Strengthen What Remains (Book 2): A Time to Endure (25 page)

“What?”
Zach asked with eyes fixed on Caden. “Why are you staring at me?”

Caden
rubbed his forehead. “There is no way you’re going on this operation.”

“Can
we talk about this?”

“We
just did.”

“In
normal times using a minor just wouldn’t happen, but these are not normal
times.” Hoover leaned back in the chair. “If Zach does not show up at the
ranger station with the guns, we may never find out where the meeting is
supposed to take place.”

Caden
looked at Hoover with surprise. “You’ve been saying he’s guilty, now you want
to give Zach guns and send him on his way to a criminal gang. How you changed
your mind about him?”

Hoover
sighed and stared at Zach. “Yeah, I guess I have.”

“I’ve
always thought Zach was innocent,” Fletcher said, “but are we really discussing
sending one kid on a very dangerous mission to try and save another kid?”

“That
other kid is my daughter,” Hollister said.

Hoover
threw up his hands in frustration. “If we stand any chance of getting these
guys…”

“Or
rescuing DeLynn,” Zach added emphatically.

“…we
probably need Zach along at least.”

“No,”
Caden said.

“What
else can we do?” Hollister asked.

“While
you guys argue I need to use the latrine.” Zach walked from the room.

Fletcher
rubbed his chin. “What if there was a way to bring him along, but keep him out
of the line of fire?”

“How?”
Caden asked.

“Keep
him in the shadows,” Fletcher said.

“Yeah,
we only need his voice,” Hoover added.

Five
minutes later Caden nodded reluctantly. “This might work, but Zach stays with
me until Cruz and the others are dead.”

“Okay,”
Hoover said.

“Where
is Zach?” Fletcher asked.

After
they checked the nearby latrine, Fletcher phoned the gate guard.

“Yeah
he left the base about ten minutes ago in that car he’s been driving lately.”

Fletcher
turned to Hollister. “You gave Zach the keys to your car?”

“He
asked for them to load the rifles.”

Caden
gritted his teeth. “Phone Zach. Let’s see if we can get him to come back.”

As
Fletcher did, Caden said, “Put him on speaker.”

“Zach
what are you doing?” Fletcher slid the phone to the center of the table.

“I’m
going to find out where the meeting is, and then I’ll phone you and tell you
the location.”

“Zach,
turn around and come back.” Caden ordered with an angry voice. “What’s to keep
MS-13 from killing you, and taking the weapons when you arrive at the ranger
station?”

“Well,
besides my bow, I’ve got one of the rifles beside me, but I’m hoping they play
this deal straight.”

“You’re
hoping MS-13 will be honest?” Hoover asked.

“Yeah,
I guess I am, but unless you have a better plan, this is the one I’m going
with.”

No
one spoke for a moment. Zach had forced their hand and Caden now considered
options that he had been unwilling to explore moments before. “Zach, maybe
there is better plan.”

*
              
*
              
*

Zach
parked in front of a dark ranger station. The moon was nearly full, but clouds
obscured its light. He looked to either side.
I could be surrounded by MS-13 and not know it.
He tried to breathe
normal and remain calm.
What have I
gotten myself into?

From
out of the darkness came a female voice. “Get out of the car.”

“Did
you hear me?”

Despite
the youthfulness of her voice, it carried authority and a Hispanic accent that
caused Zach’s stomach to knot.
Does MS-13
have female members?
Looking to his left, he squinted, but saw nothing in
the darkness.

“Are
you deaf? Open the door and get out!” She cursed.

He
glanced at the rifle leaning against the passenger seat and realized it was
useless. He couldn’t hide it. Unarmed, he opened the car door and stepped out.

“Keep
your hands where I can see them. You got the stuff?”

Unable
to speak, he nodded.

“Show
me.”

He
swallowed. “There’s one against the passenger seat.” He leaned toward the door
to retrieve the weapon.

“Leave
it there. Where are the others?”

“The
rest are in the trunk.” He stepped to the back.

The
female inched from the darkness into the pale moonlight. It was difficult to
see detail, but her hair was long, straight and dark. She appeared to be no
more than a few years older than him. Zach’s gaze snapped from her face to the
pistol she waved at him.

“Open
the trunk.” She gestured with the gun.

Zach
complied.

“Move
away.”

As
he retreated she approached the car and used a flashlight to look over the
weapons.

“It’s
all there, just like Cruz wanted. Where’s De…my sister?” Zach needed to be
careful. He still wasn’t sure it would help, but since they thought they had
Vicki, he might as well let them continue to believe it.
  

“Give
me the phone they gave you.”

He
pulled it from his pocket and stepped toward her.

“Put
it on the car!” She stepped back.

He
did as told.

