Chapter 12

Where is she? I asked Colleen, referring to Robyn. And who's following her? The police or otherwise?

I connected with Robyn and heard my questions register in Robyn's mind when Colleen asked them.

If it's the police, they aren't in a black and white, Robyn said to Colleen. Oh, shit! A roadblock!

I connected with Corny. He hadn't seen Robyn yet, so I called him and told him what was happening.

Where is she? I asked Colleen again.

Colleen! They're taking me! They're...

Help's on the way, Robyn, Colleen said. Where are you? I sensed Colleen's groan of dismay. She hung up, cowboy.

My mind still touched Robyn's, so she was still alive, alive but unconscious, I decided a few seconds later.

"Corny," I said into the telephone, "Robyn's been taken. She ran into a roadblock."

"The police?"

"Don't know. Frankly, I hope it is the police."

She's unconscious, I told Colleen. Either she's wounded, crashed her car, or she's been rendered unconscious.

"I see her vehicle," Corny said. "Both front doors are open. The vehicle is empty. It's been abandoned. If the police took her, they'd still be here."

"Karsh has her," I breathed.

Corny said, "I'll drive around to try to spot her abductors, but..."

"I know. Try, and then meet Ruben and me at the mansion." I hung up.

I connected Sifu so he could mind-talk with Colleen and me. I need advice. Karsh's thugs have taken Robyn. She's unconscious now, and she might be wounded, but when she revives, I can ask her to help me determine her location so we can retrieve her.
Which means, Sifu said, that Robyn will learn about your magic.

Precisely. I might convince Robyn not to spread the word, but...

She'll tell Ruben, Colleen said.

I agree with Colleen, Sifu said.

Knowing this, what's your advice? I asked.

Won't they take her to Karsh's stronghold? Colleen said.

I don't know where they'll take her, but if the police are still at the stronghold and some of them aren't bought and paid for, they'll take her elsewhere. Besides, wherever she's taken, being able to communicate with her will give us an advantage.

I felt a mental groan. Robyn's coming around, I said. I need your advice now.

Do it, Colleen said. Talk to her.

I agree, but try to limit the exposure of your magic to her and Ruben.

I called Ruben. "Karsh has taken Robyn," I said.

"No!"

"She's unconscious right now, but she's starting to wake up."

"Where is she? We must get her back!"

"We will." He hadn't realized that I had no way of knowing what I'd just told him. "We don't know where she is, Ruben."

I was in his mind, so I knew when he started to question how I could know she was unconscious and was starting to wake up.

"I'm a telepath, Ruben."

Silence.

Please say nothing, I said in his mind. Just listen. My mind is touching Robyn's right now, just like it's touching yours. That's how I know she's unconscious and is starting to revive. Do you understand?

I must be losing my mind, he thought.

"Robyn's awake now," I said into the telephone. "And you're not losing your mind. We can help her, but you must accept the fact that I'm a telepath. Do you understand?"

"Yes... no, this is crazy."

Sifu calls it magic, I said silently. I can connect your mind with Robyn's so you can speak with her, but you must learn to speak with me first. If you understand, think yes. If you don't, think no.

Yes.

Good. That I'm a telepath is a secret and must remain a secret, Ruben. Will you promise to keep my secret?

Yes.

Thank you. I'm hanging up the phone now. We'll mind-talk, and in a minute we'll mind-talk with Robyn. She's very frightened, and when I speak to her this way, she might react badly. It would help if you were calm. I'll ask her to tell us where she is with her thoughts. Okay?

Yes.

Robyn, I said to her mind. It's Morgan. I'm a telepath. If you understand, think yes. If you don't, think no.

Shit! The blow to my head must have shaken some wires loose.

Not a bad reaction, I thought without transferring the thought to either Ruben or Robyn. I was also very relieved that she hadn't been wounded.

Robyn, I just divulged my telepathic ability to Ruben. He thought he was crazy, too, but he now understands and accepts that I can communicate directly with his mind, just like I'm communicating with yours right now. We can help you if you'll accept this ability of mine and work with us. I'll connect you with Ruben now. Okay?

Crazy as a loon, that's what I am, she thought.

