Indigo Incite (The Indigo Trilogy) (28 page)

“I doubt
it. Besides, if the Federales find him tomorrow, they’ll inform the state that
he was kidnapped. When that happens, they’ll just return him to his foster
family.”

“That’s
a good point. I hadn’t thought about that. From what he says though, his foster
family isn’t very nice. There’s probably no way they’d let him fly to Seattle
to see me.”

“You
just have to think positive.”

Liliana
smiled. “You’re right.” She was silent while she listened to Grace and the band
and then said, “I’m worried about him, Eddie.”

“I know,
but everything’s going to be okay. We have to believe that. Tomorrow, I’ll lead
the Federales to the compound, and everything will be set right.”

The song
ended then, and Eddie and Grace applauded.

Eddie
watched while the singer spoke with Grace. He pointed to the microphone, something
else was said, and then she set the fiddle down and followed him to the front
of the stage.

“We are
in luck this evening,” the singer announced in Spanish to the restaurant
patrons. “Our special friend from America has agreed to sing for us.”

Throughout
the evening, between traditional Mexican songs, the band had added several
songs by Willie Nelson and Garth Brooks to the mix. It was obvious that the
members of the band were big fans of American country music. Eddie was
surprised that Grace knew the music; many of the songs had originally been performed
well before her time.

When she
stepped up to the microphone, the crowd cheered. She glanced across the room to
their table, and Eddie and Liliana both gave her two thumbs up. She turned and
said something to the band, and then they started up a familiar tune. He was
held captive by her beautiful voice and found it impossible to break his gaze
from her sparkling eyes.

Three
songs later, Grace bowed to the audience when they roared in appreciative
applause. Then the band leader stepped up to the microphone and called out, in
Spanish, “I think this pretty lady deserves a dance. Would her boyfriend like
to meet her on the dance floor?” He beckoned for Eddie to step forward.

Eddie
could see that Grace didn’t have a clue what had been said, but then the band
leader turned and said something to her. Her eyes immediately found him across
the room. He remained seated, his gaze transfixed to her.

Liliana
chuckled. “Go on. You should never leave a girl standing alone on a dance
floor.”

“You’re
right.” He stood and headed toward the front of the room and the beautiful
blonde awaiting him. He kept his eyes on her as she hopped down from the stage,
and they met in the middle of the floor amid a half dozen other dancing couples.

Eddie
smiled and extended a hand. “Would you like to dance?”

“
Boyfriend
?”

He bit
his bottom lip in paused embarrassment. “Sorry I had to tell the guy something
so no one would hit on you.”

She took
his hand when the music started and followed his lead to the slow love song.
“You don’t want anyone hitting on me?”

“Not
anyone here, that’s for sure.”

“Not
anyone
here
. So if we were somewhere else, then it would be okay for
someone to hit on me?” He noted her sly grin and wasn’t sure how to respond. Of
course he didn’t want anyone else hitting on her, but he couldn’t very well
tell her that either.

“Dance
with me.” He grabbed her hand and spun her around to avoid the question. He was
suddenly thankful that she couldn’t read his thoughts. The last thing he wanted
was for her to know just how much he enjoyed holding her in his arms.

*****

Sleep
was hard to come by, that night. When his thoughts weren't dwelling on Grace,
he thought about Sarah, and when he finally managed to get her out of his mind,
he couldn’t stop thinking about his impending meeting with the Federales. From
the intermittent sounds of cheap, crinkly sheets and squeaky springs, he
guessed that both girls were tossing and turning all night as well, their
thoughts no doubt disturbed by their uncertain futures.

They
showered and dressed before the sun was up, and after a quick breakfast in the
restaurant, they followed the directions provided by the waitress and located
the nearest police station. Eddie didn’t stop. Instead, he drove around the
corner and up a few blocks.

He
parked along a side street and then turned to the girls. “All right, Grace. You
have the directions to get back to the compound?”

“Yep. They’re
in my purse.”

“Okay.
I’m going to get out and walk back to the police station. As soon as I leave, I
want you to get out of here. Get back to the woods and hide before I get there
with the police.”

Liliana
frowned. “But what if the police don’t believe you?”

“If they
believe that Americans have been kidnapped to smuggle drugs across the border,
they’ll be interested. They won’t take a rumor like that lightly.”

