Chapter 28

Longbow removed the ghillie cape and night vision goggles then ran to the three women hanging from three large wooden ‘X’ frames at the very back of the draw. Their entire backs, from their necks to their knees, had been shredded by a whip. He checked their pulses. One of the girls was probably already dead, while the other two were barely hanging on. Also, there were two young men tied spread-eagle on the ground. They were both alive, but like the girls they’d been severely beaten. He quickly cut the men loose and tried to get them to drink some water. They were so delirious it was hard to get the water into their mouths, and Lee arrived before he finished the task. “Lee, I hate to submit those girl’s open cuts to this dirt, but we’ve got to cut them down.”

“How about I cut down some of the marijuana plants and make a bed for them to lie on?”

“Excellent idea. Why don’t you get the beds made, and I’ll see if anyone is in the building.”

Lee answered, “How thick should I make them?”

“As thick as you can. It’ll help cushion the raw areas, and it’s all got to be destroyed, anyway.”

A young woman inside the building must have heard their voices as she cried out, “Help! If anyone is out there, please, for the love of God, help us!”

A stunned Lee answered back, “Dawn? Is that you, my Bright Dawn?

“Lee?”

“Yes! We’ll get you out in a moment.”

“Lee, you can’t see me like this. I’ll die, and you’ll hate me.”

Longbow replied, “Dawn, let me get you out of there. Is there anyone with you?”

“There are nine of us in here, plus the five that were left outside as punishment.”

‘Dawn, I need you to move everyone to the wall to your right side of the door. I’ve got to shoot out the lock with a gun, as I don’t have any explosives with me.”

A meek voice squeaked back, “OK.”

Longbow changed the fire selector switch back to single shot, and he began to fire, blowing large holes in the wood around the hasp that was attached to the door frame. Moments later a swift kick by Lee caused the door to crash open. Lee rushed inside the building, and led the prisoners to freedom. When he came back out he had his jacket wrapped around a naked girl. Looking up at the frightening specter known as Longbow, she asked, “What did you do? We kept waiting for the shots, but we never heard anything except the wood splintering.

He softly replied, “The gun is silenced. I didn’t want to alert the ranch house.”

“Oh!”

Lee interjected, “Longbow, this is Bright Dawn, the girl I plan to marry.”

“You would still want to marry me? Lee, you can’t! You’ve no idea what I’ve been forced to do!”

“I don’t care! All I want is you.”

“But when it comes out everyone around here will know. Even if I had no choice, my reputation is ruined. I can’t do that to you.”

Jason understood their problems, but they had bigger ones at the moment. He grabbed both of them gently on the shoulder, and said, “Dawn, it won’t be as bad as you think, and you’re all he can think about. The problem is right now I need help. I need someone who can handle a rifle to be standing guard until reinforcements arrive, and I need others to help me try to save the two on the crosses who are still alive.”

Lee shook his head, and said, “Sorry, Longbow, I lost perspective for a moment. I’ve just been so worried about her. I’ll get my rifle and cover the front.”

One of the others said, “I can handle a rifle.”

Longbow responded, “Get the rifle from the other horse. But unless you have no choice, no firing without direct orders from me. I’d like to maintain secrecy here for as long as I can.”

Both nodded, and Lee led the young man to the horses. Dawn turned to the crosses and saw the bodies for the first time. Seconds later she was throwing up what little food she had in her system. Three others followed.

Longbow was afraid he was going to have to do it all, but by the time he started cutting the first girl down he had two girls and two young men helping him. They carefully placed the shredded body on the bed of marijuana plants Lee had started a few minutes earlier. The two others, now recovering from their violent vomiting, asked Longbow to blow the lock off a large wooden tool bin. Inside the bin they found some machetes that were normally used in harvesting, and started cutting down more of the plants. Others grabbed the cut stalks and started making six more piles of ‘bedding, ‘ as there were two others from inside the building that were too hurt, or sick, to sit up.

Longbow started cutting down the next girl, who was grabbed by two of the young men before he’d even finished. As soon as she was free, the three of them carried her to one of the prepared piles. When they laid her down Longbow saw the two from inside the building already laying on beds, having been helped outside by some of the others. Realizing they immediately needed water and some nourishment he handed his knife to one of the boys who had been cutting down the marijuana plants.

“Take this and help get the last one cut down and on to one of the piles. Are there blankets or anything in the building?”

“No, Sir. And no clothes, either. They said if we got cold we could just cuddle up like sheep. These that were beaten were the ones who claimed to be too sick to work, but without blankets or clothes we’re all headed that way.”