Ruben, think of something only you could know about Robyn or about the two of you. We need to demonstrate that I'm telling the truth.

All right. I...

I connected Robyn and Ruben. Tell her not me, Ruben. Think your words; don't speak them. She will experience your words in her mind like you are experiencing mine.

Baby, it's Ruben. Morgan's telling the truth.

Ruben? she said, and I sensed that she spoke his name out loud.

Don't talk, Robyn, I said. Just think and listen. Ruben can prove that what's happening is real. Go ahead Ruben.

Crazy, she thought.

Ruben said, Without going into any details, your first memory was taking a bath with your brother.

I sensed her gasp.

You said you'd never told this to anyone but me, Ruben added.

Don't speak, Robyn, just think, I said. Is this something only Ruben would know?
Yes! Thank God! I'm not crazy! Ruben, I love you.

And I love you, baby.

Where are you, Robyn? I asked.

I'm in the trunk of a car.

Who took you? I asked.

Nick Martin and three other men.

When I sensed Ruben was about to lose it, I said, They want her alive or they would have killed her, Ruben.

Sifu drove through the gates to the mansion. Where are you, Ruben?

About five minutes from the mansion. Maria says we're clear.

All right. I'll leave the two of you connected, so you can mind-talk, and I'll start putting together the assault team to retrieve Robyn. Robyn, we need to know where they're taking you as soon as possible.

I understand, she said. Jeez, this is weird.

Uh-uh, I said. It's magic.

We weren't clueless.

Clue #1. When Robyn's abductors removed her from the trunk of a car, she was in a two-car garage, but the garage door was still open, and she saw a lighted number for the house across the street. Unfortunately, she didn't see a street sign.

Clue #2. When she lost consciousness, I noted the time. I also noted the time when she told us they were taking her from the trunk. The time lapse between those events gave us a rough approximation of the distance from the abduction site to the house where they were holding her. On a map, we used the abduction site as the center of a circle and traced two concentric circles. The inner circle was our estimate of the minimum distance; the outer circle the maximum.

Clue #3. Corny's approach to the abduction site allowed us to discount the segment of the city behind him.

Clue #4. The abductors placed her bound and gagged in a closet. While we scurried to narrow down Robyn's location, she heard sounds: the whistle of a train, truck engines starting up, and the whooshing sound of air brakes when a truck stops. This clue allowed us to eliminate neighborhoods that weren't close to railroad tracks or truck docks.

From these clues, Ruben, Colleen, Sifu and I, using maps and logic, narrowed Robyn's location down to a neighborhood. Railroad tracks ran across the back of the neighborhood and served nearby warehouses. The most telling clue was the house number Robyn gave us. From this number, we believed we'd pinpointed the house where she was being held.

"Let's go," Ruben said.

I nodded and we joined Corny, Heather, Maria, Dan and Carlos in the great room. I motioned for them to join me at a table, and when they had gathered around, I said, "We have a neighborhood." I pointed at the map. "Jasper will drive Ruben and Heather. Sifu will drive Corny and me. Carlos, I want you and the ambulance nearby. Colleen will ride with you."

When Colleen started to object, I said silently, With Ruben in one vehicle, you in another, and me in the third, we'll have telepathic communication, as well as electronic communication.

Oh, okay, she responded.

"Carlos, stage the ambulance here." I pointed. "That's the corner of Dusty Road and Overland Trail Avenue. Jasper, stage your vehicle here at the intersection of Garrison Street and Elm."

He nodded.

"Sifu will stage his vehicle here at Willow Road and 84th Street. We're not certain which house in the neighborhood is being used to hold Robyn, so Ruben and I are recon. Ruben, we'll rendezvous here." I pointed.

He nodded.

"Once we resolve the target, Ruben and I will determine the best way to enter the house, but if possible, I will make a solo, silent entry. If that isn't possible, we'll do it the hard way with Corny and Heather coming through the front door as Ruben and I enter the back door. Any questions?"

Corny snorted. "About a million of them, but we don't have time to deal with them right now."

"Let's go," Ruben said. "I'm surprised they haven't started to interrogate her already."

Corny gave Ruben a strange look.