“Are you
sure you don’t want us to stay close by?” Grace asked. “I hate to leave you
without a car.”

“I’ll be
fine. I don’t want to take a chance that they might see you. They might ask too
many questions. We don’t want to have to explain what you’re doing here. Once
we reach the compound, I’ll sneak away and come find you."

Grace
frowned, and he placed a reassuring hand on her arm. “Don’t worry. I’ll see you
soon.”

“You’re
right. I’m sure everything will work out. You’d better get going.”

They got
out of the car, and Eddie hugged each girl in turn. He was aware of the fact
that he hugged Grace slightly longer than he did Liliana and hoped that she
hadn’t noticed as well. Then, with a final goodbye, the girls climbed into the
car, and he watched them drive down the street until they were out of sight.

*****

When
Eddie entered the police station, the officer at the front desk greeted him in
Spanish. “Good morning. How may I help you?”

Eddie
glanced toward the old man and two young women who sat in black plastic chairs,
in the lobby and then replied in Spanish, “I need to speak with someone in
charge. I’d rather not discuss it out here.”

“I need
to know what the matter is concerning before I disturb the chief. He will not
be happy with me if it is only a trivial matter, you understand.”

Eddie
leaned in close over the desk and whispered, “Fine. You may tell him that I
have knowledge of kidnapped Americans and a drug cartel.”

The
clerk’s eyes grew wide. “I’ll be right back.” He rose from his chair and
quickly departed into a back room.

A few
moments later, he returned and motioned for Eddie to follow. “Please, the chief
would like to speak with you.” He ushered Eddie into the back room and closed
the door.

The
chief leaned back in a large, plush, leather chair; his feet were propped on
his desk while he smoked a cigar. “Please, have a seat.” He motioned to a chair
on the opposite side of his desk.

Eddie
accepted the invitation and hoped that his nerves weren’t obvious.

“Now
then, my assistant tells me that you have information we might be interested
in. Please, tell me what you know and how you came about this knowledge.”

“I work
on a farm near the mountains,” Eddie began. “Sometimes no one goes up the road,
and the past few days we have seen a lot of traffic coming and going. Many
expensive cars, you know? My friend said that his cousin was working for them.
His cousin told him that they were going to use Americans to run drugs across
the border.

“We were
curious, you see, so yesterday we followed them to see where they were going.
They have a hideout up there. We saw them take some teenagers out of a car. They
looked to be Americans, and their hands were tied behind their backs. Then we overheard
the men say that they were going to make their move later today.”

“Thank
you for this information. If you will give me the directions, I will look into
the matter.”

“I don’t
think I’d be able to. Their hideout was so well concealed. I think I’d have to
actually show you where it is.”

“Hmm…just
a moment.” The chief picked up his phone. From what Eddie could gather from the
one-sided conversation, on his end, arrangements were made for the Federales to
gather and meet in an hour. Then he hung up the phone and turned to Eddie.

“It is
not custom for us to bring a civilian on a raid. It could be dangerous, but it
seems that we have no other choice. Please know that you place yourself at risk
by coming with us.”

“I
understand. It’s a risk I’m willing to take if it means helping those kids.” When
the chief raised an eyebrow in question, Eddie wondered if he had sounded too
eager. He decided he should try to seem more like a poor, farm worker who was
looking for self-gain. “Will there be a reward in it for me, if I lead you to
them?”

“Ah,
let’s just take one step at a time. I must go now to speak with my men. You may
wait in the lobby.”

*****

Eddie
rode with the chief down the now familiar dirt road. They were followed by
three vehicles, each filled with well-armed Federales dressed in their black
and blue fatigues.

Liliana
and Grace would be concealed in the woods near the compound. They would have a
clear view of the road, so that once the vehicles were spotted, Liliana could
let Tyler know that they were on their way.

As they
neared the compound, the chief’s phone rang.

“U.S.
Government?” he asked. “Are you sure?” He was silent for a moment while he
listened and then said, “I understand, yes, but if they are running drugs…Yes,
sir. We will stop.”

When the
chief steered the truck to the side of the mountain road, Eddie glanced in the
rear view mirror to see the black vehicles pull in behind. Eddie’s pulse began
to race. Had they decided to halt the operation?

“We’re
stopping?”

