"New Horizons" PART TWO

Fifth Avenue flashed past one…two…three police issues as Ranger Walker led the charge in pursuit of the latest minor drug ring effort of Wade Mahoney. Those familiar silver headlights flashed in and out of unison with the sirens behind them as Walker slammed on the brakes, turning the steering wheel sharply into a narrow right turn down a secluded dirt path. Towering dust clouds engulfed the Dodge Ram and the police cars that followed the path blazed by Walker just a fraction of a second before them.

Meanwhile, Trivette took hold of the passenger side door just in time as Walker sped into and out of a rather large pothole. "Sheesh!" Trivette mumbled with a slight edge of vibrato brought on by another small gap in the dirt road a short second or two later. The thought crossed his mind rather swiftly that he should hold on to his hat. But there was no time. They were on time and about two minutes from descending upon one of Wade Mahoney's smaller organizations.

It had not taken much for one of Mahoney's lower henchmen to give in when threatened with a rather long sentence behind bars. Walker had wondered to himself how Mahoney's cartel was surviving this long with wimps and cowards like Jameson leading the way who had so quickly given in when interrogated. It also made the Rangers wonder just how many more hoops they'd have to jump through before getting close to the number one man himself. They had already spent the past week shutting down nearly fifteen little pockets and associations of Mahoney's vast cartel like the one they were pursuing today. God only knew how many more it would take before making the climb right up to the powerful Wade Mahoney…wanted by both the United States and Mexico as the leader of the seventh largest drug cartel in the western hemisphere.

With a distant building drawing closer and closer, Trivette prepped himself, unbuckling the seat belt with one hand while hovering over the door's handle with his other hand. Coming to a screeching halt and a slight swerve to the left as Walker put the Dodge into park, Trivette swung outward with the door as it left the lock and opened freely on its hinges. He landed safely, his boots clashing into the gravel with a scraping noise as he dug his heels in, arms held outstretched, gun in hand and pointed towards the building from around the edge of the door. He stayed crouched down just enough to give half of his body cover.

One of the officers drew a megaphone from his patrol car and tossed it to Walker from a distance. Walker gripped the item with a disdainful sigh and raised it to his lips. "Texas Rangers! We have a warrant for your arrest. Open up!" He lowered the megaphone. "Or we'll come in there after you." It's your choice, Walker finished silently, speaking only with his narrowed eyes pointed towards the building before him.

Silence gripped the atmosphere as all officers present held their firearms foreword as if ready for battle. It was several uncertain seconds later before the door to the metal warehouse slowly creaked open, revealing two men, hands behind their heads as if they were actually surrendering.

"We don't want no fight." The first confessed with a deep southern drawl that almost could make a body feel sorry for him…if he wasn't dealing drugs that is.

No officer among them budged even an inch as the two stopped in front of the sea of guns pointed at their face. Their hands were still cupped behind their balding heads while they tried begging for mercy with their little sheepish sniffles.

Walker refused to be fooled but was tempted to play along. "Is this all of you?"

The two pitied fools looked at each other as if wondering which story they should choose this time. The same goon turned back to Walker. "Uh, yeah." He nodded vivaciously. "Yup. It's just us."

Trivette stole a wary glance at Walker through the cabin of the truck before returning his eyes to the top of his firearm still extended in his hands.

"Get over here." Walker waved his gun two inches to the right towards the hood of his truck.

The twosome did as they were told, glancing around them and walking idiotically up to the truck in some sort of surrender.

"Hands on the hood!"

They did that too.

"Come here, Nelson." Walker waved over one of the officers as he secured the two supposed dealers in cuffs. They grunted and groaned a bit followed by a stern Texas Ranger style reprimand given by Walker before Officer Nelson hauled the twosome back to his own patrol car, reading them their rights as he shoved them forward and into the car.

Walker and Trivette were inside the building seconds later and had holstered their guns after a thorough search of the three-room shed-like warehouse. They scanned over the many piles of freshly-made methamphetamine lying near the homemade lab while the other officers followed, slipping on the bright blue latex rubber gloves to gather every bit of the drugs as evidence against the two men they had arrested…and eventually Mahoney as was their hope.