Ruben, that last statement should have been a thought, I said silently.

Sorry.

Like Ruben, I was also surprised they hadn't started to question her. Then it hit me. I remembered what Hall did to Marna. They were waiting for Hall's arrival. Hall wanted to interrogate her, wanted to inflict pain, wanted make her suffer. Nothing else made sense.

I cursed silently without passing on the curses. Hall would torture her, and when she'd told him everything she knew, he'd kill her.

En route to the neighborhood, I called Horace.

"We have a tentative location for Robyn. They've taken her cell phone, but I don't believe it's been turned off. Turn it into a microphone, and start the triangulation process to pinpoint her location. We think we can beat you to that goal, but just in case..."

"Give me the neighborhood. My people have been standing by. We need to save her, Morgan. Robyn is good people."

Well, well, is Horace finally starting to appreciate the female gender in the work force?

Ruben and I stood behind the house where we believed Robyn was being held. We wore Kevlar vests, night camouflage gear, and black watch caps. Our faces and hands were painted. My XD-9 was silenced, as was Ruben's weapon, and I carried two zi-wu, or deer-horn knives. Large ones can be used to scale walls. Mine were small. I used them like throwing stars. I preferred them to throwing knives, and they killed silently.

Ruben, move around to the front of the house. If possible, verify the lighted house number Robyn told us about, I said silently.

A minute later, he said, Yes. It's directly across the street from the house we selected.

I can see shadows moving behind the drapery. Slip back here and back me up while I move up against the house.

When he was in place, I crept across the back yard, using any cover offered, until I crouched under a bedroom window. No one was in the bedroom, so I moved to the window where I'd seen shadows moving. My mind touched the minds of three hoodlums. I listened to their thoughts and conversation.

We have the right house, I told Ruben silently. I've connected with three of Karsh's thugs but haven't connected with Nick Martin yet. He's either at the front of the house or isn't in the house.

I returned to the window for the vacant bedroom. It was shut and locked. I found no wires or other devices indicating the window was connected to an intrusion alarm, so using a glasscutter, I removed a circle of glass large enough to reach in and unlock the window. Would it creak when I pushed it open? A little, but the television was on in the other room. I doubted the thugs heard the sound.

I'm moving inside the house, I told Ruben.

Ruben had asked to remain connected with Robyn, but I'd squelched his request, telling him truthfully that it took too much concentration on my part to maintain a three-way connection. I was connected with Robyn, though, and told her that I'd entered the house.

The room was dark but enough light filtered inside through the open window that I could make out the furniture, so I left my night-vision goggles perched on my forehead. I picked out the door to the hall, and to my right I saw a closet door. Hoping Robyn was in the closet, I opened the door. No such luck. I walked to the door to the hall and cast my mind out to search for a new mind - Nick Martin's mind, specifically. My search didn't give me a new connection. I couldn't search for Robyn's mind. She wasn't a new connection, and my telepathic sense didn't provide proximity for imprinted mental signatures. The door creaked slightly when I opened it and stepped into the hall.

I wonder what's keeping Nick and Joel? one of the thugs said.

That did it. I didn't need to worry about someone else in the house. I moved quickly but silently down the hall and stepped into the family room. The thugs saw me and reacted. As they reached for their weapons, they died. I used six rounds, three body-mass shots and three headshots.

"The guards are dead," I said into the microphone on my neck. "Nick Martin is not in the house, but I heard a guard say that Nick and Joel were past due to return to the house. Corny, Heather, guard our front while we release Robyn and take her out the back. Sifu, drive to Point A." We'd refined the plan en route to the neighborhood.

I found Robyn in a closet in the bedroom across the hall from the one I'd used to enter the house. They'd used flex cuffs to bind her wrists and ankles. I cut them with a knife, removed the gag, and she sprang into my arms.

"Thank you, thank you," she gushed.

"Ruben's waiting for you out back," I said.

She spun away from me and dashed out of the bedroom, running into Ruben who had entered the house through the unlocked back door. Amateurs, I thought, referring to the guards, not Robyn and Ruben.

"Hug and kiss some more later," I said as I walked by them.

