.
Jones watched as the shape moved closer, slipping past the tall trees with a graceful stride, using the darkness of the woods to his advantage. The lack of moonlight made things difficult, but in time Jones learned to distinguish his target from his surroundings. He wore black clothes, black leather boots, and a mask. A gun dangled from his right hand.
A grin appeared on Jones’s face.
The more guards he killed, the better. It would make things easier when they rescued Ariane and the other prisoners. So far, by his count, he had been a part of twenty deaths-thirteen in the ambush, six more on the boat, at least one at the armory-and the number would continue to grow. Hell, number twenty-one was currently approaching.
Without making a sound, Jones shifted his weight slightly, sticking the barrel of his gun through his thick bed of camouflage. He would fire when he had a clean shot and not a second before. No sense wasting a bullet on a maybe.
“Come to Papa,” Jones whispered. “Take another step. Come on. Come on!”
His target finally came into view, no more than fifteen feet in front of him.
But before Jones had a chance to squeeze the trigger, the man whistled softly-a sound that had a meaning only to Jones. This man wasn’t a guard. It was Payne.
“Jon,” he called softly.
Covered in dark mud from the swamp, Payne glanced around, hunting for the source of the sound. He was supposed to rendezvous with Jones in this part of the woods, but his friend’s concealment techniques made him undetectable. There was no way he would find Jones unless he accidentally stepped on him.
“Ollyollyoxenfree.”
A large chunk of the forest’s floor moved as Jones climbed to his knees. To Payne, it looked like an elevator rising from the Earth’s core.
“You’re lucky you whistled. I was going to try to kill you for the second time today.”
Payne shrugged. It seemed like everyone was trying to kill him. “Actually, you’re the lucky one. If you’d killed me, you’d have to fly coach on the way home.”
“Good point. How’d the boat mission go?”
“Just like you planned. I took out the remaining guards without any problems and got the boatload of slaves off the island.”
“That’s great, isn’t it?” Jones studied Payne’s face and could tell he wasn’t happy. “What’s wrong? We just saved several lives. You should be thrilled.”
“Not only did we save several lives, but we knew one of the survivors.”
Jones’s eyes widened with surprise. “Ariane was on the boat?”
Payne shook his head. “The Posse kidnapped her entire family. Her brother-in-law, Robbie, was one of the captives on board.”
“What?” He had met Ariane’s family on several occasions. “Was Tonya on the boat, too?”
“No. They still have her somewhere, and if you remember, she’s pregnant.” Payne paused as he thought about the situation. He knew Tonya was very close to her due date. “That is, if all this trauma hasn’t brought on childbirth.”
Jones could tell his buddy was hurting-it might be a future nephew or niece that he was talking about-so he tried to get Payne’s mind back on the mission. “What did you learn about the others?”
“Not much, but something strange is going on. That boat was filled with families. Moms, dads, kids. These weren’t strangers picked at random. These groups were chosen on purpose.”
“But why?”
“I don’t know.”
“And where were they taking them?”
“I don’t know that, either.”
Jones forced a chuckle. “Shit, you don’t know too much, do you?”
“I guess not,” Payne admitted. “But I do know this. If ten of the captives were on the verge of leaving this place, then there’s a good chance that the second group will be leaving shortly.”
“If that happens, our odds of finding them goes down significantly.”
“You got that right.” Payne checked the ammo in his Glock. “So tell me, Mr. Jones, you’re the brilliant military strategist. What do you recommend we do?”
“That’s easy. Let’s go save some people.”
HOLMES
and Greene were ready to enter Ariane’s room when Jackson’s voice emerged from Holmes’s radio. They had left Jackson five minutes before, and he was already calling.
“What the hell do you want now?” Holmes barked.
“Well, hello to you, too!” Jackson replied. “Sorry to disturb you, but we just heard a bunch of gunshots by the western dock.”
“Damn!” Greene cursed. “They’re going after the boat!” In the back of his mind, he was glad that he’d left his babysitting job when he did. He didn’t want to face Payne and Jones until the odds were more in his favor. “We have to stop these guys before they ruin everything.”
“How do we do that?” Holmes demanded. He had the most military experience of any of them, but he was clueless when it came to Payne and Jones. They were playing in a different league. “You know these guys better than I do. Do they have any flaws that we can exploit?”
Without speaking, Greene pointed to the door in front of him. As far as he knew, their only weakness lay inside the room.
Holmes considered the information, then pushed the button on his radio. “Harris, we’re coming out with the two girls. In the meantime, gather up all the guards and arm them with the best weapons we have. As soon as I get outside, we’re gonna storm the dock.”
“You got it!” Jackson’s voice was a mixture of excitement and concern. “I’ll see ya soon.”
Greene raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Do you think an all-out attack is gonna work on these guys? Won’t they see us coming a mile away?”
“Definitely, but that’s exactly what I want. I’ll have our guys make as much noise as possible, and I guarantee that Payne and Jones will try to slip through a crack and come to the house.” Holmes pointed to the door. “If she means as much to them as you say, they’re just killing time until we leave the home front open. As soon as we make a move, they’ll seize the opportunity.”
Greene nodded in agreement. The plan made perfect sense. “So, while the guards are in the weeds, what are we gonna do with her?”
Holmes grinned sadistically. “We’ll use her to set a trap of our own.”
CHAPTER 49
JUST
as Holmes had expected, Payne and Jones could hear the guards approaching, but it wasn’t because of their military training. All it took was a good set of ears, for the African guards did everything in their power to make as much noise as possible. They’d been told to drive Payne and Jones toward the dock site, where they’d eventually be trapped against the water. Their technique might’ve been successful if they were hunting a man-eater or some other type of game. But Payne and Jones were far more intelligent than a lion. Much more dangerous, too.
“Uh-oh,” Jones joked. “I think somebody’s coming.”
Using the night as their ally, the ex-MANIACs slipped past the squadron of guards without difficulty. They had the opportunity to kill a few men if they had wanted to, but they decided the risk wasn’t worth it. They figured it was probably better if the guards continued their search in the woods while they crept unnoticed toward the main house. No sense rattling their cage if they didn’t have to.
Once the duo reached the edge of the plantation house grounds, Jones asked Payne to stop. He had something on his mind, and he needed to voice it before it was too late.
“You realize, of course, that there’s a very good chance that this is a setup.”
