Rose Ch. 58-63

"I'll get the house, you get the shed," Lars sent back. I stood and pulled off my Ghillie suit, then ran naked down the hillside with my pistol in my hand. I went straight to the dead men, watching the house as I rifled their pockets. The big man had a key ring, I grabbed that and went to the door of the shed.

The padlock was a Masterlock, I saw a key with that logo and put it in. The padlock opened, and the chains dropped. "Es hora de que llegues aqui," a man said. (About time you got here.) I pulled the door back, keeping myself hidden, then burst through with my gun up. The man was sitting at a table, he reached for a gun but I was faster and soon his brains were spread on the wall behind him. I looked around for others, my stomach sinking as I saw what was here. "Shed's clear, a dozen victims alive," I sent to Craig and Lars.

"Need help," Lars replied. "I'm pinned down in the back yard."

I could hear the gunfire, I had to leave them. "We'll be back, we're here to rescue you," I told them as I raced back to the door. Shots were hitting the shed door, someone was firing from the house at me. I shifted into my panther and ran at full speed across to the house. The shooter was too shocked or slow, I made it there intact. Running hard, I turned my head and put my shoulder into the door, breaking it open.

Two men were at the front windows, both turned and looked at me in fear as my huge panther landed in the hallway. Before the first could recover from the shock, I was on him, my claws ripping his gun arm into shreds before slicing across his throat. I left him spurting blood as I leaped on the second man, who got a shot off. I ignored the pain in my back leg as I knocked him down. I opened my mouth wide and clamped my teeth on his head. He screamed in agony as my long teeth bit into each side of his face and my claws raked his chest and arms. I bit harder, there was a loud crunch as his skull caved in and he went limp.

I dropped him and changed to human form, grabbing the AK-47 off the floor and a spare magazine. I ran through the hall to the kitchen where the gunfire was coming from. A man popped out at the end of the hallway, I put a burst into his chest and kept going. Stopping at the end of the hallway, I could see three more men firing through the back windows at Lars. Raising the rifle, I sent a burst at two, just as Lars shot the last one through the window.

It was quiet again.

"Stay in position, I'm going to sweep the house," I sent. I moved quickly, making sure each man was dead. "CLEAR," I finally sent.

"Good, I was getting a bit pissed at being pinned behind the birdbath," Lars said as he approached. He had pulled off his Ghillie suit and was in his black pants, shirt and boots. I grabbed a shirt out of one of the dressers and used it to bind the bullet hole in my thigh, it had grazed the outside. It would heal on its own in a few hours.

"We need to secure the barn," I said.

"I've got that, you go get dressed so you don't scare them."

I ran out of the house and back to my kit, dressing quickly. I shoved the Ghillie suit and camera in my pack, then shouldered it and grabbed my rifle. I could hear paws thundering towards me. "Craig, have them stop. Go back to the cars and drive around, we have about a dozen to evacuate and we will need Doc and his ambulance," I said. "The Alphas and Betas should come see this now, though. Oh, and get dressed before you arrive, we don't want to scare the humans."

"On it, Gunny." The pounding stopped, and some of them started to run back. I ran back down the hill, picking up my pistol and holstering it as I walked through the barn door. Lars had taken the keys out of the padlock and was starting to release people from their bonds.

The place was a pure and simple torture chamber. There were chains attached to the walls, eye bolts set into the concrete about ten feet up with collars at the end. The captives were standing against the wall; the chains only had a foot or two of slack, enough for them to move a little, but not to sit down without choking themselves. It was an old and effective means of breaking people down, because they couldn't rest and couldn't sleep without choking themselves.

The center was the real torture station. A woman was hanging naked by her arms, a pair of chains attached to the beams high above and keeping her arms spread in a 'V'. Her feet were chained to the floor, ensuring she couldn't kick or twist out of the way. Bright lights shone down on her wile the rest of the room was in semi-darkness, showing the whip scores on her back and legs. My body recoiled at the smell of this place; blood, piss, crap and fear.

I grabbed a stepladder by the door and set it next to the woman; she was unconscious, her face bloody and battered. I could tell she had been raped, repeatedly; blood and semen trailed down her thighs. I pushed back my anger, the men were dead, we needed to help them now. "Craig, you and the medical team in here, keep the others out. We'll frighten them if too many show up."

