Hell Fire Riders MC: The Complete MC Series, page 46
“You don’t think its dirty money?”
Gage shrugged. “I don’t know. It was a different time back then. I may not like what he did for a living but he was raising a family the best way he knew how. I wouldn’t have made the same choices he did but hey, that’s just me. I think I would have liked your grandpa even if I didn’t agree with him. He gave his life, so you would live. You were right about that.” He then went over to the safe and began putting the stacks of cash into a bag. He got almost all of it in and tied the bag off. Then he went out to his bike and loaded the bag in the saddlebags. Just as he did, some bikes pulled into the yard.
Gage saw Stone and Sam dismount from their bikes.
Stone walked over to him. “Did your lady find anything?”
Gage nodded. “Oh yeah, she found something. We found one of his secrets. She says there are more but I think you need to call Shay. She found another book and it’s got names and dates in the damn thing.”
“Damn it.” Stone growled.
Gage just grinned. “Come take a look.” Leading the way a few minutes later, they all stood in the basement.
Shock was written on the faces of the two men.
“Fuck me,” Sam whispered as he looked around. “All this has been just sitting here all these years?”
“Yup, Dogwood died here sixteen years ago and no one knew this stuff was here. Willow says this is only one of her grandfather’s hiding places.”
Willow joined them in the main room.
Gage drew her to his side. “Guys, this is Willow.”
Willow nodded to each of the men standing there.
“I understand you found something that might help us stop the insanity that the Vipers have planned,” Stone stated.
“I hope it does. Gage took it.” Willow nodded.
“I want to copy it and send it to Trudy before we give it over to Michael,” Stone said. “She’s very good at what she does and if there is something there, she’ll find it.” Then he stared at Willow and Gage. “The government can’t find out about Trudy. They would take her away, lock her up and throw away the key.”
Willow shook her head. “I wouldn’t say anything. Never did care for government offices anyway. They never looked out for me anyhow.”
Stone nodded then looked around. “I will have to call in the ATF though. These guns need somewhere to go.”
“You do whatever you have to do. This business isn’t mine and I want nothing to do with it. If they come across anything personal though, I would like it back.”
Stone left the room briefly and when he came back he asked, “Gage says this is only one of your grandfather’s hiding places?”
Willow nodded. There are a couple more but I don’t know if there is anything in the other places.”
Stone smiled. “We’ll let them sort that out. Shay said he’d be here in a little while. He’s coming himself to sort this out.” He gazed at Willow for a time and then spoke again, “He wants to talk to you about the shooting that happened here when your grandfather died.”
Willow shook her head. “I’m not sure I can talk about that day.”
Gage wrapped his arms around her. “No one here will hurt you or make you do anything you don’t want.”
Stone tipped his head back and stared at her for a moment then suggested, “Why don’t you wait until Shay gets here, so we can all hear your story. Can you show us the other places your grandfather hid guns? That way we get everything at once.”
“I can try. I know of at least two more places to look but like I said, there might not be anything else here.” She turned and headed toward the woods.
Gage and Stone walked behind her until they got just inside the tree line.
Willow seemed to be heading toward a small hill. The brush was overgrown and thick to get through but when they finally got there, she glanced back at Gage. “What do you see?”
He frowned while searching the area in front of him. “I see a hill.”
She shook her head. “When we moved here, this hill wasn’t here. My grandpa made it. He buried a semi-trailer and covered it with dirt and plants. Two years later, if you didn’t know it was here, you would walk right past it.”
Stone frowned. “So how do we get in?”
Willow smiled slightly. Walking around the side, she began brushing away the debris. Before long, she uncovered a pair of metal rings. Backing away, she motioned for them to pull the ring.
Stone grabbed one ring and Gage grabbed the other one. It took all their strength to open the doors. The hillside had taken over the buried container. They moved dirt and plants along with the doors but when they got the doors open, they found more crates of guns and ammo.
“Fuck a duck!” Stone swore as he ran his hands over his head. He looked over at Willow. “What was your grandfather planning with all these guns? Starting his own war?”
Willow clenched her hands into fists. “I don’t know. I was only a kid back then.”
“Are there any more places we can check?” Gage broke the tension in the air.
Willow glared at Stone for a moment then turned to Gage. “There is one more place.” She turned and walked back to the dooryard. Making her way over to the small building at back of the cabin, she went inside.
Stone, Gage and several of the others joined her. Once inside, they could all see several bunks covered in dirt and debris but no sign of guns or anything else.
Willow moved over to the outside wall and pushed the table sitting there out of the way. Kicking the rug to one side, they all saw the trap door.
Stone moved over and pulled on the ring, opening the door. He peeked down and saw a hole in the ground. He glanced over at Willow. “What’s down there?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know if there is anything down there. I do know there’s a large room and a tunnel that goes away from the room, deeper underground.”
Stone nodded. “Let me get a light and I’ll check it out.” He disappeared but came back with a flashlight in his hand. Then he made his way down the hole in the ground.
Sam, Gage and Willow stood and waited.
