Becks Takes A Vacation
CHAPTER ELEVEN
A few minutes previously
The sun was just rising as Sue pulled her jeep under a large pine just off the trail that they had been following throughout what was left of the night. She could see they were coming upon a crest of a hill, where she could see an area of open sky not being shared with the tops of trees.
She turned off her vehicle. "I want to approach the crest of that hill ahead on foot. It looks as if it might open up to a large clearing. Also, I want to look around here to see if we can find the dirt bike Becks was riding."
Guy was standing next to the front fender as she stepped out. A low growl rumbled in the back of Jocko's throat. He still didn't trust Coyote, or Guy. Joseph hushed the suspicious wolf, then seemed to have a quiet but firm discussion with his companion.
"Why don't I take a quick look around us? You can stay here and decide how we approach a possible clearing." She nodded and he stepped away, transforming into Coyote as he did. When he wanted to he could move very fast in that form.
Joseph had gotten out of the jeep, and let Jocko out to go do his business. Sue stood staring at the top of the hill, her lips were pursed.
"What are you thinking?" Joseph asked.
Sue let go of a sigh. "I'm a bit afraid to go look over that hill. What if there is nothing to see once we crest the hill. I don't know what I'll do if we can't find her."
Joseph squeezed her shoulder. "We'll find her."
Sue looked up at her weathered friend. "How do you know?"
The old Indian shrugged. "Because we have to."
Sue rolled her eyes. Then reached down and scratched behind Jocko's ears as the wolf sidled up against her leg. She felt Jocko tense up as she saw Coyote, then Guy return to the car.
He had a frown on his face when he confronted Sue. "I found the bike. It's hidden about fifteen yards back in the trees."
Sue allowed herself a slight smile. "That must mean we are getting close. She must have thought the same way we did. She wanted to approach carefully so as not to be seen until she knew what she was looking at."
Sue turned to Jocko and knelt. "If you are going to come along with us, you have to behave." She pointed to Guy. "This is a friend of mine, and of Becks' so you have to get along, okay?" She heard the rumble subside as Jocko looked her in the eye.
The four of them walked next to the trees as they slowly approached the top of the hill. Suddenly Sue stopped and signaled everyone to stop.
"What was that? Did you hear it?" Sue questioned.
Guy looked at her. Jocko's ears were perked forward. "Hear what?"
Sue started moving faster. "It sounded like a gun shot."
They all reached the top of the hill and saw the large prefabbed warehouse. They saw the letters painted on the roof spelling out McKinney Tractor Company.
Then another gun shot rang out and their attention was turned to a door in the back of the building being thrown open and a woman was sprinting away toward the crest of the hill.
Sue gasped. It was Becks!
Around the front corner of the building a short man dressed in a dark suit along with three other men wearing kakis and holding rifles came into view. They began shooting at their friend.
It was happening so fast that everyone was stunned into immobility as Becks half climbed and half ran up the slope. Suddenly she jerked and was thrown partially to the ground. Using just one arm and her legs she continued to scramble up the hill.
Another shot rang out that sounded like it struck something hard and ricocheted. Becks stumbled and hit the ground.
"Becks!" Sue screamed.
Jocko took off in a sprint. Guy transformed into Coyote and followed the mad wolf down the slope. Joseph punched Sue in the arm.
The punch from Joseph shook her out of her confusion. She quickly formed a sigil in white which immediately disappeared. Instantly the wind began to pick up. It gained velocity quickly and began to swirl around the gunmen below. Another sigil was formed. This one was brown and it too disappeared as soon as it was formed. Dust and dirt began to rise into the air and become caught in the fierce winds bombarding the four men who'd been firing at Becks.
Sue and Joseph made their way down the steep slope as quickly as they could. Jocko had run down to the laid out form of Becks and stood straddling her. The wolf stood defiant, staring hate toward the gunmen growling all the while.
Coyote rushed past Becks and got amongst the four men, who were by now firing blindly. A couple of bullets found their way to his flesh, but it was only like the sting of a bee to him.
Being a spiritual creature, his Coyote form was only partially in this world. Whereas he could feel a bullet hit, it didn't have the power to cause any damage to his form. But, being a Spirit of Mischief and Trickery, he was not a killer. Instead he knocked them over, or slashed at their arms and legs until they weren't able to continue the battle.
Once he had them all on the ground in front of him, and he'd slapped their weapons out of their hands he let go a high pitched howl. Immediately the faux sandstorm vanished.
Still in his Coyote form, he paced in front of the fallen criminals growling and allowing some slobber to drip from his jaws. He was a very imposing sight, if he did say so himself. The weapons had been kicked several feet away from the groaning men.
