Chapter 15

A muttering noise roused Rachel. She hadn't realized she was sleeping until she heard Lily mumbling. She came awake quickly. The room was dark, the window covered by a heavy curtain. Rachel didn't know if it was day or night. What she did know was that Lily was regaining consciousness. Rachel scooted up on the bed enough where she could lean over her again. Her eyes were half lidded and swollen. She was likely feverish and hallucinating. Awkwardly, Rachel leaned back enough where she could touch Lily's face. It was very hot. When Rachel's touch made Lily wince, she was immediately sorry. Rachel wiggled and pushed until she could sit up. She wanted to give up, she wanted to cry, she wanted Jack to put a bullet in her head. But she wouldn't allow any of those things to happen. Too much was at stake. She had given Donovan enough physical signals where he knew she was bluffing, but not enough to know where they had been taken. Poor Lily. Those poor girls. What the hell.

"Rachel," Lily said dreamily, her teeth clinched tightly.

She looked over at the other woman. Had the bastard broken her jaw? "Don't talk, Lily, okay? I think someone may have broken your jaw. We're not alone, either. It's Jack, his crazy wife, and Heath Hurtz. They're all in it together. Those two girls, Nancy Beth and Belle, they're also here. I'm going to try to get us help. Frank knows that something is awry, he just doesn't know where we are."

Rachel found herself close to tears. She wouldn't do it. She just wouldn't. She couldn't lose it when these women were counting on her. Struggling to keep from jarring Lily too much on the bed, Rachel moved off it slowly, steadying herself as much as possible. It was easier to move around since they cuffed her up front, but her hands were going to be completely useless. She slowly crept around the room, trying hard not to trip over anything that was on the floor. She was lucky on that point. There was nothing in here but a four poster bed. That was it. She stood still and looked around the room, getting her bearings. All it took to see effectively in the dark was to allow the eyes to adjust. Back in her CIA days, she had been good at that. So had Donovan. He had actually been the one to train her how to control her vision.

She crept toward the side of the room. Using her shoulder, she followed along the side of the wall until she felt a door. She kept moving past the door, searching for another opening. After a while, she found there was only another small door. It had to be a closet. Awkwardly, she managed to grip the door knob and tug open the door. She was right. It was a small closet, empty except for a light bulb, with a long cord attached to it. She moved into the tiny space and lifted her hands up to grab the cord that controlled the switch. Ah. Blessed light. She got a better view of the room. There were light switches all around the room, but there were no other light bulbs in the outlets. Why have a dark room with a lighted closet? It made no sense to her.

With the dim light, she was able to see how serious Lily's injuries were. She at least had a broken jaw. She hobbled over to the bed to assess her a little closer. That was when the door came open. A tall man entered carrying a flash light. It was Heath Hurtz. He leered at Rachel and moved toward the bed. He took Lily by her legs and splayed them apart. He came down on top of her and began ripping at her clothing. The fucking nut job intended to rape Lily right in front of her? Oh hell no. Bound hands or not, Rachel put her old CIA training in motion. She catapulted her body forward, landing directly on top of him. He tried to throw her off. If someone had been watching, it would have looked like Rachel was riding a bucking bronco. When Heath lifted his head enough, that's when she moved. She got her cuffed wrists around his throat and squeezed with as much strength as she could muster.

It was an impossible feat, but she was doing it. She was doing it because the bastard wasn't going to hurt Lily any more. The more he struggled, the harder she squeezed. After a seeming eternity, his movements began to slow down before they quit altogether. She wasn't a fool. He could have always been faking. When she moved off his body, he wasn't doing anything, not moving or breathing. Still, she needed to find a weapon to end him for good. Her eyes caught sight of a knife in his belt holster. She grabbed it quickly, flicked out the blade, and stabbed him in the neck with a primal howl that would have scared the wits out of the most hardened criminals.