Longbow nodded, and said, “We’ll get some here soon.” He grabbed a girl who’d just carried one of the people to the makeshift beds, and said, “We need to get these people some water and a little sustenance.” He pulled the bottle of water and the energy bars from his fanny pack, and handed them to her, adding, “Give each one of the injured a small sip of water. Then, crumble a piece of the energy bar about the size of your thumb. Place it on their tongue, and give them another sip of water. After a minute give them a third sip and move on to the next victim. Can you do that?”

“Yes, Sir. But what if they’re dead or won’t take it?”

“Just try. Also, be careful, remember their backs are ripped raw and many of the lashes appear to have also wrapped around to their front.”

As soon as she started she had two other girls helping her. Longbow looked around, and saw two of the boys were moving the last of the beaten ones to a pallet. He retrieved his knife and walked back to the front of the covered draw. When he approached he observed Dawn had joined Lee, and they were working though their problems. The other girl stood at the opening of the camouflaged area and diligently watched for anyone approaching. Longbow moved up to the opposite side of the entrance and turned the mike off mute. He had switched it to mute when Lee first arrived. “Base, this is Longbow. How are you coming on getting some help?”

“The first ones should arrive in fifteen to twenty minutes. Can I give them more info?”

“It looks like our man here has tried to imitate a southern plantation owner without the benefit of purchasing his help, and without being choosy about their color. We need a lot of blankets, and eventually we’re going to need clothing. I’ve got one possible dead, and six who are more dead than alive. When I arrived I found three young women lashed to wooden crosses and two young men tied to stakes spread-eagle on the ground. All five had been lashed beyond imagination with a bullwhip. I suspect they’ve also been raped, including the boys.”

“My God!”

“Base, there are fourteen total, including Lee’s Dawn. They’re dehydrated and starving. Several are too sick to sit up. I’d say we need a lot of Gatorade, and some kind of broth mixed with rice. The worst ones will probably need an IV to survive. I want a doctor here as soon as possible, but with the corruption in the area I don’t know if we can trust anyone.”

“Longbow, this is Sam. I know a couple we can trust. What else?”

“We’ll need to defend this place until we can get some honest lawmen involved, so get some weapons and people who know how to use them. Probably some more horses, too. I don’t know how to handle this, as my original battle plan has ‘gone south.’ I’ll also try to get you a list of the families whose missing children are here.”

“Good. Base out.”

Longbow sighed and slumped to the ground. He laid the night vision goggles, the ghillie cape, and his ‘boonie hat’ to the side. Taking a couple of Wet Wipes from his fanny pack he used them to remove the make up from his face and hands. He was now Jason, again. Longbow was just too emotionally drained to deal with it anymore. He closed his eyes for a few minutes, but was disturbed by someone approaching. He looked up, and saw Lee and Dawn holding hands, so he suspected they’d worked through their problems, or had at least put them on hold for the moment. She still had on Lee’s jacket, but nothing else.”

“Longbow, what do you need me to do now?” Lee asked.

“Lee, Longbow has left the building, leaving Jason in charge. He just couldn’t deal with this anymore. Could you please bring me the ammo and spare clips from my saddlebag?”

“Sure.”

Moments later Lee returned with the requested supplies. Jason looked at the couple, his heart breaking for what they were going through. After a moment he said, “Lee, I need you to take your horse and ride toward the Lazy J ranch house. Find a spot no more than a quarter mile from here, and hide. If anyone comes by the road Sam can spot them, but if they come cross-country from the ranch I want some warning. Since you aren’t really wearing camo gear, use my ghillie cape. Wrap yourself in it, and keep low. Don’t shoot except to protect your own life. Just remember, at this moment I need a scout, not a warrior.”

“Yes, Sir.” Lee kissed Dawn with all the love he had in his heart, and headed for his horse.

While he rode away Jason said, “Dawn, I need you to use my radio and give Sam a list of the names and family phone numbers of the kids here.”

She fought back her tears, and said, “Mister Jason, do you want the information on everyone, or just the local kids?”

“They’re not all local?”

“No, Sir. Most are runaways who were picked up by the sheriff for one reason or another. I was grabbed in case they needed leverage against Lee. Of course, that didn’t stop them from raping me repeatedly.”

“Dawn, that’s in the past. For Lee’s sake, you need to dwell on the future. As for the names, just give him the local ones.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Jason keyed the radio, ignoring the headphones. “Jason to Base.”

Understanding from earlier conversations that Jason had changed personas Juan replied, “Yes, Jason.”