Trivette tossed a wayward package of the bagged substance to Officer Reynolds and nearly froze as a sound reached his ears. He stopped mid-stride, turning to face the direction from where he could have sworn he heard something. "Hey, Walker…Did you hear that?"

Walker made his way over to Trivette and tried listening for what Trivette said he heard. It was a bit difficult to do so over the racket the other officers were making while packing up the evidence. "No," Walker shook his head. "I don't hear anything."

"Just listen…" Trivette sternly insisted, pointing towards where he had heard the sound come from.

Walker sighed and tried listening again. This time…he heard something too.

"See?" Trivette turned to Walker with a cocky smile. "I told you!"

Walker suppressed a chuckle as he shook his head and crossed the room ahead of Trivette towards the sound. When he heard it again, it was a bit louder…and was coming from the floor beneath them. It was then that Walker spotted a handle in the floor where a trapdoor was camouflaged quiet ingeniously with the rest of the floor. "Excuse me, Evans." Walker eased past another officer and lifted the quite heavy trapdoor open with a sigh on that last note when it made a sudden thud against the floor.

Walker squatted to the floor to get a better view of what was inside. Yet it was not what he was expecting. "Trivette! Over here!"

Walker was shimmying down into the hole before Trivette even had a chance to come. Once he saw what Walker had seen, he was by no means surprised. There in a little dugout of the earth beneath that shabby drug lab was three young women—barely twenty years of age by Trivette's quick estimation—huddled together in a tight group with mud and tear-stained faces. They were almost unrecognizable beneath the layers of dirt on their skin and the fear the emanated from their widened eyes and quivering lips.

"Oh my Lord." Trivette stopped short in shock as he caught a strong glimpse of the girls.

Walker bent down in front of the first young woman and offered a smile. "My name is Walker. I'm a Texas Ranger. You gals are safe now."

The young women didn't seem convinced as they cowered a bit, staring over Walker's shoulder up at Trivette.

Walker glanced over his shoulder and turned back to the girls with a smile. "That's my partner Trivette. You can trust him too."

The girls still were not buying it and continued to shiver beneath the anxiety of the only life they knew…the fear-filled life that had plagued them for who knows how long.

Trivette's eyes danced from one girl to the other and still to the third, attempting to alleviate their fears with a gentle smile. The youngest of the group—she couldn't have been too far from fifteen years old—raised her head wearily. Her lips quivered as she blinked repetitively to clear her eyes of the blinding tears she could no longer shed. Then she smiled. It wasn't wide or bright. But it was genuine and sincere, revealing another side to the frightened child that still held a bit of trust for another human being.

"What are you going to do to us?" The eldest girl frowned, revealing inset age lines under her delicate eyes that should never grace a young woman still in her youth.

Walker reached his hand out to move a stray lock of her hair away from her eyes. "We're here to help you. No one's going to hurt you anymore. How would you like to have a nice warm bath and some fresh clothes for starters?" The senior Ranger grinned, hoping to perhaps draw the same from the girl.

The middle girl glanced at the oldest in earnest as if to beg her to accept the kind offer given them. The oldest girl was hesitant and turned her head away to think it over. She finally returned her eyes back to the Ranger after a few moments of deliberation and nodded limply as she mouthed an inaudible answer.

"I'll take that as a yes." Ranger Walker proceeded to scoop the youngest into his arms, guiding her carefully up the opening of the little cellar and to Trivette who waited above them.

Trivette guided the young woman to her feet as she was handed to him. He quickly wrapped a blanket tightly around her frail frame just as soon as Reynolds tossed one to him. "How's that?" He offered the rather shy young woman a smile. She didn't offer a smile in return. Nor did she seem very compliant to the attention she was receiving. Trivette's thoughts wandered as he could only imagine what these young ladies had been through to get to where they had found them that day…huddled inside the fears and memories of some diabolical scheme.

##

Annie forcefully wiped at a free-falling tear with the back of her shaking hand as she hovered over the coffee cup before her, the piping steam rising to and vaporizing against her emotionless face. She hesitated to look up at those surrounding her at the H.O.P.E. center's table. Yet the room was quiet, inviting…safe even. The coffee seemed to be helping, breaking down the cold wall inside of her ever so slowly. Meanwhile, the emotional coldness remained…intensified by the memory of the one whom she had dreadfully called husband for the past six months.