Rachel helped Lily move away from Heath Hurtz' body. When that task was complete, she went searching again in Heath's belt holster for a handcuff key. She found one. Working clumsily, fumbling it a few times, she finally released her bonds. Now that she had full control of all her limbs, she began tearing the room apart, looking for a cell phone, for anything. When she didn't find what she was looking for, she stole Heath's flash light and yanked the knife from his neck. She shined the light down on the doorknob. Why hadn't she noticed this? There was a skeleton key sticking right in the lock. She hadn't even felt it. She turned it, heard the lock hitting home, and opened the door.

The hallway was dimly lit. She didn't think Jack or Mary were here. If they had been, she would have already been attacked. She made her way slowly down the hall until she found the room where Nancy Beth and Belle were being held. She took the skeleton key and inserted it into the lock. It came open easily. The girls screamed when they saw the flash light.

Rachel immediately went up to them and shushed them. They clung to her as if she were their favorite rock singer. Both girls were a mess. Heath had raped and beaten them brutally. "You don't have to worry about him anymore," she reassured the girls. "Now, I need you both to be brave. There's another woman down the hall who is really hurt. Can you help me carry her out of here?"

Belle said nothing. She was catatonic. But Nancy Beth nodded. "Yes ma'am, I can. I can do anything as long as it means I get out of here."

She brushed the girl's hair out of her face. "We're getting out. I promise."

Donovan saw Lockwood and Ashcroft acting their roles, but there was no sign of Rachel, Lily, or Hurtz. Where the hell were they? He didn't want to lose his cool just yet, because as far as he knew, Ashcroft didn't think anyone had suspected him of anything. He watched as Ashcroft moved through the crowd with his camera, snapping pictures, flirting with the girls. Lockwood moved along the crowd as well, noting that two girls were missing. He nodded toward Donovan and held up two fingers. He knew exactly what the other man meant. Fuck. Right under his nose. Right under his fucking nose!

He slowly moved through the crowd and approached Lockwood. "Which two? Our two?"

Lockwood nodded. "Not what you wanted to hear, either. However, I was turned on to some information just now."

Donovan and Lockwood walked away from the crowd, out of Jack Ashcroft's view. "Your friend Cody came through," Lockwood said.

He had called Cody earlier after Rachel left with Ashcroft, knowing he was the hacker extraordinaire. He gave him Ashcroft's name, his possible birth place, and apparently he came through for him again. Amazingly so. "What did he find?"

"Jack's from some podunk Florida town called Long Bush. His family had a big estate out there. Years ago, half the property burned. The only thing left is a shed and half the house. He was also willed an old plantation mansion way out in the swamps."

"God bless you, Cody," Donovan mumbled. "We need to find Hurtz and get out there as fast as we can. Both Rachel and Lily are missing."

"That's the thing, Donovan. I haven't been able to rouse Hurtz all day, either. If you ask me, he's with them," Lockwood said, dreading passing along that particular piece of information.

"We need to get moving," Donovan growled. "I want you to put Jack in a pair of bracelets, throw him in the back of your SUV. I'll be along later."

It was time to play dirty. It was time to play Jack Ashcroft's game. Donovan stood back as Lockwood approached Ashcroft, said something to him, and then slapped cuffs on his wrists. Ashcroft was actually laughing about it, as if it were all a joke. Oh. Donovan would make him sorry. Yes he would.

Ashcroft sat in the back of the SUV laughing at Lockwood. "What the fuck is wrong with you, dude? Why am I cuffed? Is this some type of sick joke? When we get back to Miami, I know an agent who is going to be taking some rich psych vacation," he said.

Lockwood smiled at him, his teeth white and gleaming against his dark shadow of a beard. "It's not a joke from how I understand it."

Just then, the back door came open and Donovan slid inside the SUV beside Ashcroft. The other man didn't flinch. He gazed at Donovan the same way he was looking at Lockwood. He thought both men had finally cracked. Perhaps they had. Donovan looked at Lockwood. "Start driving until we're out of town."

Lockwood did as he was told. Donovan was in rare form tonight. Cody warned him that something like this would happen. When Donovan was in a zone, he didn't care what he said or did. He drove for about twenty miles, until all around them there was nothing but gravel roads, bushes, and tall trees. They could smell the marshy air. It wasn't pleasant, but that was okay. Things like this never were pleasant.

"What have you done with Lily, Hurtz, and Rachel?" Donovan asked calmly.

