Corps Justice Boxed Set: Books 1-3: Back to War, Council of Patriots, Prime Asset (27 page)

TRAVIS
(to
his companions): All of West’s men are secure. One dead. They’ve
got the parents and are moving to the evac LZ.

BRIAN
: What
about Cal?

TRAVIS
:
There’s no sign of him. The house is empty.

C
al
awoke to find himself strapped to a two-wheeled dolly by a set of
orange vehicle tie downs. He was being carted down what looked like
a narrow tunnel with intermittent lighting. It was cold, musty, and
damp as he tried to get his bearings. Suddenly the dolly stopped
and West stepped around to face Cal.

DANTE
: You
awake?

CAL
: Where
are we?

DANTE
:
Where nobody will find us.

CAL
:
Underground?

DANTE
: Not
as dumb as you look, white boy.

CAL
: Where
are you taking me?

DANTE
: I
guess I can tell you now. Once my boys take care of your girl’s
parents they’re gonna join us down here. Then the fun starts.
Before that happens, you’ll get a little tour of my facility
here.

Without further explanation, Dante moved
back behind Cal and started pulling the dolly again.

Cal’s eyes were wide as they kept moving
farther into the hillside. They soon passed rooms full of marijuana
plants and high powered halogen lighting. It looked like they had
one impressive growing operation down there. It was no wonder West
could keep operating even on the run. Cal decided he’d try some
questions.

CAL
: You
want to tell me how you built all this?

DANTE
(voice filled with pride): It wasn’t hard. Economy sucks right
now. For the right price we had some really good contractors down
here building for a while. We even had a couple of consultants from
the Army Corps of Engineers. I got the idea from something I read
about a redneck here in Tennessee who built something similar for
his weed growing, but got caught when someone noticed how much
electricity he was using. We solved that problem. No one knows this
place exists.

CAL
: What
about the guys that built it? You can’t keep their mouths
shut.

DANTE
: We
were choosy about who we picked and where they came from. Shipped
them in from a couple of states and kept them on property until
they were done.

CAL
: Are
you telling me they’re still working?

DANTE
(chuckling): Sort of. Let’s just say they’re fertilizing the
local vegetation now.

So that was it. He promised to pay a king’s ransom
and then he killed them. Higgins was right. This guy was smart and
ruthless. Cal decided to keep trying to build rapport.

CAL
: How
did you guys get around the power problem?

DANTE
: That
was the easiest part. My boy in the White House decided to start
giving out tax credits for new energy sources like solar and
geo-thermal. We’ve got a huge geo-thermal footprint all around the
underground tunnels. On top of that, we’ve got dedicated generators
powered by everything from gas to solar. Not bad for a kid from the
hood.

CAL
: Is
this your only facility?

DANTE
: Now
why do you think I’d tell you that?

CAL
: I
figure you’re probably going to kill me, so what’s the
harm?

DANTE
: Fair
enough. We’ve got a total of five of these babies scattered around
Williamson County. Three are operational. We get to make our goods
right under one of the richest counties in the nation. We’re
starting out with marijuana then we’ll probably get into the meth
business. That’s what you white boys like, right?

Cal was impressed by the size of the
underground facility. The sheer magnitude of dirt moved illustrated
the power of West’s burgeoning empire. The problem: How the hell
was he going to get out?

+ + +

The assault teams gathered on the front
porch listening to Travis give orders. The incapacitated gang
members had been quickly interrogated. Not one knew anything about
the secret tunnel they’d just uncovered. Worse still, the one man
who probably could’ve helped had been killed. He’d apparently been
Dante’s number two.

To complicate matters even more, the door
they’d found behind the rotating shelving in the walk-in pantry was
built like a bank vault. From what they could tell after a cursory
examination, the steel door was some five inches thick. One of the
assault teams was already trying to cut through the door. West had
covered his tracks well.

TRAVIS
: So
here’s the plan: the assault teams will stay here and keep trying
to cut through this damn door. Willy, you stay with them and lead
the way in. The rest of us will jump in the two helos and take a
look around. There’s an exit somewhere, we’ve just gotta find
it.

ANDY
: What
about Cal?

TRAVIS
: The
best we can do is find him fast. There’s no telling what West has
planned for him.

+ + +

Cal remained silent as they neared their
final destination. West wheeled his guest into what looked like a
butcher shop mixed with a crude third world hospital clinic. Cal
could feel the cold air and smell the residual stench of some kind
of meat. The dolly came to a stop.

CAL
: Where
are we?

DANTE
: This
is my own private interrogation chamber. Over there, you can see
some of my tools. Picked up the trade from this ancient voodoo man
in New Orleans. Taught me some good tricks to get men talking.
Really useful when you think one of your boys is a
snitch.

Cal stayed quiet as he gazed around the
room. He noticed an old rusted bedspring in the corner anchored to
the floor and ceiling. Next to it was a pair of car batteries with
cables. Next to the cables was a bench with an assortment of knives
and tools. Everything looked well cared for and well used.