"OK, the rest are going to the house to see what we can find." Craig came in a moment later and ran to my side.

I took the pins out of the manacles on her ankles, tossing them to the side. Craig climbed up the ladder, I gently supported her waist as he took the manacles off her hands. She collapsed onto my shoulder when she came loose, and I carried her over to the table. Craig pushed everything else off, including the guy I had shot on the way in, and I laid her gently on her stomach. "Nothing else we can do for her now," Craig said, "Let's get the others."

The other victims ranged from frightened to nearly dead, we sat them down in chairs until Doc could get here. Beta Daniel had raided the bedrooms of the house, bringing out shirts, shorts and blankets. He started handing them out to the people as they were freed, covering those who could not dress themselves. I counted thirteen people, eight women and five men. "Who are you," one of the women asked as I wrapped a blanket around her shivering body; she was holding the hand of the woman who had been so badly beaten.

"Friends," I said. "You are Kelsey Stillwater?"

"How did you know my name?"

"Your brother sent us," I said. "This must be your mother, Daniella."

She nodded. "Thank the Goddess you got here, she wouldn't have survived another beating," she said as she cried. "Don't let those two men go," she told Craig. "They are Pacific cartel enforcers." Craig looked at them, they had tattoos of the gang and he left them hanging. Kelsey was shivering hard, probably in shock. I held her while she broke down, as the other people were tended to and walked out.

I could hear vehicles starting to arrive, and Doc came in shortly after with a gurney. "Female, late forties, unconscious, pulse 90. She's been whipped badly," I said.

Doc looked at her, lifting the blanket the clotting blood caught, and bleeding restarted. "Help me move her," he said. Craig and I helped lift her, setting her on the gurney face down. We carefully adjusted the straps to hold her in place, avoiding the areas where the whippings were the worst. Doc attached an IV line to her hand, passing me the bag to hold. "Let's get her out of here," he said as soon as he verified the IV flow.

We pushed her out to the driveway, where the ambulance was waiting. Nurse Wendy had quickly checked the others, two had serious injuries and were already in the back. We loaded up the gurney and Doc jumped in with them. "Go directly to Alpha Carlos' territory and take the helicopter back to Gila," Robert said. "The driver can meet us on the way back." I closed the door, and it pulled out of the driveway.

The captives were being loaded into Pack vehicles as we watched. Most of the women had been raped and couldn't calm down among men, so Patricia loaded them into a big SUV to drive back. The others were divided up and sent on their way, leaving only the Alphas, Lars and I. I reached into my bag and pulled out the cellphone, sending a text to Alpha Carlos that we were ready for them. "Did you find anything in the house?"

"Not much," Robert said. "We gathered anything that looked important. We've grabbed the SIM cards for all cellphones, and hard drives from the computers."

"All right, time to put the plan into effect." I walked back into the barn, picking up the pistol dropped by the man I had shot when I burst in. Looking at the Cartel men still shackled to the wall, I put two rounds into each of their chests, then wiped the grip with my shirt. I put the pistol in the dead guard's hand, fired another shot into the wall and let the pistol drop to the ground again. "Leave this place as is," I said. "When the packages arrive, we'll make it look like they were killed in the shootout."

We got back outside as Carlos' vehicle pulled in. He stepped out, surveying the scene. "Successful?"

"Smooth," I replied. "Those our guys?"

"Yep, fresh from a Pacific Cartel hideout. We left a few others behind, we piled their heads outside and put Z's on the wall in their blood," he said.

We took the men out, they had been knocked out. I carried one into the shed, standing him up I shot him in the face and left him there. The other guy was shot in the driveway. Wiping off the blood, I went out and grabbed a torch and some kerosene from the back of the second vehicle. Carlos had already left, and Lars grabbed the other torch. "Get the house and we'll meet you back at the trailhead," I said to Alpha Craig. Beta Alex took a can into the house, he would set fire to that and drive away with the others. Lars and I lit our torches after soaking the cloth in kerosene, we needed to burn the grasses and paths we used to hide our scents. With the dry air and the heat, it would start a wildfire, but it was better than being discovered. We made sure our hide locations were well burned, then continued up and over the hill. The trail where the Packs had come was especially strong in scent, so we set fires on each side of the trail. By the time we made it back to the vehicles, the whole mountain was on fire.