Ashcroft blinked up at Donovan. This fuck had lost his damned mind. "I don't know what you're talking about. I told you that Lily and Rachel were following a lead. Hurtz probably went back to catch a few hours of sleep. How am I supposed to know? I'm not the attendance taker."

With one swift move, Donovan took his side arm out of its holster. He chambered a round. He pointed the gun at Ashcroft. "I'll ask again, Jack. Where are they?"

Ashcroft laughed. "What? If I don't say anything, you're going to shoot me? Kill me? Go ahead. How can I give you information if I'm dead?"

"You can't," Donovan said calmly. "But you can with a wounded leg."

He looked at Donovan as if he had lost his mind. "What?"

Before a moment passed, Donovan fired his weapon. The bullet lodged in an area on Ashcroft's thigh that would cause great pain, but wouldn't bleed him out. He screamed in pain, cursed at both men, and knew he could not do much about his situation. He gritted his teeth, moaned against the pain. He had never been shot ever in his tenure with the agency. And who would it be to shoot him? Frank Fucking Donovan.

"Let's try this again, shall we," Donovan said. "Where are they? There is no sense in acting innocent or as if you know something we don't. We know you're one half of the TSK team. Who is the other half?"

Ashcroft was in immense pain, but he found it in him to laugh out loud. "What do you want to know first guys? Do you want to know where the women are or who my accomplice is?"

Donovan hated playing games with suspects. He absolutely hated it. These moves, of course, were full CIA. However, Lockwood had agreed to play along. He hated dirty agents. They made him physically sick. He didn't want to take it to the next level, but he would if pressed. Two young girls and two young women important to him were in peril. He saw that Ashcroft's leg was bleeding, but not that much. However, it would begin gushing in a moment. Donovan reached over the other man, balled his hand into a fist and smashed it down onto Ashcroft's injury. He banged his head against the back of the seat, screamed in pain, but found it in him to smile. This was one sick fuck they were dealing with.

"Fuck you," Ashcroft growled.

"Wrong answer," Donovan said calmly and hit the other man's thigh again.

Ashcroft's screams were deafening in the SUV, Lockwood wondered if anyone could hear him out here in the boonies. He hoped not. There were lives at stake and if it took beating the shit out of the scumbag to get what they needed, go for it. This, after all, was special ops FBI, not the police.

Donovan held the gun up toward Ashcroft's temple. "What if I were to find your woman. You do have a woman, don't you, Jack? It's not Rachel. We both know that. What if we found her, persuaded her a bit, as we are persuading you. We could do that, we could drive out and find her."

Although this was a blatant bluff, it was usually a good tactic. Most men loved their women and would do anything for them. If this fuck was capable of love, he would protect his woman. They had a good idea who she was, but they didn't know where she was.

"You won't touch her," he sneered. "She would never be found by douche bags like you."

Donovan nodded politely, then dug his fingers into the gaping wound in Ashcroft's jeans. He pushed through damaged tissue, nerves, whatever he could manipulate. This move not only made Ashcroft cringe, but also made Lockwood uncomfortable. Ashcroft gritted his teeth together. The string of curse words that left his mouth would make the raunchiest of people blush. Donovan didn't care, he continued to grind his fingers into the wound, not caring about the blood on his hands. When he finally withdrew, he wiped Ashcroft's blood indifferently on his own shirt.

"What next, Jack?" Donovan asked. "Do I shoot your other leg? All you need to do is answer a question. Where are the women? Where are the girls?"

"I'm not talking. Torture away, fucker," he said sweetly.

Donovan returned his sweet smile, then did an upshot move with the heel of his hand. It connected with Ashcroft's nose, breaking it, lowering him down into a pleasant unconsciousness. He glanced at Lockwood who had been watching all this unfold with an interesting facial expression. "We go to the property. Maybe they're hidden away there. If we haven't found them by the time he wakes up, I'm taking out his other leg. Let's go."