Before I left the house, I found Robyn's cell phone and retrieved the six shell casings in the family room. I also quickly wiped every surface I'd touched. After joining Robyn and Ruben at the back of the house, I wiped down the window I'd used to enter the house.

"We're clear," I said to everyone. "Corny, Heather, back off and rendezvous with Jasper at Point B, and then drive directly to the mansion. Carlos, Colleen, rendezvous with us at Point C. Carlos will drive Robyn and Ruben to Doc Wilkins' clinic. Colleen will join Sifu and me, and we'll return to the mansion. Dan and Maria will check our back doors. Good job, everybody."

"Humph," Corny said. "Morgan, you and I need to talk."

Back at the mansion, Corny corralled me almost immediately. "Make me understand," he said.

"Understand what?" Should I play dumb? I asked Colleen and Sifu.

If possible, Colleen said.

I agree, but the lies must be plausible, Sifu said.

"How you determined Robyn's location," Corny said.

I smiled. "I told you - extrapolation."

"Hah! Explain."

"Robyn helped. For a short time she had her cell phone with her in the closet where they were holding her."

"Huh?"

"When they removed her from the trunk of a car, she noted a lighted number for the house across the street from the house where they took her. That was clue number one. Robyn was on the phone with Colleen when they abducted her, and Colleen noted the time. Robyn noted the time when they removed her from the trunk of the car at the house. That's clue number two. This clue gave us a rough estimate of the distance they traveled from the abduction site to the house where they held her. You also gave us a clue, Corny."

"Huh?"

"Your approach to the abduction site allowed us to discount the wedge of the city behind you. And Robyn gave us the last two clues. While in the closet, she heard a train whistle and the sound of large trucks starting up and stopping." I grinned. "We extrapolated, Corny."

"What about Ruben saying he was surprised they hadn't started to interrogate Robyn?"

I frowned. "That surprised me, too. Instead of questioning her, they put her in a closet, which made no sense to me until I heard a guard say that Nick and Joel were past due to return to the house. Hall interrogated my oldest friend, Corny, a woman in her sixties I'd known from boyhood. Hall questioned her, tortured her, and then killed her. He gets off inflicting pain. After Nick and the thugs took Robyn, I suspect, but don't know, that Hall claimed the right to interrogate, torture and kill Robyn."

Doubts remained in Corny's mind, but I'd established some credibility. Silently, I informed Robyn and Ruben and Colleen about the lies I'd told Corny, and they agreed to back my story. I anticipated problems from Robyn and Ruben when they finally realized how invasive my telepathic ability could be, but I'd deal with those problems when they surfaced.

"Karsh and his sick children brought it to us today, Corny. The cowards tried to take another woman from us. How did you feel when I told you that they'd taken her? Let me tell you how I felt. For a second in time, I was lying on a metal gurney in an autopsy room, and the pathologist was sawing through my skull. I sensed the vibrations and heard the grinding sounds of steel triumphing over bone, and I smelled the dank odor of my burning skull. What's next? I asked myself. Will the pathologist pull the skin off my face, or will he cut the Y incision, chomp through my sternum with bolt cutters, and peel me open like a pomegranate? That's how I felt, and I didn't like it, not one little bit, so tonight, I'm taking it to them. You've moved around the perimeter of that stronghold. Will you help me plan my assault?"

"I'll do more than help you, Morgan. I'll join you."

"Uh-uh. Karsh swore out a complaint against me, and the police have issued an arrest warrant in my name. What's more, the police are helping the coward defend his stronghold, so I'll be attacking not only Karsh and his thugs but also the police."

I took a deep breath. "I'm taking off the gloves, Corny. I won't be shooting out windows tonight. I'll be shooting at men and women, so I'll take great care choosing my targets and take even greater care trying to wound rather than kill."

When Corny started to speak, I stopped him. "Let me finish. Corny, if no innocents occupied that stronghold, I'd want you with me. I've not shot an innocent in my short career, and I don't plan to break that string tonight, but you and I both know that in the confusion of a gun battle collateral damage is always possible, especially if an innocent is returning your fire."

"Are you saying that you don't trust me to avoid inflicting collateral damage?" Corny asked.