Stone was gone for twenty minutes and when he came back, his face held a grim expression. “Everybody needs to get out of here and stay away. This building is off limits until ATF has been through here.”
“What did you find?” Gage asked.
Stone glared at Willow then turned to Gage and Sam. “Dogwood wasn’t only dealing guns back in the day. The tunnel down there leads to another room full of dynamite and other explosives. This stuff has been sitting there undisturbed for the last sixteen years. It’s very old and could be considered unstable.” He motioned toward the door. “Everybody out. No one comes near this place until we get it cleared.”
Gage grabbed Willow and hauled her outside, well away from the building.
Everyone else followed with Stone as the last one out. They got as far away as they could.
As they did, another vehicle drove up. Shay and several other men got out. When he saw Stone, he came over to where they were standing. “What’s going on?”
Stone grimaced. “We’re going to need ATF and a bomb disposal unit.”
“What?” Shay demanded.
“We found a ton of weapons and explosives that have been sitting here for a very long time.”
“Damn.” Shay shook his head. He began to pace beside the vehicle. “How is this connected to the Vipers? Is it connected to the Vipers?”
Stone nodded. “Dogwood Connors was dealing with the Vipers eighteen years ago. When the deal went south, the Vipers murdered half his family. When the ones that were left went underground, it took the Vipers two years to find them again. Sixteen years ago, the Vipers found them here and murdered the rest of them. There was only one person to survive that shootout.”
Shay paused and glared at Stone. “There was a witness to the shooting that happened?”
Stone nodded and looked over at Willow. “Shay, meet Dogwood’s granddaughter, Willow Connors. She was eight years old when her grandpa died. She’s also the one that showed us where to look for the guns.”
Shay looked over at Willow and shook his head. “How do we know it was the Vipers her grandfather was dealing with?”
“She saw everything that night, including the tattoo the Vipers have,” Stone went on. “Not only that but she found a book the Vipers left behind and brought it to our notice. Then a couple nights ago, she stopped a bomb from taking out Michael Severns and two other men.”
Shay nodded. “You may or may not know this but someone firebombed Michael’s DC home last night.”
Gage clenched his fist. “Is Michael ok?”
“Michael wasn’t at the house,” Shay informed him. “He’s safe. He’s busy working on getting caught up on the last five years.”
“We may have more info for him. We found another book Dogwood had in his safe,” Stone added.
Shay stared at Stone for a moment then switched his gaze to Willow. Looking back at Stone, he asked, “And no one has been here or seen this information in sixteen years?”
Stone shook his head. “No one knew it was even there until today.”
“How convenient,” Shay agreed.
Willow stiffened at his insinuation.
“Whoa, hold on there.” Gage growled. “What are you saying?”
Shay raised an eyebrow. “Nothing at all.” He looked around the yard. “Let’s get ATF here and we can sort this shit out later.”
Gage and Sam came over to where Willow was standing. “Are you ok?” Sam asked.
Willow nodded but didn’t say anything.
Gage wrapped his arms around her and assisted her over to a fallen tree. Sitting her down, they watched as Stone showed Shay where they found the guns.
Sam stood by and watched as they men around him got busy. Then he looked over at Willow. “I knew your grandpa. It was a long time ago but from what I remember, he did have his own code of honor. He never would have sold guns to the Vipers. Not once he knew who they were.”
Willow nodded as she wiped a tear away then pressed her face into Gage’s chest. “Thank you for saying that. Gage, I need to get out of here. Can we leave? I can’t be here right now,” she whispered.
Gage’s arms tightened around her. He glanced up at Sam and at the other man’s nod, he told her, “Yeah, let’s go back to the motel. They will be busy here for hours.” He helped her to her feet and gazed at Sam. “Make sure Stone knows where we are. If they want to talk to her, they can come over there.”
Sam nodded and watched as Gage and Willow took off. Stone joined him. Sam turned his head to glare at Stone. “Is your friend serious? He sure looked like he was putting the blame on Willow’s shoulders.”
“I don’t think he meant anything.” Stone tried to defend Shay’s action but didn’t come across as very convincing.
“That’s bullshit and you know it.” Sam growled. “Without this Willow girl, we never would have known the Vipers were here all this time. Without her, we would have lost three good men and we sure as hell would have never found these weapons.”
Stone ran his hands over his head and agreed with Sam, “I don’t know what’s going on with him but I sent a copy of the book to both Trudy and Michael. Hopefully, they can find something in it to help us stop what’s coming.”
“Gage took her back to the motel,” Sam told him.
Stone nodded. “Maybe that’s best for now.”
Chapter Eight
Harper didn’t go right back to her office. She had an errand to run first. As she walked to her car, she could feel someone was watching her. She glanced around but the faces of the people around her showed no undue attention.
She got into her car and pulled out of the parking stall. She turned right and traveled three blocks south. Then she turned right again and traveled seven blocks east. She pulled up at an internet café and went inside. She got herself a cup of coffee and bought a cell phone. Keeping an eye on the street, she sat down at one of the computers. She contacted someone she trusted and five minutes later, he joined her in the café.