“Yes. It
looks like there might be a slight problem. I need to go speak with my men for
just a moment.”

The
chief stepped out of the truck and strode to stand beside the black vehicle
parked behind them. He leaned into the driver’s side window and talked for a
good five minutes. Eddie strummed his fingers nervously on the dash. He wished
he could hear what the men were saying and wondered what the final result would
be. Would they continue on or turn back to town?

A few
raindrops hit the windshield. Then the skies opened, and it began to downpour.
The windows were soon blurred with water, and he could no longer see the men.

A minute
later, the chief hopped into the truck and hurriedly closed the door. Without a
word, he put the truck into motion and continued down the road, toward the compound.

Eddie
couldn’t hide his curiosity. “Are we still going to the hideout?”

The
chief glanced at him. “Yes. It appears that the hideout doesn’t belong to a
drug cartel after all. But if there are reports of kidnapped Americans, we have
a duty to check it out and ask questions later.”

Eddie
relaxed slightly. At least for the moment, the plan still held.

The
heavy rain continued to pelt the truck and the wilderness around them. Eddie
directed them to stop about a quarter mile from the entrance. They would continue
the rest of the way on foot so that their arrival would remain covert for as
long as possible.

He
planned to lead them as far as the bottom of the hill; from there they would be
able to find the rock entrance Tyler had described. As soon as their attention
was drawn off of him, he would escape to the trees and hike back to find the
girls.

Once
outside and on foot, it wasn’t long before he was drenched from the cold rain.
He continued on beside the chief. The Federales fell in behind and around them,
their guns armed and ready. Then he looked up the hill and saw the rock formation
he was looking for.

“The
entrance is just up there behind that big rock on the left,” Eddie said.

The
chief motioned for the troops to fall into position. Some stayed back and hid
behind trees while others zigzagged their way up the hill. Just as he had
hoped, his presence was quickly forgotten.

By now,
the surveillance cameras would have picked up movement from the intruders, and
the guards would be alarmed and on high alert. He hoped that Tyler and Toby
were ready.

Anxious
with anticipation for the events of the day to come and in shock that he had
seen his father, sleep eluded Tyler. He lay on his bed, eyes fixed on the
ceiling, but in his mind’s eye, he saw the man he had long ago assumed was gone
forever. He closed his eyes, and their conversation played back in his head.

“Dad? Is
that you?” he had called out to the man who had just stepped out of another
office, down the hall. He hadn’t seen him since he was four, but the image of
his father was still freshly engraved in his memory. Tall, fit, and muscular,
with thick brown hair, he and his brother were the spitting image of their
father.

“It is
him,” Toby had whispered.

Rebecka
leaned in to join their huddle. “Your father is here? What is he doing here?”

Their
father turned toward them. “Boys? It is you! Hurry!” He beckoned them forward.
“Come down here before anyone sees you.” They dashed down the hall and stopped
when they reached him. He opened the door and ushered them into the office.
“Come on, we can talk inside.”

Rebecka
followed, and they stood, gathered close, while their father locked the door.
Then he turned to them. “I have missed you more than words could ever say.” He
stepped forward, pulled them into a group hug, and then stood back and looked
at each, in turn. “My boys. Look at you two. You’re practically adults. I can’t
believe you’re really here. I didn’t know that I would ever see you again.”

“You
can’t believe
we’re
here?” Tyler asked, incredulously. “What are
you
doing here?”

Before
he could reply, Toby answered for him. “He’s one of them.”

Tyler
turned to his brother. “What? He’s IIA? He can’t be.” Then he turned to his
father. “Is it true? Are you really with them?”

“It’s
complicated. Not everything is always as it seems.”

“But,
you
are
with them?”

“I am,
but please, give me a chance to explain, before you judge.”

With a
note of disdain, Toby asked, “Did you know that they’ve been keeping me here?”

“I just
found out. That’s why I’m here.”

“So, you
didn’t help to plan my capture?”

“God no!
That’s why I left you boys in the first place. I knew that if I stayed with
you, the agency would pick you up in no time. I didn’t want you to grow up
under a microscope and get dragged into all of this.”

Tyler
frowned. “You knew that we were…different?”

Their
father nodded. “Yes. I knew from the time you were babies. Please, have a seat
and allow me to explain.”