The victims were rescued, the Zeta Cartel members were dead, and it would be blamed on the Pacific Cartel. As we loaded into the back of the SUV, I was in a good mood. I held my right hand up in a fist, thumb up, while my left hand pointed at it. It was the universal signal for "Want a beer?"

We deserved it.

Ch. 59

It was a good thing all vehicles owned by the Pack kept a store of extra clothes around, because these people needed them. We were getting updates from the other vehicles, those carrying the victims we had rescued. It wasn't good.

Some things were so important they were worth breaking radio silence. Alpha Craig took out the scrambled satellite phone we had brought along; although the transmissions could be intercepted, it was impossible to tell where they had come from. The scrambler Josh had installed would have to hold them off. He pressed the number for home. "It's me," he said. "Write these down, they were the ones rescued." He read the list of twelve names. "Cross-reference and pull in those assets before this becomes public, use our allies as needed." He hung up, the whole call took about thirty seconds.

We drove through the Coronado National Forest, getting away from the flames and the emergency vehicles before we were noticed. When we were safe on the other side, we had all the vehicles pull over into an isolated area of desert; it was time to do a little dressing and sorting. We let Patricia take her van in the pullout first, the vehicle hiding the women from the roadway as they pulled on clothing. They didn't have enough, so we went in second, pulling alongside the van and letting Patricia get to our stash as well. When they were dressed, the SUV carrying the male victims came in.

They didn't know who we were, just that we had rescued them. Some were in shock, some were overjoyed, some still held fear of what would happen next. Nothing in their experiences with the Cartel was good, and they didn't know we would be any different. Lars and I had some basic medical training, we focused on treating the obvious injuries as we could. None were life threatening, but they did have the injuries from prolonged torture Robert had seen before. All were human as well; the two mountain lion shifters having been taken in the ambulance with two other women.

We divided the people up, getting their backgrounds and comparing notes from the four women and three men. We collected contact data for their families which we could later compare to what Charlie had already given us. All were being held as leverage against husbands or relatives. "Alpha, how much do we tell them?"

"Not much, follow my lead." Alpha Craig moved until he stood in front of the men and women who were sitting in the shade from the van and the SUV. He pulled out a badge, one he probably hadn't turned in at the end of the task force time. "I'm Special Agent John Doe, Drug Enforcement Agency," he said before flipping it closed. "And no, that's not my real name, and none of the other names you hear today will be real. Our Task Force is top secret, operating outside normal channels, for the express purpose of taking out the Zeta Cartel. This morning we got word from an informant that a Cartel safe house was located in the mountains outside Patagonia. We moved on the information immediately. The raid that freed you was a complete success, all Cartel figures were arrested or killed, plus we gained significant intelligence. Now, I would like nothing more that to return your freedom and reunite you with your loved ones, but I'm afraid that will have to wait for a while."

"Why?" One of the men started to stand. "We have done nothing wrong!"

Craig held his hand out. "You have not, but to reunite you now would risk you and your loved ones," he said. "We are going to transport you to a secure location, where you will be treated, fed and brought up to date on what is going on. When it is safe to do so, we will arrange for you to talk to your families again. The Cartels aren't stupid, they will know you are gone shortly. We need to safely reach out to your families and bring them to safety before the Cartel gets them."

"We need to listen to them," one woman said. "The Zetas won't hesitate to wipe out your whole family if they think they have been crossed."

"They are, but the full resources of the United States government are being applied to take them down." He turned to me. "We will be traveling to this secure location now, it will take about almost ten hours to get there. We expect the Cartel will have people watching, plus we know they have agents in government, so we have to take the long way and back roads. We will only be stopping as necessary for gas, food and bathroom breaks. I would ask that you cooperate, minimize your time outside the vehicles, and listen to our instructions. Get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be a busy day," he said.