Sue and Joseph knelt down next to Becks after convincing Jocko that he didn't have to protect her anymore.
"How bad are you hurt?" Sue gasped out her concern.
Becks groaned as they helped her sit up. "If I don't bleed out I should be okay. The shoulder wound was a through and through, and my calf was torn, but I don't know if the bullet is still in there." Just those few words seemed to tire her out and she found herself leaning against Jocko who stood like a statue at her side.
Sue glanced down to where Coyote was intimidating the drug lord and his flunkies. "I'm going to have Joseph," She almost smirked at the look Jocko gave her. "And Jocko help you to the car."
"You brought the Jeep?" Becks was surprised.
"Yeah, it seemed like the right thing to do… or just lucky." Sue helped Joseph get Becks into a wobbly standing position. Jocko leaned against her weak side to keep her upright.
Sue chewed her bottom lip. "I've got to secure those guys somehow, then I'll come back up and we'll check you out."
Becks grinned and nodded toward the back of the building. "There is a large dumpster at the back of the building there."
Sue looked over and spied the large metal dumpster. She turned to Becks and grinned.
"Also," Becks added. "The log building is where they make the product from the plants. And one of the stupid guards let on that the guys that work there have gone to Winnipeg to pick up supplies."
"Anyone else I need to worry about?" Sue asked.
Becks shook her head. "No, the Indian women who tend the plants all ran out of here as soon as the shooting started."
Becks put her right arm over Joseph's as he tightly wrapped his arm around her waist and half-lifted her against him as they slowly shuffled up the hill. Jocko never strayed from her side.
Sue hurried down the slope until she was next to Coyote. She went to the pile of weapons and grabbed the pistol the short man had carried and stuck it in her waistband. She then took one of the rifles and with her other hand grabbed another rifle and walked over to Coyote. She held one of the rifles out toward him.
After transforming into Guy, which caused some extra anxiety for their captives, he grabbed the other rifle from Sue and waited for her play.
"Okay scum bags," She had trouble holding back a grin. "I've always wanted to say that." She gestured for them to get up.
With Guy at her side she perp walked them back toward the warehouse, then around the back. She marched them up to the garbage dumpster. It was a fair sized metal dumpster, complete with squeaky wheels and two hinged covers.
The short man in the dark suite snarled. "What do you think you're doing?"
Sue's eyes held them with a flint-like hardness. "I want you boys to get into that dumpster."
There was a chorus of 'no way's and 'are you nuts'. The short man returned her glare.
"And if we don't?"
Sue lifted her rifle and pointed it at him. "Then I shoot you. I don't have time to dick around with you or your mentally challenged chimps." She pulled back the hammer on the rifle. "Your choice."
The short man looked at his men and jerked his head toward the dumpster. They all had a defeated look on their faces as they clumsily climbed into the large can.
"Hey, there's garbage in here!"
Sue couldn't help herself, she started to laugh. Guy raised his brow and signaled with his rifle barrel to the others that they should get in. After the three stooges where ensconced in the dumpster the short man, who was obviously the boss, turned toward Sue.
"You've made yourself a big mistake sweet cheeks. You have no idea who you're messing with."
Sue allowed herself a big slow smile. "Neither do you. If you hadn't hurt my friend I would have been satisfied with just putting the authorities up your ass. But since you did now I have to play rough."
Sue walked over and stuck her face right next to his. "You see all this you have here?" Sue waved at the building and the grounds. "It's gone." Her smirk looked downright nasty. "And you know what else? I'm a journalist, and when I write up this story, I'm not even going to mention your name. You'll spend the rest of your life as a faceless, nameless number."
She poked him with her rifle barrel and he walked over to the dumpster. He was too short to climb in on his own so his flunkies had to pull him in with them.
She flipped the two part lid closed and dropped the two hasps over the locking loops. Guy came over and handed her one piece of branch he found nearby, and he took another one. Together they forced the branches into the loop in lieu of a padlock. Satisfied that they had no chance to shake those branches loose, she turned and walked away.
"We need to see about Becks injuries."
The two of them scrambled up the slope to the crest of the hill.
Once they reached the jeep they could see Joseph fussing over Becks, who was sitting on the hood of the vehicle. Her calf was bandaged up with some soft shiny white cloth. Joseph was working on putting a second pressure pad against her shoulder and had some more of the shiny white cloth in his hand.
Sue walked up. "How is she?"
"I'm fine," snapped the ornery young woman.