Unbelievably, the women found a wheelchair on the bottom floor of the plantation. It was old, but still in good shape. Lily had no use of her legs and needed assistance to escape. Rachel feared that she was injured far worse than she thought. The three of them helped pile Lily into the chair. They slowly made their way out of the mansion. It was pitch black. The only light came from the flash light Rachel stole from Heath. As soon as they got outside, she turned it off in case Mary was around somewhere. There were no cars around, so she was pretty sure Mary wasn't in the vicinity. The bad thing about it was that they were completely lost.

Belle was still in a state of shock, she continued pushing Lily along in the wheelchair, but only because she was told to do so. She could only follow simple directions. However, Nancy Beth seemed more aware of herself and her surroundings.

"Do you have any idea where we are?" Rachel asked.

She stood still for a moment and looked around. When the weird guy brought them out here, he had turned left onto the road they were now walking on. "I think we need to go right. I remember a left turn when we came in."

"Good, good girl," Rachel said, encouraging her. "Maybe if we get to a paved road, we can find some help."

They were going along nicely, on a straight trajectory toward civilization. Rachel even thought she saw some lights from houses in the distance. Maybe they were getting somewhere. Their hopes were dashed when they saw a set of headlights heading their way. This had to be Mary. And it was. When she saw them outside, trying to escape, she was pissed. She used her car as a weapon, aiming madly at the group of women. Rachel tried to stop her, but Belle ran right in front of the car, waving her arms for help. She didn't realize it was the woman responsible for getting them in such a mess. The car plowed into the young girl mercilessly. Nancy Beth screamed and jumped into a nearby drainage ditch. Rachel was left with Lily in the wheelchair. She couldn't bare to look at Belle's crumpled body.

"Go, Rachel, run," Lily managed to say painfully, dully.

"No, Lily, I won't leave you," she stated harshly.

"Let her hit me," she demanded. "Hit the ditch with the kid. Do it now!"

By then, Mary was making another turn, another round to get Rachel and Lily. When Rachel refused to move, Lily kicked her with all the strength she could muster. It was enough to knock her down. Mary's car hit Lily's wheelchair broadside, knocking it flat. Rachel tried to run for Lily, to get her out of the way, but Mary pounced, rolling over Lily as if she were road kill. Rachel would never forget the sound of Lily's breaking bones, the way her head exploded like a melon. It was a gruesome image, a gruesome way to die.

Instead of jumping in the ditch with Nancy Beth, Rachel stood right in front of the car, letting Mary see that she had a huge target. Oh, but Mary didn't want to hit Rachel. Rachel was going to give her and Lincoln their baby. She slammed on the brakes just inches from Rachel's thighs.

Mary, injured herself from her own antics, limped out of the car. She had no weapon. Hers was the car. It was ruined. "Now come on back, honey. We've gotta take care of our baby."

Rachel stood still. She would let Mary believe she was cooperating. What Mary didn't know was that Rachel had Heath's knife hidden at her side. As soon as she drew close, she would make her pay for killing Lily and Belle.

Mary moved closer and closer still. She held out her hand and Rachel took it without an argument. As soon as Rachel had a good grip on Mary's hand, she yanked her forward forcefully, quickly plunging the knife into Mary's neck before the woman had time to figure out what happened. She lay on the dirt road, cawing and gawping through the blood. Rachel would never admit the joy she felt at watching this woman die. She had murdered so many people, people Rachel loved, people Rachel had started to love. Rachel yanked the knife out of Mary's neck and ran toward the ditch where Nancy Beth had jumped. The girl was still there, completely exposed. If there were alligators out here, she would make them a meal.

Rachel held out her hand. "Come on, hun. We're safe. She's gone."

She helped the girl out of the ditch. The bodies of her friend and Lily were relatively close and easy to see. Rachel tried to shield her as best as she could. No one needed to witness the carnage. There should have been none. She did not know what was going on with Frank or Jack. She hoped Frank was somewhere safe.

"Maybe we can find a house up ahead with a phone," Rachel said gently, steering the curious girl away from the bodies. "We need to call the police." Yes, call the police, but mostly she needed to speak to Frank.