“Go to alternate channel one. Listen for names and numbers. Write them down, and have Sam call the parents. Have them come to you. When finished, return to this channel.”

“Will do.”

Jason changed the channel and handed the radio back to Dawn, asking, “Did you follow what I was saying?”

“Give him names and phone numbers only. No conversation, no information. Do I give him a full name?”

“No. Just give him a name the parents will recognize. I don’t think anyone around here could be listening, but I don’t want to take a chance.”

“Yes, Sir. I think it’s a good idea. But everyone around here has CB radios in their homes, and in all their vehicles.”

“I figured that. That’s why I chose to get Marine VHF radios. They operate on an entirely different frequency range.”

“Oh,” she replied, and headed off to her assigned task.

Jason got out his cell phone. The signal wasn’t the best in the world, but it was holding together. He called Hawk. While it was ringing he looked at his watch. It was almost zero two hundred in Phoenix. Finally, a sleepy Brenda answered the phone, saying, “Hello?”

“Brenda, It’s Jason. Sorry to wake you, but I need to talk to Hawk, Deke, and possibly your Aunt, as soon as possible. We’ve got a serious situation here.”

Now wide awake she said, “I’ll give this phone to Hawk, and call Aunt Beth from another line. She’ll have to call Deke at home, as I don’t know the number.”

A sluggish Hawk said, “Jason, Andy’s gone to make us some coffee. That will help us get out of this mental fog. What’s going on?”

“My reconnaissance tonight revealed WJ is not only into marijuana, but also slavery, torture, and probably murder. I had to rush the situation as there were three girls lashed to ‘X’ crosses and two young men tied spread eagle on the ground. All of them appear to be between sixteen and twenty, and had been beaten with a bullwhip so bad that virtually all the skin on their backs, shoulders, hips, and thighs has been stripped off. Also, the raw bone was showing in some places. They also appeared to have been sexually molested, even the boys.”

A suddenly very awake Hawk responded, “You’ve got to be kidding!”

“I wish I were. There were also several others locked in a building with no heat, no toilet, no water, and no food. They’ve been nude for weeks in thirty degree evenings, and fifty to sixty degree days. We probably already have at least one death, and several others are close to it. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were others in unmarked graves in the area.”

“What do you need us to do?”

“I’m hoping Beth or Deke knows someone in law enforcement who has the authority and power to come in here, and take this whole operation down. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life in prison for killing that scum, but I will if I have to.”

“What was your plan earlier?’

“Get him and the sheriff at each others’ throat, and have him attempt to kill the sheriff. Obviously we can’t do that now, as he’ll know someone has been here and freed the kids.”

“Jason, Brenda’s back. She wants to talk to you.”

Brenda picked up the phone, and said, “Hold on for a minute, Jason. We’re trying to get a conference call set up here.”

There were a couple of clicks, and a woman said, “Hello? Brenda?”

“I’m here, Aunt Beth. What about Deke?”

Deke replied, “I’m here, too.”

Jason added, “And I’m still here.”

Deke said, “Jason, Brenda says you’ve a major problem. How can we help.”

“I need someone in law enforcement, or with the DEA, that has the authority to come in here and take over, totally bypassing the sheriff’s office, and all of the other local authorities.”

“How bad are we talking about?”

“Roughly twenty to thirty acres of marijuana plants standing eight to ten feet tall. Add to that slavery, kidnapping, rape, torture, sodomy, murder, and attempted murder. Attempted theft of Indian lands, plus whatever else we can pin on him related to the Jackson children. The parts we can’t prove, at this point, include rustling and four to six more murders.”

Deke asked, “What other information can you give me?”

“I cut short my reconnaissance tonight when I found three teen-aged girls lashed to ‘X’ crosses and two young men tied spread-eagle on the ground. They’d all been beaten with a bullwhip so badly that virtually all the skin on their backs was shredded. In some places even the bones were showing. There was a building under camouflaged netting which contained a bunch of naked teens being held as slaves. They’d no heat, no toilet, no water, and no food. We already have at least one probable death, and several others close to it. I also wouldn’t be surprised if there were others in unmarked graves, in the area.”

Shaken, yet angry, Deke asked, “Are you on ranch property?”

“Actually, I’m on a tiny section of the reservation Jackson has tried to claim was his. The son of the chairman of the Tribal Council is with me. The only thing I need to do to cover myself is to remove the silencer from the rifle. As for my activity, the only thing I’ve done, so far, is to shoot the lock off the door of the building.”

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The Hawk and the Chipmunk

Mike Lowe aka The Scot

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