She
picked up the phone, taped on the screen and spoke Spanish.

Zach
wished he had paid more attention in school, he barely understood three words.

When
done, she looked at Zach. “Up this road is a cabin—.”

“The
ranger cabin. I know it.”

“Good,
go there now,” she said backing into the darkness.

Zach
returned to the Hollister car and drove up the gravel logging road about a
half-mile. Then he stopped, pulled a phone from under the car seat, and called
Caden. “I’m clear. Did you get that girl I talked to?”

“Yes,
we have her in custody. Where are you? The squad said you drove up the logging
road.”

Zach
told him the meeting would be at an old ranger log cabin several miles up the
forest service road. “But there’s something important you need to know. This
road connects with two others that go to the next county, but they cross over
high ridgelines.”

He
heard the rustle of paper over the phone. “If Cruz just looked at a map he probably
thinks he has three ways out, but he doesn’t. Those other roads are snowbound
this time of year.”

“Got
it,” Caden said. “Someone will join you in a minute. Wait where you are.”

Nothing
moved in the headlights. Within seconds Zach mumbled, “Come on. Where are you?”

A
knock sounded on the passenger side window.

Zach
stifled a scream, and then unlocked the door.

“Hi.”
John Tyler reached in and unlocked the back door of the sedan. “Let the Major
know I’m with you.” In full combat gear and with an M4, his friend climbed into
the back seat. “I’ll stay back here till you get close to the cabin.”

“Corporal
Tyler is with me,” Zach said into the phone.

“Good.
Take it slow so our men can deploy, but don’t go too slow.”

Zach
wondered what speed that would be.

Tyler
handed him a pistol. “I thought you might need this. When you meet I suggest
you make sure they see the M4, but keep the pistol hidden. Shove it down your
pants.”

The
pistol was the smallest Zach had ever seen. “Down my pants? I don’t want a gun
pointed there.”

Tyler
laughed. “Just don’t pull the trigger.”

“What
kind of gun is this?”

“A
Ruger LCP. It’s my sister’s. She keeps it in her purse.”

“So
the Major doesn’t know you’re giving this to me?”

Tyler
shook his head.

Very
gently Zach slid the gun into his pants and then shifted the vehicle into
drive.

The
car rolled forward with a thud as it went over a rock.

Zach
stopped the vehicle. Eased the gun from his pants and set it on the passenger
seat.

“What
am I sitting on?” Tyler said from the back seat. “Oh. Why did you bring the bow
and quiver?”

He
shrugged. “It’s what I usually hunt with.”

Tyler
squeezed Zach’s shoulder. “Good hunting tonight.”

Several
bumps farther along, Tyler asked, “Are you sure you’re on the road? It doesn’t
feel like it.”

“On
the road,” Zach muttered only vaguely aware of what was said. Though he knew it
was several miles away, on every sharp turn he arched his neck hoping for a
glimpse of the cabin and DeLynn. His heart pounded in his chest as he fought the
fear induced urge to go slower than Caden had advised.

However,
he wanted to find and rescue DeLynn. Gradually his speed increased until he hit
a rough spot and the car bottomed out on a rock.

Remembering
what Caden had told him, he slowed his upward climb.

Please God, keep her
safe.

Now,
high on the ridge, the air was cold. Snow clung to the ground and stood in
drifts in shady spots under trees and in gullies along the road.

The
phone buzzed.

Zach
jerked.

“Calm
down,” Tyler said. “No reason to be nervous—yet. Answer the phone.”

Zach
stopped the car. “Hello?”

“The
squads will be in place in a couple of minutes.” Caden said. “Go on to the
cabin, but don’t hang up the phone. Stay outside and stick to the plan.”

A
few hundred yards from the cabin he stopped, and Tyler darted into the woods.

Zach’s
stomach flipped and flopped.
God help me
help her.
He eased the car forward.

Seconds
later he stopped, stepped from the car, and while casually putting on a jacket,
slid the cold Ruger deep into the front of his pants. He pushed from his mind
the direction of the barrel and zipped up his coat to further conceal it. Then
he reached back into the car, grabbed the rifle and stood on the far side of
the vehicle with the engine block between him and the ranger cabin.

In
the darkness the tiny structure appeared to be sitting alone in a small
clearing, but Zach knew that along the east side was a steep drop off. In the
daylight, a huge expanse of forest was visible that only stopped at the
mountains on the horizon. Where he was on the west side, and on the north,
there was a small meadow. On the south side, the forest came up close to the
building.

 
Through a single front window a dim light shone
from the cabin. Zach looked, but detected no movement.

His
mouth was dry and his stomach ached. He felt like an animal in a snare. He
wished he was there for any other reason.