"No. I'm saying the police already have a warrant for my arrest. I don't want your name put on a different warrant."

Corny dialed a number on his cell phone. "Ruben, it's Corny. Morgan plans to attack Karsh's stronghold tonight. He's taking off the gloves, but he plans to attack alone."

I connected with Ruben to hear his response.

In his dreams, partner. Robyn's fine. A mild concussion. The doc is keeping her overnight for observation. I'll ask Carlos to drive me to the mansion. Don't let that crazy fucker leave until I get there. Hogtie him if you have to.

Corny hung up, opened the door to the room where we'd met privately and yelled, "Heather, get your gorgeous ass in here!"

A drive-by forced us to revise our plan. Three police cruisers protected the stronghold. One cruiser faced west and was parked on the street just east of the gates. Another faced east and was parked across the street from the southwest corner of the perimeter wall. The third cruiser was parked inside the stronghold, backed up against the garages and facing south toward the gates. Telepathy told me that two police officers manned the gatehouse, and two officers occupied each cruiser.

We rendezvoused on Arroyo Road, the first street north of Karsh's compound.

Karsh owned land to the east, west and north, surrounding the stronghold on three sides. The acreage backed up to Arroyo Road at the rear. Corny and Ruben had moved freely on and around this vacant land.

Corny, using an aerial photograph, pointed out the shooting stands he'd used during his night of terror.

"Police presence disallows the use of the shooting stands I used at or near the front of the property that night," Corny said, "but these trees in the southwest and southeast sectors of the land around the stronghold should give us a line of sight to the main house and the servants' quarters over the garages."

"We can't hang around very long in those trees," Ruben said, "or the police will converge on us."

Corny nodded agreement and pointed out two trees near the back of the vacant land, one to the west and the other to the east of the walled compound. "These trees will offer line of sight to the rear of the house and garages. The shooters in those trees will also be able to cover the retreat from the trees near the front of the property." Corny gave me a hard look. "Are you as good a shot with a rifle as I hear you are with a pistol?"

"Yes," I said.

"All right, you take the tree on the west side. I'll take the tree on the east..."

"Uh-uh," Heather said. "I'm a better shot than anyone here except Morgan. I'll take the tree to the east."

"She's right, Corny," I said. "I watched her score a 581 out of 600 on a rapid-fire range."

"Jesus! And you beat her?"

Heather laughed. "He shot a 597."

Corny shook his head with disbelief, and then gave Heather the same look he'd given me. "How are you with a rifle?"

"I'm better with a rifle than I am with a pistol," she replied, matter-of-factly.

"Okay, you'll be the shooter to the east. Ruben, which tree do you want up front?"

"I'll take the one on the west and lob teargas into the house."

"That leaves the east side for me. I'll shoot a teargas grenade into the servants' quarters."

I said, "Corny, Ruben, after you fire the teargas, empty a rifle clip at the front of the property to make everyone think they're being attacked from the front, fire off an additional teargas grenade, and then hightail it out of there to our respective staging points on Arroyo Road. Hopefully, the teargas and your the frontal assault will drive everyone out the back of the house and servants' quarters to give Heather and me target opportunities from our shooting stands. Heather and I will use the silenced sniper rifles. Remember, Heather, shoot to wound, not kill, and for hell sake, don't shoot anyone you don't recognize."

"Gotcha, Morgan," she said.

"Jasper, park here on Arroyo facing east and use escape route A. Sifu, park here on Arroyo facing west and use escape route B. Carlos, you and Colleen stage the ambulance here on Huckleberry Street. We'll call you if you're needed. Hopefully, you won't hear from us. When we drive away from the area, you do the same."

"The police will put up a helicopter," Heather said.

"I agree, which means this assault must be swift. Let's figure ten seconds for Ruben and Corny's assault. Ten seconds to cover their retreat. Twenty seconds for our assault, Heather, and then we're out of there. I want us on the road not more than sixty seconds from the time Ruben and Corny lob the teargas grenades. Questions? Comments?"

"Let's do it," Ruben said.

The night-vision telescope on the sniper rifle lit up the darkness, but would it provide enough light to see faces? I queried Heather for her opinion.