He was sitting three tables away from her.
She knew she couldn’t speak to him, so she logged on the computer sitting in front of her. When he logged on, she told him she needed him to run an errand. When he agreed, she made arrangements for the pickup and delivery.
Then she picked up her coffee and made her way to the door. She slipped the flash drive to him on the way out the door. She made sure no one saw the transfer and she didn’t look back. Whoever had followed her picked up her trail again, as she got into her car and went back to the office.
When she got back, she found everyone still watching the explosion in Kansas City. The death toll had risen to seventy, but there was little they could do to contain the blaze. It’d been reported as a chemical fire and plain water wouldn’t put it out.
Back in her own office, Harper called Judson from her cell phone to tell him about the special delivery she was sending him. When she was finished, she looked up and saw Glen Portman standing in her doorway.
She glared at him briefly then calmed her stance. “What can I do for you?”
“What is going on? We’re all wondering, or maybe I should say we’re all worried. We can feel the tension in the room but no one is saying anything.”
Harper stood up and went out into the office. Everyone turned away from the television to stare at her. She stared back at all the faces and thought about what she would say to them.
Kenn noticed the gathering and joined them.
“I know you’re all wondering what’s going on and I wish we could tell you something positive but at this point, we don’t know what’s happening.” She motioned toward the onscreen coverage of the fire. “We have agents working the fire but we haven’t had any word yet what happened. We don’t know if the fire was deliberately set or if it was an accident.”
Kenn stepped forward and told the group, “We just got word the fire was an accident. Well, sort of an accident. A truck carrying fuel crashed into a warehouse storing chemicals. We aren’t sure at this point if the act was deliberate or a malfunction with the truck. Most of the people working in the factory are dead due to the explosion.”
“Is this an act of terrorism or a simply accident?” Glen asked his boss.
“We’re hoping it’s an accident but we really don’t know yet. We’ll know more in the next few days. They have to get the fire under control before they’ll know anything.”
“So everyone is on alert until we know more, is that what you’re saying?” Sean Courtney, an FBI agent working with them, asked.
“Yes,” Kenn replied. “Everyone is on alert until we can access the area to assess the damage and determine if it was deliberate or an accident.”
Sean shared a look with Glen then looked away, but Harper caught the look briefly. She didn’t want them to notice so she glanced over at a desk. Then she caught the expression on Matthias’s face. He looked worried but not unduly concerned.
“Until the results come in though, I suggest we all get busy and stay busy with our own work,” Kenn reminded them. “If this wasn’t an accident we need to determine what’s coming next. We don’t want to get caught unprepared.” He paused. “In other words, let’s all get back to work.”
Everyone moved back to their own desks.
Kenn motioned for Harper to join him, and when they entered his office, he pulled the blinds that literally shut them off from the rest of the room. “Have you spoken to Michael or Judson this morning?” he asked.
Harper nodded. “I spoke to him a little while ago.”
“How is his research coming?”
“He asked if Matthias was working with us.”
“Why would he ask that?” Kenn frowned.
“Apparently, Matthias Ewing has been gathering information on most of the members of our government. Michael wanted his files.”
“That’s a little creepy. What does Michael hope to find in Matthias’s files?”
Harper shrugged. “I’m not sure. I had them sent over but I had a feeling I was being followed.”
“Dammit.” Kenn shook his head.
“I have a feeling whoever is behind this is closer than we think.”
“God, I hope not.” Kenn sighed. “I can’t imagine a worst case scenario.”
Michael sat down at his computer and plugged in the flash drive. It had come by special courier. As he booted it up, he began searching through the files listed there.
Matthias found information on all the leaders in power as they came up in the ranks. He clicked on the current vice president, Drake Carrington.
Skimming through the files, he found that Drake hadn’t been born here. He came over here at the age of four when his father, Akmed Courik was expelled from Syria by a member of the royal family. Akmed was a security officer in charge of a member of the family, and after a failed attempt to murder the man, he was in charge of, the Royals expelled him, his wife Nyseda and four year old Dracman. Once they were exiled to the United States, Akmed and Nyseda became citizens just before their second son was born. They changed their names to Alan, Nancy and Drake. Drew was born American. Alan started over and for the next forty years, gained in social stature and his son Drake began a life of politics. He married Margret Stillman and together, they had four children.
Michael clicked on the name Drew Carrington. He found where he went to school, college and his political affiliations. Nothing told him anything useful, until he clicked on a picture of Drew’s rugby team in college. He stared at the photo for a moment then called Judson over as he hit the print key. He carried the photo into the living room and pinned it to the wall.
“Did you find something?” Judson asked.
“I think I did,” Michael handed him the photo.
Judson stared at the photo but didn’t see anything significant. “What am I looking at?”
Michael pointed at one of the men in the picture. “Do you know who that is?”
Judson looked again, then his eyes went down to the index and he found the name. “Alex Daniels?”