CAL
: You
want to tell me why you’re going to torture me?

DANTE
: It’s
called revenge, brother.

CAL
: It’s
not enough that you killed my fiancé?

DANTE
: You
killed my crew AND you crippled my business. I owe you.

Cal wasn’t getting anywhere with his questions. He
needed to try something else. When in doubt try the frontal
assault.

CAL
: For a
guy as smart as you, I’d think a pussy move like attacking a
harmless couple was a dumb move.

DANTE
: What
are you talking about?

CAL
: Shit,
Dante, I heard you were a pretty smart guy back in the day. I guess
all that dope you’ve been slinging gets harder and harder to say no
to.

DANTE
: You
don’t know a think about me, motherfucker.

CAL
: I know
about your dad and how he died. I know about how your mom gave you
up when you were a kid.

Dante stopped what he was doing. His eyes
went wide then flashed with anger. He also registered a touch of
unease in response to Cal’s comment. How could this white boy know
that? It was never in the papers. He’d made sure his past had been
buried a long time ago. It was amazing what he could snag with a
couple quick break-ins.

DANTE
: You
made that up.

CAL
: Oh
really? Then ask me how I know that you’ve got a really high IQ and
that up until the age of ten you were doing well in
school.

DANTE
: Who
have you been talking to?

CAL
(laughing): You dumb shit. Obviously there are things about me
that you don’t know.

DANTE
: You
better watch your mouth. Looks like you forgot who’s in
charge.

CAL
:
Really? I’d say in the next couple of minutes my boys are gonna be
coming through that door over there.

DANTE
: Who
the cops?

CAL
: No,
asshole. Tell you what, why don’t we leave it as a
surprise?

West stared hard at his prisoner. He
honestly couldn’t tell if he was being bluffed or not. This
underground facility was his most secure location. Was it possible
that it could be breached?

DANTE
: You
know why I don’t believe you?

CAL
: No,
why?

DANTE
:
Because I designed this place myself. Oh I forgot. You were passed
out when we passed through not one but three doors built like bank
vaults. It’ll take days to cut through that shit.

It was Cal’s turn to look confused. Was
Dante telling the truth? Either way, one of them would be right
soon. Cal could only hope that his friends would find him soon.

MSGT TRENT
:
Six, this is Big Dog.

TRAVIS
: Go
ahead, Big Dog.

MSGT TRENT
:
We’ve got a little issue here. We got enough of a hole cut to see
through the other side with our fiber optics. Looks like there’s
another door on the other side some ten feet down the
passageway.

TRAVIS
:
You’re kidding me.

MSGT TRENT
:
You know I wouldn’t do that, Six.

TRAVIS
:
Alright, keep working and we’ll do the same. Let me know if you
have any other ideas. Six, out.

Travis looked to his companions and gave
them the news. West was surprising them at every turn. What looked
like a straightforward mission now felt like a complete
cluster-fuck.

TRAVIS
:
Anyone else have any bright ideas?

ANDY
: I
think we need to start by getting half of your teams roaming the
countryside. Who knows, they may get lucky and find the tunnel
exit.

NEIL
: What
about the toy I gave Cal. You think he’ll use it?

TRAVIS
: I’d
think he would’ve used it by now.

ANDY
: OK.
Then let’s keep sweeping the countryside and see what we
find.

The companions fell silent and continued to
look out the windows with their night vision goggles. Each kept
toggling back and forth between normal night vision and heat
register. Nothing yet.

+ + +

West had gone back to preparing things in
the room. Cal was curious about why his captor hadn’t called his
goons yet. Maybe they worked off of cell phones and the signal
couldn’t penetrate the underground lair.

Cal had one more ace up his
sleeve: the weapon Neil had given him. The problem was its
deployment would be tricky. He somehow had to get West to use Cal’s
cell phone. That would take some coaxing.
Think, Cal, think.

An idea popped into his head like a
lightning strike. His plan wouldn’t be easy and he’d have to feel
some pain first. No matter. It was his only option. Cal gritted his
teeth and steeled himself for the upcoming torture. He knew from
talking with former POWs that everyone broke eventually. The body
and mind could only take so much.

He would have to use that to his
advantage.

CAL
: Are
you gonna get started or do I have to torture myself, you
pussy?

DANTE
:
Almost ready, white boy. You may wanna watch your mouth and enjoy
the last few minutes you’ve got.

CAL
:
Whatever. Any second now my guys will be busting in that door over
there.

DANTE
: Not
likely. The back exit to this place is impossible to find. Plus,
this won’t take long. I’ll be leaving your body in here to rot
after I’m done with you.

CAL
: So are
you going to tell me why you want to torture me?

DANTE
(grinning): At first it was all about revenge. You see, I
can’t let the asshole that put me on the radar and killed my boys
get away with it. The second reason came to me a minute ago while
you were running your mouth. I’m curious about these so called
secrets you say you have. It might be a good investment of my time
to do a little digging.