"Just a minute, Morgan. I decided to move up a little higher in the tree."

I waited. My thigh throbbed. I'd pushed my convalescence too fast. A gust of wind rustled the leaves in the tree around me. Would the wind be a problem?

Heather said, "There, I'm set. I think there's enough light, but I won't be certain until someone exits the buildings."

"I'm in place," Corny said.

"So am I," Ruben said.

"Heather and I are set," I said. "Corny, Ruben, fire the teargas grenades at the count of three. One. Two. Three."

I heard the sound of only one grenade launcher, so I assumed that Corny and Ruben had fired at the same time, and then realized that Corny was too far from me to hear the cough of a launcher. I heard his rifle fire, though. Ruben's, too.

From my vantage point, I could see the flashes from Ruben's rifle, but not Corny's. Five seconds later, a brief moment of silence invaded the night air just before I heard the cough of a grenade launcher when Ruben fired the second teargas grenade. I watched Ruben scramble out of the tree he'd used for his assault. While I covered his retreat, he moved quickly, using any cover offered, as he scurried toward the back of the property.

That's when I heard the softer sounds of pistol shots.

"Corny is taking fire from the police officers who were in the cruiser parked on the street by the gates," Heather said. "He's out of range, though." She hesitated. "There, he's clear now."

I breathed a sigh of relief and focused my attention at the rear of the house. Suddenly a man stumbled outside onto the patio.

Karsh!

I put the crosshairs on his legs and squeezed off a round. He went down.

"Daddy," a female voice screamed, although I was so far away I barely heard her yell, also too far away to make a mental connection, dammit. Linda Carson, I assumed, and then verified my assumption when she ran in a crouch from the house, firing a pistol left and right indiscriminately. Her speed and crouching posture didn't offer a reasonable shot until she started to drag her father back into the house. I aimed and squeezed off another round. She spun and went down.

No Nick. No Joel. Were they still out and about?

I saw a man run out of the house from a different door, but I didn't recognize him. I did recognize the next man out the same door. I shot the bodyguard, avoiding his body mass and head.

Two uniformed police officers exited the house next, along with another man I didn't recognize, a police detective, I guessed. Was he one of Karsh's tame cops? Delgado perhaps? I didn't know, so I didn't shoot him. The two cops in uniform laid down cover fire, and the detective dragged Karsh back toward the house.

"Cease fire," I said. "Retreat now, Heather."

"Gotcha," she said.

Ruben covered my limping retreat. Hopefully, Corny did the same for Heather. We hadn't discussed this part of the assault.

Ruben and I clamored into the idling sedan staged facing west on Arroyo, and Sifu drove away. I checked my wristwatch. Fifty-five seconds from the moment Corny and Ruben fired teargas into the main house and the servants' quarters over the garage until Sifu pulled away from the curb. Were we quick enough to escape a helicopter pursuit?

Sifu didn't lollygag. The sedan roared as it sped away from Karsh's stronghold. Sifu turned right, and then left, and a mile later entered a busy boulevard, except it wasn't all that busy, not at that time of night. Still, unless a helicopter pursuit isolated us before we reached the boulevard, I figured we would be safe.

Five miles later, Sifu guided the sedan off the boulevard, took a couple of quick turns and drove up a ramp onto a freeway. Ten minutes later, he exited the freeway and took surface streets as we approached the mansion.

I called Dan. "We're approaching your location, Dan. Check our back door and look to the sky for a helicopter pursuit, as well."

"Will do. Hang on. I'll step out of the car to check the sky."

I waited.

"No helicopter nearby. There's one way over to the southeast. You should be clear. I'll check your back door now."

Five minutes later, Dan told me we weren't being followed, and Sifu drove us toward the mansion.

I called Corny. "We're clear," I said.

"Maria says we're clear, too. See you soon."

I made one more call before we drove through the gates at the mansion. "Horace, it's Morgan," I said when he finally answered the phone.

"Christ, Morgan. Do you know what time it is?"

I laughed. "Yeah, it's time for you to alert your cohorts to listen for the name of the hospital where Karsh and his daughter, Linda, are being taken. I just wounded both of them."

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