Joseph gave her a sideways glance then turned to Sue. "She was lucky. She was right, the shoulder was a through and through. When I went to examine the calf wound, the bullet fell out. It was a deep graze." Joseph straightened up. "I got that one wrapped okay, now I just have to secure the pressure pads on her shoulder." He began to wrap more of the shiny white fabric around her shoulder.
Sue watched him for a few moments. "Where did you get your bandages?"
Joseph gave Sue a wry grin. "I found a pair of PJs in your suitcase that fit the bill. They were soft and smooth so as not to irritate the wound. And the fabric was a very tight weave so as not to be too porous, better containment."
Sue's face fell. "My favorite silk pajamas."
Guy put his arms around her from behind and whispered in her ear. "Was I ever going to see them?"
She looked up and gave him a face. "Not now you aren't."
Becks held her right hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles.
Regaining her composure, Becks, placed that hand on Joseph's arm. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate you bandaging me back together." The old man just nodded. "Where did you learn how to do this?"
Sue answered. "He was a medic in Viet Nam." She pats the tall Indian on the arm. "It's not a time he likes to remember."
Guy interrupts. "You told that short, full of himself fellow, that you were going to make his operation gone." He stares into Sue's eyes. "What did you mean?"
Sue clenched her fists. "Just what I said. It's going to take time for us to bring the RCMP in on this. Since this is Manitoba they have jurisdiction."
Guy furrowed his brow. "RCMP?"
Sue smiled. "Royal Canadian Mounted Police."
"Dudley Do Right!" Becks said amongst her laughing.
Sue just nodded. "It will take time to get a hold of people I know who will even listen to me. And it will take time for them to come up here and check things out. And I don't even know where exactly this place is."
Sue paced. "I think it best if I 'disable' this operation, then let the Mounties know what had been going on here."
Guy frowned. "What about the men you left in the dumpster?"
Sue shrugged. "I seriously doubt that they will starve to death in a couple of days. And anyway, I'm sure they can find something to tide them over in that dumpster."
Everyone else made a face.
Sue turned to Becks. "What can you tell me about how the buildings are laid out?"
Becks chuckled. "The back door isn't locked. Apparently they run 24 hours a day. Two shifts of six women tending the plants. Since no other shift showed up today, I'm assuming that the ladies who ran out once the shooting started went back to where ever they get their help from and passed the word so the day shift stayed home."
Becks took a breath. "The opium poppies are in large planters on rows of tables, about waste high off the floor. There are banks of grow lights which I assume are on 24/7. It's heated by a large steam boiler which disperses the heat through a grid work of metal pipes and tubes. They keep it pretty warm in there."
Becks seemed to look inward. "I imagine you saw the other building?"
Sue nodded. "You mean the log building?"
Becks nodded. "Yes, but while I was never inside it I was told that was where they processed the poppies into whatever they wanted to produce for ship and sale."
Sue was chewing on her lip. "Okay."
"Oh," Becks blurted out. "I was told that they get their electricity from a generator at the back of that log building. It's a fuel driven generator and it's contained in a wooden shack behind the log building."
Sue smiled. "That's convenient."
She tapped Guy on the shoulder as she moved back toward the crest of the hill. He followed and the two of them made their way back down the slope toward 'McKinney's Tractor Company'.
The couple approached the back of the huge warehouse and stopped next to the dumpster. Sue pounded on the sheet metal cover several times. She hoped she damaged their hearing.
"I just wanted to warn you that in a few minutes you might hear some noises. Some might be really loud. Not to worry, that will just be me destroying your operation. And so you know that I'm not going to forget about you. Once I'm done here, I'll call my friends in the RCMP to let them know where they can come to pick up the garbage."
Not bothering to listen to the foul language being shouted from the confines of the metal can, Sue went directly to the door and opened it.
"Whoa, Becks wasn't kidding about this place." Sue exclaimed as she and Guy entered the large building.
Sue noted the dirt floor, the rows of tables holding planters of opium poppies, and the small desk over in the far corner. She also noted the large boiler that provided the steam heat for the building and the considerate grid work of tubes and pipes up near the ceiling which delivered that heat. While not the most efficient method of heating such a large building, it had the added advantage of providing additional humidity for his crop of tropical plants.
Sue walked over to the boiler and checked the gauges and noted what pressure it maintained to keep the steam flowing throughout the building. A plan formed in her mind. It would take quite a bit out of her to achieve, but she needed to end this operation once and for all.
She walked back to the end of the building opposite the boiler. Her first thought had been to just use her gifts to concentrate the pressure in the boiler until it blew, and thus let the tropical poppy plants freeze to death over the next few nights. But she rejected that idea. She needed a better statement.