All these truths were buried deep within her. She longed to lay them on the table and make them as real and evident as the coffee these kind strangers had offered her. But the wall seemed too strong to tear down. Annie blinked away another tear and hid all the emotions once more behind a long sip of the coffee before she returned the cup to the table.

Detective Sandoval and Katheryn surrounded Annie on either side in silence, letting Annie come to terms with herself in her own time. Even Miss Cahill had found a moment of solace to spend with her friends. For Katheryn sensed she would be relying on Alex's experience with her women's group to help Annie overcome whatever she still kept locked inside.

Several minutes of silence seemed to tick away before Annie gathered up the strength to speak. "My name is Annie," she sniffed hard as a lump grew in her throat. She swallowed hard, unable to look these kind people in the eyes. "Annie…Mahoney."

Katheryn tried not to let her surprise show as she locked eyes with Carlos briefly, remembering the name vaguely from a conversation she and Carlos had several days ago. Katheryn turned back to Annie and reached out a hand, setting it softly on Annie's hand. Unseen to the natural eye, Katheryn could feel Annie's hand trembling ever so slightly beneath her own touch.

"I left him, you know." Annie attempted to lighten her mood with a legitimately fake chuckle edging her voice as she exhaled and lifted her eyes to the window ahead of her. "I shouldn't have. But I had to." This time, she cradled her face in her hands and tried so hard to keep from crying. It was almost no use.

"Annie." Alex had eased behind Carlos and situated her hand on the young woman's shoulder, searching for her attention as she spoke. "What happened?"

Annie bit her lip and turned away; her tear-stained face softly glistened in the meager daylight that lit the room. Alex then bent low to Annie's level and spoke her name again. It held such a tender authority that Alex hoped would alleviate the girl's fears some and cause her to trust them…at least a little bit.

Annie finally gave in and turned to meet Miss Cahill's firm gaze.

"Annie," Alex cradled her hand in hers. "You can trust us." She glanced over at Carlos and then Katheryn. "Detective Sandoval and Miss Katheryn are here for you too. We can help you. I promise you. You'll be protected." Alex ended with a hopeful smile as she squeezed Annie's hand gently.

With a quick glance across the table at those before her, Annie took in a deep breath, pushing her coffee cup away and sitting up a bit straighter in her seat. She took another deep breath…. "It was about seven…eight months ago. I was working the graveyard shift at a factory in Deep Elm. When I got off just past four o'clock, I was exhausted. I was so tired. I could have easily slept standing up. Yet I was starving too. I decided to stop by the diner that was just about ten minutes from my house. I decided I'd eat a bite really quickly and take something home for my father. He's been living with me ever since momma died.

"As I was eating, a man came up to me and complimented me. I looked like a mess," Anne laughed a bit. "My hair was this way and that from wearing that stupid cap. And I'm sure I needed a shower. Anyways…He asked if I was working because of my odd hours at the diner. I told him yes. From there we talked over the rest of my meal and coffee." Anne glanced at the cup sitting before her, almost connecting the two events as some sort of déjà vu. She shook the notion away and told herself silently to continue the story.

A small smile eased onto Annie's face as she remembered. "He was rather handsome. A bit older than me, true. But he was so nice. Raven black hair that fell on his neck, striking blue eyes, a smile that would make you think he had never seen a year above thirty—all this was Wade. He was perfect to me that night. He started to say that he had opportunities in his business for me that were far better than the graveyard shift at some factory. It was like a dream come true to hear someone say there was an easier way. I was supporting myself and my father. And it was so hard."

Carlos had since begun taking mental note of every description Annie had given of the man. If the man was as rotten as he suspected, he would not let any detail escape that would aid him in capturing the ruthless man.