Donovan and Lockwood pulled into the driveway of the ruined house. Nearby was a shed, which looked like it had work recently done on it. Both Lockwood and Donovan approached the shed with guns drawn. Donovan motioned for Lockwood to flank the right of the shed while he took the left. Without another thought, Donovan kicked in the door. It broke easily. The first thing they noticed was the smell. It was death, and it permeated the entire shed, quickly coming out in the night air. Donovan went back to the SUV, checked Ashcroft, and then brought back two masks.

The men entered the shed, noticing that it was neatly arranged with lock boxes of various shapes and sizes. All of them had locks. Most were regular dime store jobs, so they knew they could look inside any of them if they wished. Before Donovan gave the order, Lockwood brought out his tool kit from his belt and found a screw driver to pry open the boxes. The first they found was the one Lily saw. Lockwood pried it open and immediately looked away.

"It's tissue, Donovan, probably from Nona Pope," he said sickly.

"Don't touch anything else, I'm calling in a crime scene team and the FBI from Miami. It will take them hours to get here." Then something caught his eye. It was a necklace. He leaned down to look at it. It belonged to Lily. He remembered seeing her wearing it on more than one occasion. "Dear God, Jess, Lily was here."

"Should we beat it out of him some more?" Lockwood asked, ready to take up the task.

He shook his head. "No. We stay together until the police get her to seal this off. Once that happens, I need to find the plantation. That's the only place they can be."

It didn't take long for the local police to arrive. Once Donovan was certain they could take care of the scene until Miami arrived, he and Lockwood took off to find the plantation. They drove for seeming hours trying to find it. Ashcroft was no help. He was still unconscious from the blow to his nose. There was blood all over the bastard. It made Donovan feel good to make the guy hurt. He deserved it. Donovan stopped at a local convenience store for directions. While there, he grabbed three large bottles of water.

Before they took off again, Donovan sat in the back with Ashcroft. Mercilessly, he poured the water all over Ashcroft's face, trying to rouse him. He groaned in pain, gagging on the water, spitting it out. Donovan continued until he begged him to stop.

"What do you want now?" Ashcroft moaned, whining like an insolent baby.

"Tell me where your grandfather's plantation is," Donovan demanded, more than ready to dig his fingers into the man's thigh wound.

"I don't remember," he said stubbornly.

Without mercy, Donovan took his Glock and pounded the wound on Ashcroft's leg. The man bit down on this bottom lip to stifle the scream. "So, you want to play this game again, Jack? I think it's time for me to shoot your other leg. What do you think?" For good measure, he chambered another round.

"Stop fucking shooting me," Ashcroft half demanded, half moaned. "I don't want to hurt anymore. Mary Gold is my wife," he began. "She doctored all my evaluations to hide the fact that I was in the mental hospital when I was a kid. She altered drug tests for Heath Hurtz. He works for us as well." He rolled his red rimmed eyes over to Donovan. "We served together a long time, and you treat me like this?"

"Shut up, you son of a bitch, or I'll end your life," he said severely. "I want to find Lily, I want to find Rachel, I want to find those girls, but right now, I want to see you dead. Do you believe that?"

At this point, Lockwood had begun to feel as if Donovan was no longer bluffing. He wanted to open his mouth and protest. He hated dirty agents as much as the next guy, but this was going too far. He opened his mouth, but he saw a very discreet shake of Donovan's head. It was another bluff. A totally believable bluff.

"Okay, Frank, okay. Hurtz and Mary took them all to the plantation. We gave the girls to Hurtz. He did what he wanted with them until I was ready to take what I wanted. I think he may have taken Lily, too. I don't know. I left. Rachel is there with Lily. Rachel is having my kid, Donovan. She is having it and giving it to Mary and me."

Donovan laughed. It wasn't a normal laugh. It was trifle, evil, completely unbalanced. "Whatever happens tonight, Jack, you'll never see that child. From this point on, that child is mine. The only thing you will see is a padded room and a straight jacket. That's it. Say goodbye to your wife. You will never see her again. I will make her talk just like I made you talk." For good measure, he whacked Ashcroft's good leg. "Tell us how to find the plantation."