She glanced at the junction points of the piping that hung directly above the planters. She quickly drew a white sigil in the air, then a blue one. Both of which disappeared right after she formed them. Then she focused her concentration.
She used her ability to move the air and water in the pipes until she concentrated all the pressure into those junctions. She watched the pipes begin to bulge from the excessive pressure she was causing in those multiple spots.
Suddenly there was the sound of the metal pipes popping rivets and splitting at the seams by those pressured points. Super-heated water began to rain down on the plants. She and Guy had stepped back so as not to be scalded by the water.
Next, she drew a brown sigil and another white sigil, and the dirt on the floor around the row of tables was lifted in the air and hovered over the tables. Being drenched by the super-heated water, the dirt was driven down onto the plants as nearly boiling mud.
Sue smiled at the result. She took a deep breath and moved down the line. She repeated her procedure as she moved to the next row of tables. There were several rows of tables to deal with but Sue was determined that there would be no viable poppy plants left in this building when she was done.
It took her longer than she thought it would to finish off her statement destruction of the plants and she found herself leaning against Guy to help her stay standing.
She stumbled over to the boiler and noticed how low the pressure had fallen. Not unexpected since she'd bled it all off by bursting the pipes. Just for good measure she turned the boiler completely off. Now, once it eventually cooled off in the building, there would be no hope of any surviving plants
"Are you going to be alright?" The concern was evident in his voice.
She nodded. "Yeah, I'm really wiped, but I'll just need to rest for a while once we're done here. Come on, we have one more building to deal with." She stopped him with her hand. "Grab me that paper desk calendar from the desk and bring it with you."
With a frown on his face Guy picked up the large paper calendar and followed Sue out the front egress door and across the gravel pad toward the log house.
She tried the door but it was locked. There were no windows so she couldn't see how it was arranged inside. It didn't matter, it had to come down.
She walked around the back and came across the wooden shack that Becks had mentioned to her. The door had a small hasp and padlock securing the door. Guy reached down and ripped the whole thing out of the wooden door.
Sue grinned. "They should have used longer screws."
She saw the generator chugging away. She also saw the large tank that held the fuel that kept the lights on, and provided any other electrical needs. It was pretty much as she expected she'd find.
"Do you have that large paper desk calendar I asked you to bring?"
He raised his brow at her and handed over the requested item. She walked over to the fuel tank and unscrewed the cap over the filler spout.
She rolled up paper calendar up in a tube until she could fit it through the filler spout and into the fuel. She then reached into her back pocket and pulled out a book of matches.
"You carry matches?" Guy shook his head. "You're a gifted elemental. You can control air, earth, water, and fire. Why would you need matches?"
Sue patted Guy on the cheek. "I can manipulate fire, I can't create it. I've found that sometimes it can come in handy to have my own way to also create the fire."
She checked again to see how far above the fuel the paper tube she'd made stuck up. She wanted to make sure they had time to get away.
Sue glanced behind her. There were trees about twenty feet behind the log house. She nodded toward them.
"When I light this, run for those trees. We should be able to hide behind some and protect ourselves from any debris that might fly our way." Guy just nodded.
Sue took out a match and stuck in on the scratch pad. The little match flared and Sue carefully set the edge of her tube on fire. It caught and began to eat away at the paper tube.
Sue and Guy hightailed it toward the trees. They had barely reached them when suddenly the shed was afire, then moments later the generator blew up showering the area with smoldering chunks of wood.
Sue made sure that any chunks of wood that didn't land on the gravel was put out. Then she turned her attention to the log house which was beginning to flame itself.
Like a child enchanted by a campfire, Sue watched the log house become a roaring fire crackling in the afternoon sun. Occasionally she'd hear a loud crack, or a small explosion as volatile chemicals that would be used in the processing of the poppy to its more nefarious forms reacted to the flames. A smile crossed her face. Her work here was done.
She grabbed Guy's hand as they came out from the trees.
"Come on," she said. "We've got to get Becks to a doctor. Preferably one who can be convinced not to report her gunshot wounds to the police."
They strolled by the burning building and around the cooling metal warehouse until they reached the foot of the slope upward to the crest of the hill that overlooked the compound.
Sue leaned into Guy, her head against his chest. "I'm afraid you are going to have to help me up this hill. My legs are like rubber."
Guy chuckled, put his arm around her waist and lifted such that her feet didn't touch the ground.
"Shouldn't be a problem."
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A/N: Okay, the heavy lifting appears to be done. Now we just have a final chapter to tie up all the loose ends and get all of our players back to where they belong.
All Readers are Appreciated, Review if you wish.