Chapter 15

John led Pixy inside, then turned on the stereo for background noise. He handed her helmet to her, and motioned for her to put it on along with her ear bud. John then did the same.

He then subvocalized over the throat mic “That deputy was on the take, which means that girl out there is as good as dead if the law catches her. They can’t overhear this conversation even if they are using a parabolic dish to listen with the subvocalization and frequency hopping scramble of these units.”

Pixy started to say something but John covered her lips with his hands.

“I haven’t taught you how to subvocalize, so don’t say anything. Take your phone out and type your question into a text but don’t send it. Just show it to me.”

Pixy’s fingers flashed across her phone asking “What do we do now?”

John subvocalized again, “I have some large sacks in the toy compartment that are holding spare welding leads.

Write a note for me, telling her to crawl into your backseat again, then crawl into the sack after taking the welding lead out, and not to squirm around once she’s in. Do it on your phone so she’ll be able to read it in the dark. When we get outside, play along as best you can but assume we are being watched and listened to at all times.

An hour later, following a performance worthy of an Academy award, the girl was in John’s trailer with no watchers being wise to it.

After she crawled out of the sack, she went to speak but John hushed her as he had Pixy. He put a spare ear bud unit in her ear, then subvocalized to her. “If you want to live you need to help us help you.” He then explained how it is he could talk but they couldn’t yet. He opened his laptop and brought up a simple notepad and told her to answer there.

Interrupting Pixy said “Honey, what do you want for dinner?”

John said “How about just calling in some pizza?”

She nodded, taking out her phone and called in for three pies. This domestic scene would confuse the hell out of any listeners who were suspicious of the silence before.

John told Pixy to wake Mary, and give her an earbud, so he could quickly fill her in. After twenty minutes, Mary was up to speed and typing back and forth to Alba they now knew her.

The story they got from her was she was originally from Ecuador. She’d been captured by a Mexican Cartel as she came up with a migrant group. She had been promised a place to stay in the States if she performed a task for the cartel. They had wrapped her waist with a package of high-end drugs. Once in the States, she was to deliver to a location in Vegas. She made it this far, before the local gang captured her, raped her, and took the package from her. Now the original cartel was hunting her. She would be killed in a brutal manner as an example of why not to fail the cartel.

John was very familiar with this. Her life was worthless to those animals. He thought to himself, ‘I need some backup or turn her over’. The latter option was not in his DNA so he started considering who he could call for backup. Pat came to mind as security. No watchers would pay a lone woman any mind, at least until she stuck a knife in their brain pan.

He pulled out his phone and called her.

When she answered he said “Code Delta” without preamble.

Code Delta was from the bad old days when the then lance corporal had been brought in with a team of other women to watch over released female cartel detainees. The code meant one of the women had found herself exposed to cartel thugs and needed extraction.

“What the fuck are you into Ravenclaw?”

John replied, “I need to hire some overwatch I can trust, you interested?”

She replied “Room, board, and $700/day rate.”

John said “Done.”

After giving her the location, she said, four hours. Then hung up.

He pulled Pixy aside and informed her what he had done. She just nodded.

A car pulled up outside, then a knock came to the door. John motioned the girls to the back, and answered the door. After paying for the pizza, he yelled “Pizza’s here” to the girls in the bedroom.

John sat at the table with the girls drinking a beer and eating. He noted Alba ate like a starved person, but refused the beer.

There was still one pie left when all were done.

Three hours later he heard a V-twin rumble to a stop next to his camper. He grabbed an extra throat mic and ear bud package and met Pat at the door.

Bringing her in, she gave a hairy eyeball to the three sitting on the couch, then a questioning eyebrow to John when he handed her the gear. Once she had it on, they could safely communicate somewhat normally as she also knew how to subvocalize.

John gave her the background noticing the fire in her eyes at mention of what the cartel had done to the girl.

After mentioning his rough plan, Pat replied “I’ve got a better idea. How about you pack her up in one of those rigs and carry her to the county line. I’ll pick her up there and take her into Vegas with me. I have many friends there who can help me watch over her if she’s not freaked out by lesbians.” Alba who had been listening in, stood, walked over to Pat, and grabbed her ass while licking her lips. Pat just grinned and said, “I think she likes that plan, Ravenclaw.”

John just nodded and motioned to the sack again. He subvocalized to Pixy, “We’ll need your rig.” She nodded and handed him her keys. He said “Hang on to them. Both of you get dressed. I’m not leaving you alone here. He then picked up the sack and carried it with Alba in it to Pixy’s rig. He put the sack in the back, telling her to crawl back into the hole. He walked back to his toy space and pulled out two sheets of lead he had against the wall.