Two
sofas faced each other with a coffee table in between. Tyler, Toby, and Rebecka
sat on one, facing the door; their father sat on the other.

“I know
that you must have a thousand questions. I’ll try my best to answer them. To
start with, I left you with your grandmother after your mother passed away
because I knew she would take good care of you. I got hired on with the agency
when you were babies. As time went on, I was required to travel more often. My
job was to look after trackers, keep tabs on them, and follow up on potential
students that they located.

“Once I
knew, without a doubt, that your gifts far exceeded the guidelines of the IIA,
I knew I had to leave you, for good. If I had kept you in my life, they would
have snagged you up, and I wouldn’t have been able to stop them.

“When I
found out that you were placed into the foster system, I wanted to come and get
you, but I knew that you were better off without me. I thought that, by leaving
you, I was keeping you safe, but obviously I was wrong.

“I hope
that one day you can find a way to forgive me and understand. I did what I
thought was best for you at the time.”

Tyler
looked at his brother and silently asked,
What do you think
?

He’s
telling the truth
,
Toby thought.
Everything he said is true
. Then he looked at their
father. “So you found out that they captured me. What are you doing here
though? Did you think that they would just let me go if you showed up?”

“I
hadn’t thought it through. I know you’re much too valuable to them to just let
you go, but I had to see you. I thought I might be able to at least convince
them to release you to my care. But, Tyler, I never expected to find you here.
I had heard that they were looking for you, but I hadn’t heard that they found
you.”

“They
didn’t exactly find me. I found them.”

“You
came here on your own?”

“Yeah. I
wasn’t about to leave Toby here by himself.”

Tyler
wondered if he should tell their father about their rescue plan, but before he
could, Toby thought,
Wait, don’t tell him. He sounds honest, and I can’t see
him doing us wrong, but he still works for them. I don’t entirely trust him.
We’re so close. We can’t risk blowing our plan, now.

But,
what if the police get here tomorrow and arrest him? We’ve just found our
father. If he ends up in jail, who knows the next time we’ll see him? Shouldn’t
we at least warn him?

Not
yet. Let me sleep on it and see if I can get a vision of what’s going to happen.
There will still be time in the morning if we decide to warn him.

I
hope you’re right.

I
think Toby’s right
,
Rebecka thought.
It’s not just our freedom that’s at stake. We have to
consider everyone else who is held captive here, as well. We need to do what’s
best for everyone involved.

Agreed,
Tyler thought.
You’re both right
.

“Well,
I’m glad that I have you both here,” their father said. “We’ll talk to Henry
tomorrow and try to figure something out. In the meantime, may I ask what the
three of you are doing out of your rooms? What are you up to? And how did you
get out? I’m surprised security hasn’t picked you up by now.”

Tyler
glanced at Toby and Rebecka and smiled. “We were just out exploring.”

“Somehow
I suspect there’s more to your story, but I won’t ask. You need to get back to
your rooms before anyone discovers that you’re gone. I can escort you
downstairs.”

“No,”
Tyler quickly cut in, “that won’t be necessary. We wouldn’t want you to get in
trouble, in case anyone sees you with us. We managed to get out of our rooms
without being seen. We can get back in.” The last thing he wanted was for their
father to discover that they had an access card. That would require questions
they weren’t prepared to answer.

“Okay
then…If you’re sure.”

“Don’t
worry about us,” Toby said. “Where will you go? You’ll be here in the morning?”

“Don’t
worry. I’ll be right here. I’m not going to leave you.”

They
stood and followed their father to the door. He hugged them again, and they
quickly made their way back to their rooms. Uncertain how long the guard would
be asleep, they didn’t want their night time escapade to be discovered. Within
a few hours, if all went as planned, the Mexican police would find them, and they
didn’t want their plan to be hampered in any way.

Now, as
Tyler lay in bed, he pondered their new dilemma. Should they take the risk and
forewarn their father or allow him to be arrested? Rebecka had been right; it
wasn’t just their freedom at stake. There were other residents at the compound
who might want the opportunity to return home as well.

You
still awake
? Toby
silently asked, from his room.

Yeah.
I can’t stop thinking about him. All these years, I thought that he had just
left, that he didn’t care about us.

I
know. I keep asking myself why I couldn’t see the truth about him.