Rachel and Nancy Beth walked for a mile or more, but the houses they saw seemed further and further away. Nancy Beth wasn't wearing any shoes and her feet were blistered, bleeding, and useless. Halfway away from the mansion, Rachel stopped and gave Nancy Beth her shoes. They walked for a while, traded the shoes, and continued on.

"What if that other man comes back?" Nancy Beth asked. "What will we do?"

Rachel gazed down at the young girl. She had vibrant eyes much like her own. This girl could almost be her daughter. Rachel still had the gore streaked knife she used on Mary. She could use it on Jack with no problem. "Don't worry about him, honey. I'll take care of you."

At that point, Nancy Beth started crying, covering her face with her grimy hands. "I can't walk no more, Rachel. I just can't. Can't we just sit here for a minute?"

Rachel wanted to push the girl along, keep walking, but she remembered the ordeal she had suffered. She put her arm around the girl and held her. "Sure we can. For just a minute."

The two of them sat down on the dirt road. All Nancy Beth had on was her tattered skirt and a jacket that Rachel had given her. The girl was no more than seventeen and she had gone through things most women never did. She put her arm around the girl again and held her close. Nancy Beth let go with gut wrenching sobs as the night's events began to hit her. She had been raped, she saw her friend raped, then killed, and watched as Mary rolled her car over Lily, making her seem no more than a pile of rags.

"All I wanted was to be queen of that stupid pageant," Nancy Beth cried. "That's all! That's all I wanted."

"Sweetie," Rachel began. "You still have next year."

"I don't want it no more," she cried. "I want to help people now. I want to do what you do. Get the bad guys. Get the guys who hurt people like those assholes tonight. That's what I want with my life."

Rachel kissed her forehead. "It's a good goal."

Nancy Beth looked up at her with hopeful eyes. "Will you help me?"

She smiled. "Of course I can."

They sat together, two survivors, with their arms thrown around each other for comfort. They sat so long, they did not notice a set of headlights heading toward them. It was Nancy Beth who noticed first. She jerked away from Rachel and immediately rolled down into another ditch. Rachel sprang to her feet, her hand grasping the hasp of the knife. When the car drew nearer, she immediately broke her stance. Oh God. Thank God.

As Donovan and Lockwood drew closer to the mansion, they saw two figures huddled on the dirt road. When they approached, they saw a body fly into a ditch, then another stand to attention. It was then that Donovan recognized Rachel. His thoughts were the same as hers. Oh God. Thank God.

Barely giving the SUV time to stop, Donovan was out of the vehicle and over to Rachel. She then gave up her stance as a protector. She literally jumped into Donovan's arms, wrapping her legs around his waist. Screeching tears left her. They were of sadness and happiness. When Nancy Beth heard this, she climbed out of the ditch and realized she was saved. As soon as the embrace broke, Donovan, Rachel, and Nancy Beth turned toward the SUV. The killer was there. The killer was a man they would all grow to hate, to fear for the rest of their lives.

"Where is Lily?" Donovan asked.

Rachel looked away from him for a moment, glanced at Nancy Beth, and then focused her eyes on Donovan's face. "She's dead, Frank," she whispered. "Jack's crazy wife ran her over like a woodchuck. She saved me, Frank. She saved my life."

He took her into his embrace again. He was as upset about Lily as Rachel was. None of them wanted to see an agent die, but when a good one, one they both knew, passed, it wasn't easy to reconcile.

"His wife?" Donovan asked, his voice falling in her ear.

Rachel pulled away to look at him again. "I took care of her, I also took care of Hurtz. He was with them, he attacked those poor girls. Mary also killed Belle Steele. Her body is with Lily's."

He nodded, immediately feeling loss strike at his heart. If things had gone differently, he would have been with Lily. She didn't deserve to die like that. "When we get sufficient back up this way, we'll take you and Nancy Beth to the ER."

"I want to be with you when you take Jack back to Miami," she said.

He shook his head almost violently. "No. I don't want you near him. He's dangerous, but I can handle him. You stay here, you stay with Chief Shempert. I'll come back for you."

"Yes, you do that," she whispered. "I love you so very much, Wilson."

He held her again, kissing the top of her head, loving her warmth, her scent, her body, the simple fact that she was alive. "Me too, Iris."