner cocked his head. “You killed Isaac?”

  “It was an accident,” Briggs said. “I had him in a choke hold when he tried to stab me. When I blocked his wrist, the blade went toward him, and he slit open his own throat.”

  “What’s going on?” Kate asked.

  Tanner walked closer to Briggs. “You’re an undercover agent, aren’t you?”

  Surprise at Tanner’s knowledge flickered in Briggs’ eyes. He refused to confirm Tanner’s suspicion, then gave voice to his own wariness.

  “I haven’t figured out what you two are yet.”

  “What do you mean?” Tanner said.

  “I checked out your stories for Logan. You look all right at a casual glance but then I used my… other resources. Up until about a week ago you two didn’t exist.”

  Kate took Tanner’s hand. “Is that true? Your name isn’t Ray Hollis?”

  “We’ll talk later,” Pullo said. “Right now, I want to see Gracie.”

  “I’ll take you to her, and we need to talk more, but not on the base. Meet me at the bowling alley in an hour.”

  Pullo agreed reluctantly, yet he still wanted more information. Briggs told Pullo to accompany him as he went over to his own tent to change. That left Tanner alone with Kate.

  “If you’re not really Ray Hollis, then what should I call you?”

  “You can call me Ray Hollis. That’s who I am while I’m here.”

  “Are you working undercover too?”

  “In a way, and I plan to help you find your sister.”

  Kate was still holding Tanner’s hand, she pulled him down to sit beside her on the cot, then spoke in a low voice.

  “I don’t know who you are, but I trust you.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’m also relieved to know that the authorities are involved. If Nick Cannon is arrested, they’ll make him talk.”

  Tanner shook his head in disagreement. “Cannon will keep his mouth shut and hire a lawyer. Admitting his guilt would only place him in a jail cell.”

  “No, he might be the only one who can tell me how to find my sister.”

  “I’ll make him talk before I kill him.”

  “You’re going to kill him?”

  “Do you know of any reason why he should stay alive after what he’s done?”


  Kate thought about that. She’d been raised to believe that all human life was sacred. She still believed that. However, Nick Cannon had conspired with Shasta Shah to sell her baby sister into sexual slavery. There was nothing sacred about that.

  “I don’t care if he dies, and I wish Shasta Shah could join him.”

  “She’ll be dealt with too.”

  “Killing that witch would only turn her into a martyr.”

  “It would also make her dead,” Tanner said.

  Briggs and Pullo left the base first in Briggs’ pickup, after Briggs changed his clothes. Tanner and Kate followed five minutes later. They all met in the bowling alley’s parking lot, before driving to an out of the way motel in a neighboring town.

  Gracie opened the door as Pullo was approaching the room. The two hugged and held on to each other for long moments as they reunited.

  Once they’d parted from their embrace, Pullo caressed Gracie’s cheek, then used cautious fingers to trace the bruising on her throat. “I was so worried about you.”

  “I’d be dead right now if not for Briggs,” Gracie said. Her voice was hoarse; however, she had recovered enough from her near strangling to speak above a whisper.

  The five of them settled inside the motel room and Briggs explained what had happened.

  “I caught sight of Isaac as he moved his Tahoe to the rear of the mess hall. I thought it was odd and walked over to investigate. When I arrived, Isaac already had Gracie loaded in the rear and was driving off toward the gate. I had no idea he had abducted Gracie, but my instincts told me that something wasn’t right. I sprinted to my pickup and went after him, but I was a good two or three minutes behind him.”