Probably
because you didn’t try. We both just accepted the fact that he was gone. We
were so young when he left. I don’t think it ever occurred to either of us to
find out where he was.
Tyler’s thoughts were silent for a moment, and then he asked,
What do
you think we should do? Should we tell him?

I
want to. I want to believe that we can trust him. I’ll sleep on it and see if I
can come up with an answer. Try to get some rest. It’s going to be a long day.

*****

“How’s
the ankle?” Jesse asked in the morning.

“Feels a
hundred percent better,” Tyler replied. He stood slowly, rotated his ankle a
couple of times for good show, and then said, “Must have just been a temporary
strain.”

“Well,
that’s good. Glad to hear it. Henry wants to see you and your brother, first
thing this morning. I told him that I’d bring you guys up to his office.”

“He
wants to see us both?” This was good news. With Toby by his side, they could
visit their father before they saw Henry. He immediately began to communicate
with Toby to form a plan.

“You
ready?” Jesse asked.

“Sure. Lead
the way.”

They
followed Henry’s second-in-command down the hall, and by the time they reached
the security room, the plan was in place.

The
Federales just passed by on the road
, Liliana thought.
They should reach the compound soon.

Perfect
timing
, Tyler
thought in return. They were about thirty feet from the security room.
We’re
getting ready to do something.

You’re
getting ready to do something? You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?
What are you up to?

I’ll
let you know if it all goes as planned.

And
what if it doesn’t all go as planned?
When he didn’t respond, she thought,
Tyler? Please be
careful.

No
worries. I’ll talk to you later.

Toby
grinned and thought,
I think your girlfriend’s worried about you.

She
has nothing to be worried about. Are you ready to do this?
They were ten feet from the security
room.

Jesse
reached the first step and then stopped and turned when he realized that Tyler
and Toby were no longer following. They had stopped in front of the security
room. “What’s up, guys? Let’s go.”

Toby
pointed toward the door. “What’s in here?”

“That’s
where security monitors all of the surveillance cameras. Come on, guys. Henry’s
waiting.”

“That
sounds cool. Can we see?” Before Jesse had a chance to respond, Toby knocked on
the door.

Jesse’s
eyes narrowed with suspicion. “What are you up to?” He stepped off of the
stairs and walked toward them.

“We’re
not up to anything,” Tyler said. “Don’t mind my brother. He’s always too
curious for his own good.”

When the
door opened, the security guard emerged with his hand held to his forehead.
“Oh, hey there, Jesse. Man, I have the worst headache. I must be getting sick.
I think I might have fallen asleep. Don’t tell the boss-man. He’ll have my
head.”

“Let me
drop these two off upstairs, and I’ll send someone down to relieve you,” Jesse
told him.

Tyler
glanced at his brother.
Are you ready?

Let’s
do it.

Tyler
leaned casually against the wall and focused on the security system within. A
moment later, an alarm from inside the room began to blare. The guard glanced
at Jesse and then hurried inside to see what had triggered it.

Toby
took a step toward Jesse. “Don’t you want to go see what the problem is?”

“Yeah,
but I shouldn’t—”

“Don’t
worry about us. Go ahead. You should check it out.”

Tyler
could feel his brother’s influential energy take hold of Jesse and defy the
agent’s knowledge that he shouldn’t leave the boys alone.

“You’re
right,” Jesse said. “I should check it out. Stay right here, okay?”

“We
won’t go anywhere,” Toby assured him.

The
moment Jesse stepped inside of the room, Tyler grabbed the access card from his
pocket, and with a quick swipe, the door closed.

“Now!”
Tyler said. They would have to act fast before Jesse or the guard had time to
notify anyone to come to their rescue. Together, they placed their hands on the
door and focused.

The goal
was to scramble and confuse all electromagnetic waves within the room. They
would fry the batteries in the cell phones and walkie-talkies and put the
surveillance monitors, the computers, the landline telephone, and most
importantly, the access pad for the door out of commission.

“I think
we did it,” Tyler said a minute later.

“Are you
sure?”

He
paused to listen to the thoughts of the men inside the room. “Yeah, they’re
totally confused. Listen.”

Toby
closed his eyes in concentration and then opened them a few moments later and
smiled. “Good. Hopefully no one will find them for a while.”