Annie took another deep breathe as the tears seemed to be forever imminent but controlled by the young woman's will. "Wade left me with his number and said to call if I ever wanted to take him up on his offer. It didn't take me long to think it over. I called him the next day. About three hours after I called, he came and picked me up in his limousine himself. I didn't realize he was so rich. I felt like a princess. We arrived at his home a little while later. It was more like a mansion to me. It was beautiful. Wade told me I could work as a housekeeper at first. But there was a sparkle in his eye as if to say he had other plans. One month later, he asked me to marry him. He said I'd never have to worry again in all my life. I trusted him. I loved him." It was nearly impossible for Annie to keep the tears away now. Katheryn quickly passed her a tissue or two as she continued talking. "We were happy for six months…until I stumbled upon one room in the big house that was off to itself in the basement. The room was nearly as big as this one and had stacks of drugs. Wade's bodyguard found me and accused me of stealing. It was more like I had fallen into the trap."

"What do you mean?" Katheryn inserted.

Annie shifted her gaze to Katheryn. "Wade told me to my face that I was just like the others. Too stupid for my own good. So…he began to beat me." She finished that sentenced edge with disdain amid a scoff. She dabbed at a few wayward tears.

Carlos sank into his own thoughts. There was indeed many shades and layers to this Wade Mahoney character. Even with having broken the back of Mahoney's local drug ring, there was still a solid base to this guy that needed to be taken down once and for all.

"Will you be willing to testify against Wade Mahoney in court?" Alex posed as she placed her hand on the young woman's shoulder.

Annie slowly and deliberately turned to face Alex. A level of apprehension still tried to tempt her in everything she said and did. "I—I will."

Carlos took physical note of Annie's story this time with the pen and paper before him while Miss Cahill helped Annie settle into a room upstairs. The pin-drop silence of the room stirred Katheryn's thoughts as she waited for Carlos to speak. She admired his steadfast focus while secretly contemplating how she could aid in the efforts to bring justice to the situation. She seriously should consider Trent's offer to aid him in his personal protection service. It hadn't been a serious offer. It was just a vague comment made by Molly in praise of her saving Trent. But was Molly right? Did she have what it took? No, she shook it off silently; she should stick to writing stories. Maybe one of these escapades would give her the inspiration for a heart-stirring story one of these days.

"Alright." Carlos' voice snapped Katheryn out of her deep reverie.

Katheryn jumped a bit, swallowing hard as she turned to face Carlos. He was already standing and heading for the exit. Katheryn hurried to catch up, gathering her few belongings and making a straight path to Carlos' side as they rounded the corner into the foyer of the H.O.P.E. center intent upon reaching the door. Carlos' opened the door for Katheryn just as he slipped his cell phone out of his inside coat pocket and placed it to his ear. Katheryn eased out of the doorway and onto the veranda in silence as Carlos followed, securing the door closed behind them before they continued to his police issue that awaited them at the street curb.

"Walker," Carlos' voice echoed as they reached the vehicle. "Got some more info on Mahoney…from his wife."

Katheryn could sense the hesitation in Carlos' voice as he spoke. She ceased her step at the sidewalk, resting her hand on the door handle as she listened to the phone conversation. She could faintly hear Walker's voice on the other end amid the peaceful area around them.

"Alright. See ya there." Carlos snapped the cell phone closed and slipped it back into its home inside his coat. He reached for the driver's side door handle, pulling the door open and settling into the seat. He clicked a button to unlock the other side, letting Katheryn follow suit on the other side.

Katheryn glanced at Carlos as he put the car in drive. "Everything alright?"

He barely nodded. "Yeah. Walker said they took down one of Mahoney's smaller drug labs this morning."

"Good." Katheryn smiled, thankful that Mahoney was slowly being taken down one organization at a time.

Carlos didn't seem pleased.

Katheryn's smile then faded. "What is it?"

"Walker and Trivette also found three girls there."

"Oh?"

"Yeah…In a hole in the ground underneath the warehouse."

"That—that's terrible."

Carlos nodded. "It seems Annie wasn't the first girl to be trapped by Mahoney."

Katheryn's surprise was evident, although she tried everything in her power to suppress it. "You mean…."

Carlos nodded, reading her thoughts. "Yeah. Walker said the oldest girl told them everything. He'll fill us in once we get to Ranger Headquarters."

Katheryn nodded, accepting Carlos' words as she shifted her gaze to the Dallas scenery that passed by her on her right. It all seemed to flash by in a blur. For her focus was far from the ride at hand and all on the disheartening thoughts and images of what Annie…and now others had experienced at the hands of this hideous drug lord.