Chapter Eighty Five

Darius

Well I'd had no luck tracing Kat's biological parents but Emmett was due any time so I thought I should check on our prisoner. It had been a week since I bothered dropping any food and water down to him but I made sure there was enough to keep the twisted bastard alive. There was no way he was going to die before he had a visit from The Major, that would be far too easy for him.

As I approached I got the feeling there was someone else around so I slowed, moving cautiously forward until I caught a familiar scent, what the hell was Edward Cullen doing here and more to the point how had he learned where we were keeping Mendoza? He must have read Emmett's thoughts when he rejoined Rose.

He stepped out of the shadows and made himself known to me,

"What the hell are you doing here? You know if anything happens to Mendoza before The Major visits there's going to be hell to pay."

"I had no intention of doing anything to him, I saw the state of those girls, especially my brother's fiancée. I'll gladly hold Jasper's coat for him. I was trying to help."

"Really? How exactly?"

"No one thought to ask me if I could find out anything by reading his thoughts so I decided what the hell and to come on my own and see what I could discover."

"I think we were all too wrapped up in helping the girls so don't feel offended."

"I'm not but as it turns out I wouldn't have been much help."

"Oh why?"

"He's as crazy as a loon. He really believes Bella and Kat are his daughters."

"What about Renee and Phil? Any thoughts on them?"

"Yeah, there's a lot of things floating around in that cesspool he calls a mind. He believes he killed them because they were keeping his daughter away from him. Their murders were totally justified as far as he's concerned. I can hear other murders too, I think he might have killed before, maybe his own real family but it's hard to tell. I really thought I was going to hear something useful but I was wrong. I feel a little superfluous just now. Rose and Em have Skye, Peter and Charlotte have Kat, Esme, Carlisle, and Jazz are tied up with Bella and Alice and Garrett are still keeping an eye on Charlie."

I nodded understanding his yearning to be useful.

"How about Kat? Can you hear anything about her or what he's thinking about his situation?"

"He thinks Kat will come for him, as his daughter. Maybe she really is."

"I think it's more than likely, there is no one missing who resembles her closely although as we have no idea where she was snatched or when I guess its a needle in a haystack scenario."

"There was one thing though, not a person but a place that seems important to him for some reason."

"Did you get why?"

"No, just an address and it's here in San Diego, something to do with his brother or a woman I couldn't get anything clearer than that."

"Well lets see what he's so worried about shall we?"

Edward smiled at me,

"Sure, at least I'll feel I'm doing something that way."

"Then come on, let's go on a hunting expedition."

Edward

I felt as if I were finally being useful, as Darius drove I looked the address up on the map. As I threw it in the back I noticed some packets of food and bottled water.

"You forgot to drop supplies to him."

"He can wait."

I filled Darius in with what I knew of events back home and he seemed interested,

"Its a pity Bella's having such a hard time, it must be difficult for The Major, he was in quite a state when he found her."

"Yeah it took a while to get him calmed down but I guess I'd feel the same if it had been my mate in that cellar."

"You think she's gonna be OK though? He's not gonna make it without her now."

"I know but we're doing all we can."

Darius pulled up a couple of streets short of our destination and sat looking around in the moonlight,

"Nice area. Now what would Mendoza want in a place like this? It's all warehouses and industries, makes you wonder doesn't it. Well lets go see shall we? You listen out for any clue as to why were here."

I nodded and we walked slowly towards the building Mendoza had been thinking about. It was one of a group of small warehouses surrounded by a high chain link fence topped with razor wire. I stopped listening intently then turned to Darius,

"I think I know why he was thinking about this place, we are on another rescue mission. That building holds young girls smuggled over the border by his brother and held here until they are sold to pimps in Los Angeles."

Darius turned to me and smiled but there was no warmth in it,

"Then I guess its time his brother has a really bad fucking day. I take it Victor used to visit?"

"Yes but from his thoughts these were girlfriends waiting for his visits, he is so screwed up if he ever went to court he'd be committed not punished."

"Then it's a good job he's never going to court isn't it Edward. Come on."

We jumped the fence and while I looked for the entrance I heard Darius force the gates open so the girls could escape. Finding the door, heavily barred, I whistled for Darius who joined me seconds later.

"There's a truck parked round back which will be great to get the girls well away from here before they are missed, all we need are a set of keys."

He looked at me one eyebrow raised,

"Keys? What's wrong with a little honest jacking?"

"I don't know how to hot wire a car."

"Then it's a good thing I do. Let's get this door open first though. Any alarm wires?"

I shook my head,

"I couldn't see any but then they wouldn't want any alarm alerting the cops would they?"

"How true Edward, I'll make a crook of you yet."

We broke in and found ourselves in a dark corridor with a single steel door about ten feet inside. This soon opened with a well judged kick and inside we heard the sounds of frightened girls. There was a light switch just outside and I flicked it on to see about a dozen young women from about seventeen to twenty one huddled together in the corner terrified by our arrival.

Darius spoke to them in rapid Spanish and they came towards us in relief babbling loudly until he motioned for them to be silent. They followed us outside and got into the back of the truck which Darius had idling and ready. Then three figures appeared from the darkness rifles at the ready shouting for us to stop.

"Go, I'll deal with this."

I rapped hard on the side to signal that the girls were all aboard and the truck took off through the open gates. The men shouldered their rifles as I moved knocking the weapon from one man and spoiling another's aim while the third managed to get one shot off before I grabbed his rifle and bent the barrel back on itself. It took mere seconds to kill all three and I felt no compunction in doing so, I'd done the humans a favor, especially young girls. Then I started to run in the direction the truck had taken satisfied with my night's work and feeling I had finally done something useful.