A
thought burst to life in his mind. No longer was he a boy just making it from
day to day. He was a man on a mission. If tonight was his time to die, then so
be it. He would do so as a man, doing what needed to be done to save someone he
loved. “Cruz, this is Zach. I’m here with the guns.”

Behind
him he heard the cock of a pistol.

“Cruz
would like you to join him—inside. Leave the gun here.”

He
leaned it against the car. “Where’s my sister?”

“Take
off the coat.”

The
voice was right behind him. Two burly guys approached from each side.

Zach
removed the jacket slowly, hoping the soldiers were in position.

One
gang member examined his coat while the other frisked him, but not well. He
found Zach’s phone and passed it to another. The loss of the phone meant plan
‘B’ was no longer an option.

Zach
hadn’t held out much hope that the phone would remain on him, but was pleased
when the man didn’t go near his groin.

Plan
‘A’ had been to stay outside where the soldiers could see him and hopefully get
DeLynn with him. They had discussed several scenarios in which the soldiers
would open fire on the gang, but events seemed to be diverging from the plan.

Zach
tried again to find where DeLynn was and was again ignored. “There’s one rifle
by the passenger seat. The rest are in the trunk.” He stepped toward the back.
“Let me show you.”

A
firm hand grasped his arm. “We’ll check them out. You’ve got a meeting with
Cruz,” the voice from behind said.

One
of the men tossed Zach’s coat back to him.

“Let’s
go.”

Shoved
from behind, Zach stumbled. Regaining his balance, he noticed two others near
the trunk of the car and several more at the edge of the forest.
How many people are here?
Since he had
been told to get twenty M4s he thought that might be the number.
Is this the whole gang?
Doubt crept in
him.
Can I save DeLynn or is this the
night we both die?

Was
she inside? If so the soldiers needed to know her location and his, but how
would he signal them?

As
he climbed the creaking steps, his escort pushed Zach again. “Open the door. Go
inside.”

The
cabin was an old log structure with a main area and one bunkroom. There was no
bathroom, just a fairly new outhouse nearby. Cruz sat alone on the far side of
the first room. A kerosene lamp cast the gangster in sinister shadows. A
woodstove burned in the corner.

The
cabin was furnished with four plain wooden chairs, two end tables, and a
homemade coffee table. In the corner was a small dining table. The back door
was nearby and beside it the door to the bunkroom. All the walls were made of
logs, even the interior one that separated the two rooms.

Food
containers and beer bottles littered the place, and it smelled of cigarettes
and booze.

Before
leaving, the escort passed Zach’s phone to Cruz.

The
gang leader dropped it on the end table next to him, beside another phone.

Zach
tried not to look at it, but was glad to know that plan ‘B’ might still be
available and Caden might still hear what was going on.
If it is still on.

Tyler
would use his radio to report the positions of everyone outside, but Zach
wasn’t outside. If the phone was still on, Caden should know where he was, but
what if it wasn’t? Did Tyler see him go in? Where was DeLynn? There was no plan
‘C,’ so it was time to improvise. “Do I get to see my sister now?”

“Why
you all dressed in camouflage, boy?”

“The
unit just came back from some major operation. I was on duty helping put away
the weapons. I’m sure they already know they’re missing so let’s hurry. Okay?”

“Sure.”

“Where
is she?”

Cruz
shook his head. “In a minute. When I know you got what I asked for.” He pointed
to a seat.

Zach
sat on the far side of the small room with the coat on his lap. He felt the gun
through it. “This private pow-wow is so your guys can count guns?” He hoped
Caden heard his words through the phone and noticed the word “private.”

“Yes,”
Cruz said.

Seconds
ticked slowly by as they sat in silence.

“How
long does it take them to count to twenty?” Zach asked.

Cruz
smiled, but didn’t respond.

A
short scraping sound came from the next room. It could have been a rat
scratching at something or a chair moving. He strained to hear more.

A
phone rang.

Afraid
that it was his, Zach felt sick.

From
the table beside him, Cruz picked up the other phone and spoke Spanish. Setting
it back down back he said, “My guys tell me there are twenty rifles and
magazines, but no bullets.”

“The
ammo is my insurance.”

Cruz
smiled. “I like you, kid. I may have to kill you, but I like you. Now
where’s the bullets
?”
 

Zach’s
heart pounded. “Where is my sister?”

Cruz’s
face grew dark.

Zach’s
heart pounded in his chest. He struggled to keep his voice even. “I have the
ammo, but if you kill me you’ll never find it.”

“There
are worse things than death, amigo.”

He
struggled to sound calm. “Tell me where she is and I’ll tell you where the ammo
is.”

Cruz
stared at him with cold eyes. Then he made a slight movement of the head in the
direction Zach had heard the noise.