"If you need to go to the bathroom, ladies behind that rock, men on the other side of the road," I said. "There is water and food in the cars, we will get more along the way. If you have any specific needs or requests, let your driver know." A few people wandered off to go to the bathroom, and five minutes later we were back on the road. Ross joined Patricia in the van with the women, we had no other females along. We figured he was the best choice because they trusted her, and as her brother she could vouch for him.

We took off ahead of the rest, winding up to near a hundred miles an hour on the empty desert roads. "Boss, what are we going to do with these guys? We can't put them on Pack lands without risking exposing ourselves. If the Cartel gets wind that werewolves and werecats were involved, our little blameshifting game falls apart."

Craig nodded as he drove. "I know. We can't do anything about the ones heading to Robert's territory, they need the clinic. Wherever we take them has to be defensible."

"And untraceable to the Pack," I said.

"For now, that house we own down the street will have to do. Charlie, your application for asylum for you and your family has been granted. Your information has been accurate and helpful, and that is enough for me."

"Thank you, Alpha. I won't let you down."

"You better not let my sister down, Charlie. You hurt her, and you'll beg for the Alpha Council to take over your judgment." Ross could be downright scary when he wanted to be. "Have you talked about where you are going to settle?"

"Not yet. I'm still figuring this pack thing out. Wherever we go, we need to be together."

"Nothing has to be decided yet," Craig said. "Luna knows there have been enough surprises lately."

"How is your sister holding up, Charlie?" She had clung to me, both as her rescuer and her fellow cat shifter. I didn't have much time to talk to her before she left in the ambulance.

"She didn't say much when we could still link, other than being worried about Mom and thanking us for getting them. She'll be fine until she's not fine," Charlie said. "She's strong willed, clear headed when there is trouble. It's when things calm down that everything catches up with her." His fists clenched, and he looked out the window. "She was raped, repeatedly. All of them were, the men too."

"I know, those bastards broke them in every way. I smelled it, and I could tell by how they reacted to me," I said.

"My Pack Healers have dealt with this before, we even have some females who escaped from the Cartel and their abuse," Robert said, "Including my own mate. One of them, Maria, was in the ambulance."

"That won't help too much since they passed the patients to the helicopter," I said.

"I could send Caleb and Maria along to your house, they can stay with the victims for now. Wendy too, if Doc can spare her. That's all I can do."

I could see the wheels churning in Craig's head. "I want to minimize contact with werewolves, though, and I don't want to see Maria having to relive that time. There are some abuse and sexual assault counselors in Santa Fe, very discreet. I bet I could pay enough to keep their silence and make the house calls."

"Good idea," Robert said. "Whatever help we can give them without them knowing who we are, we should."

We slowed down as we got to town. We found a McDonalds in Huachuca and placed a huge order; it wouldn't be the heathiest, but it was fast. We got bags of burgers, nuggets, fries and shakes and quickly pulled back out into the roads. Our timing was good, we were able to meet up with the other vehicles at stoplights and pass the bags across.

After stuffing myself on chicken nuggets and fries, I was ready to nap. I rolled up my Ghillie suit, wedging it against the window as I tried to nap in the back seat. Craig and Robert had the first watch, Lars and I were taking the second. The navigation system had been programmed with waypoints to avoid law enforcement and Pack boundaries; we didn't need any more problems tonight. The fewer people who knew about us, the better.

We skirted the southern edge of the Gila Pack territory. As we got closer, Robert was able to get an update on the victims. Daniella Stillwater, Charlie's mother, was still unconscious but would pull through. She had been beaten nearly to death, another hour of that torture and she wouldn't have made it. Kelsey was better physically, she was resting in the same bed.

Charlie asked to go with them, and Craig had to tell him no. "You're needed back at the Belden house for the investigation," he said.

Ten minutes later, we were stopped at a road junction and everyone got out to stretch their legs. "All right everyone," Craig got their attention, "Some of our task force is going to return to base, and all of you who have been rescued are being taken to a safe house. As I said, I don't know how long you will need to be there, but the safety of you and your families is our priority." There were nods and grumbles, it was nearly four in the morning. "Now, I need you all to load into the van, men first." The four men took the back rows of the thirteen-passenger van, the women in the middle, and I drove while Ross took shotgun. We waved at Robert and his men as we pulled out again.