Abandoned Treasure Ch. 20-29

Killing a Pack guard during the escape sealed their fate with the Council. I didn't feel guilty about killing Nathan because he earned his kill order. Carol was his accomplice, so her death was inevitable.

What SHOULD have happened was for them to be taken into custody, stand trial, and face their execution AFTER the child was born. The death of an innocent weighed on me, just like the knowledge that it was all unnecessary. If the Council had sent me to investigate the Sampson clan, Carol would still be in college, and her family would be alive. I'd have reported they were not a threat to us. They'd go on a list for us to monitor periodically.

I grabbed my phone and headed to Five Guys. Maybe a gut bomb would help me sleep.

Sitting at a table with a loaded double-patty Bacon Cheeseburger and a mess of fries, I thought about my next move. Driving around with the windows down was a loser of an idea. I needed an idea of where to look.

As I polished off the fries and started on my bowl of peanuts, I realized where the gap was in my thinking.

The Bears. They'd been the ones coming my direction on that back road. They scared me off and were first on the scene, but what were they doing out there in the first place? The Council was so happy they helped clean up that they didn't ask WHY they showed up.

We'd assumed the rogues were using the bears to shake my tail. Maybe they even lived nearby, using the bears to keep us away. That would make their appearance coincidental, especially considering the time of night. What if Stanley and his family were working WITH the rogues? What if they called asking for help?

The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. I thought about calling Mark with my suspicions, then quickly dismissed that. If I went to him without solid information, the Council was liable to wipe out the Den based on just that. I couldn't put other innocents at risk; I'd have to do this myself.

There was only one way to find out. I tossed the trash and headed back to the hotel.

I pulled up the Google Maps view of the roads I'd followed them on, then called a lady friend I'd banged to nirvana a few times. "Technical support, this is Diane."

"Diane, it's Vic Knightly. Can you talk?"

"For you? Absolutely."

"I need some help tracking down a lead. I need some tower data."

She let out a huff. "Sprint only releases that kind of information in response to a warrant, and bounty hunters don't have that kind of pull." I was a registered bounty hunter; it was cover for my activities as a Council Enforcer. Diane loved to fuck a man with a badge and a gun.

"I don't need the whole thing, Diane. I need to know if a cell number got a phone call during a specific time, and what number they were called by. The caller is the fugitive I'm looking for."

"I don't know, Vic."

"I'll make it up to you next time I'm in town. Dinner, dancing, and a nice hotel."

She didn't answer for a few seconds. "We can skip the dancing and get an early dinner, Vic. What area are you looking at?"

I gave her the GPS coordinates, the date and time range, and Stanley Diggs' cellphone number. I heard her typing away. "He got a call from 407-555-8787 that lasted for four minutes. The caller was on a tower to the southwest, then passed to another tower farther east, so it was in a car."

"That's my guy. Can you do a reverse lookup of his number?"

More clicking. "Burner phone."

"I hate to ask you, but can you look up the history of that cellphone tower pinging? I'm trying to find where he's hiding out."

"You owe me, Vic."

"You know I'll take care of you all night, baby. I'll make you cum until you pass out from the pleasure. Please?"

"Fine." Back to the clicking. "I've got one possible for you, near the air base on the east side of Great Falls." She gave me the tower's location, and I wrote it down. "When can you make an appointment to pay this debt off?"

"I'm busy all week, but maybe over the weekend? I'll call you when this job is over. You're the best, Diane."

"I can't wait, Vic. Take your vitamins." She ended the call, and I entered the coordinates into my cellphone.

Thirty minutes later, I'd found the hideout. There was a strong scent of bears mixed with the older wolf scents. It was a small home with a "FOR RENT" sign in the yard. A quick peek inside showed it empty. It smelled of bleach and cleaning products.

I had to make a phone call. I returned to my car, parked just down the street, and dialed. "Stanley, it's Vic Knightly. We need to meet up and talk."

"I told your bosses everything, Enforcer. I don't have anything more to say."

"This is off the record, Stanley." I told him where I was parked. "Meet me here, alone, or I go to the Council with what I know."

Chapter 25

Council Enforcer Vic Knightly's POV

SW of Malmstrom AFB, Great Falls, MT

Monday, September 10th, 2007

It took almost ninety minutes for Stanley Biggs to arrive. I saw his pickup pull in behind me on the suburban roadside. I left my phone charging on the seat before getting out. With my hands open, I turned out my pockets and turned around. I pulled my T-shirt up so he could see I wasn't armed or recording anything. He waved me towards his truck. "Thanks for coming," I said. "This discussion is off the record. Nothing you say will go to my superiors. They don't know I'm even here."

"I don't like it when someone threatens me," he told me. "Bad things can happen, and you're the one who left that steaming pile of shit outside my ranch. You've got a lot of balls, kid."

"Nobody wants a war, Stanley. My people will hear what I was doing if I don't return, and your people know who you are meeting with. Can I get in? These conversations shouldn't be in public."

He nodded, so I went around and climbed into the passenger seat. He started driving east, out of town. "I wanted to talk to you. I need to know the truth."

The big man laughed, then focused his brown eyes on mine in an uncomfortable stare. "Truth? You want the truth?"

"I believe I'm entitled to it."

"You can't HANDLE the truth, boy! You live in a Pack world that has laws, and those laws are made by men of great power and authority. For whose benefit, Vic? Yours? Nathan's? Carol's? You are deeper in their crooked shit than you can possibly fathom. You did the bidding of the Council, and you killed the 'dangerous' rogues. Your conscience is clear because you acted under their authority." He took a deep breath. "You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. Nathan and Carol's death, while tragic, kept the Council's corruption hidden. The truth is so grotesque and incomprehensible that if I tell you, they will kill you to keep it buried. I'm doing you a favor by my silence. I would rather you just said 'thank you' and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you take your weapon and confront the Council for that truth you seek. Either way, I don't give a DAMN what you think you're entitled to!"

I had to know one thing. "Did you give sanctuary to Nathan and Carol?"

"I did what was best for my Den."

"DID YOU GIVE SANCTUARY TO THE ROGUES?"

"YOU'RE GODDAM RIGHT I DID!"

Fuck. I looked into Stanley's eyes, and a chill went down my spine. He was on the edge of violence, and I stood no chance against an enraged Werebear.

What I knew couldn't get out. If the Council knew, they would send an army to destroy his den. The loss of a new Enforcer wouldn't get that response, and we both knew it. The only way to stay alive was to convince him I was on his side. "Why?"

"How much do you know about Carol Sampson, boy?"

"Only what I have from her files. She and her family lived in Grand Forks, where she attended college. They owned a towing and hauling business, didn't cause any trouble, and never appeared on our radar until just before the Bitterroot Pack warriors wiped them out. Carol killed a Pack Warrior and got severely injured during the attack. She was captured and confined to the Pack prison until Nathan Storm, her mate, broke her out a year ago. They killed a Pack guard during their escape and disappeared. The Council issued warrants shortly after for their capture or kill."

We'd made it to an empty area of prairie by now. Stanley pulled onto a dirt road, stopping a hundred yards from the main road. When he got out, I did too.

I never saw it coming. The big man slammed his right fist into my gut, taking the air from my body. I tried to get my hands up but couldn't stop the left hook to my chin.

When I woke up, I was back in the truck. Stanley was sitting beside me, holding a baggie filled with ice in his right hand. I groaned as I reached to take it, then again when I put it over the bruise on my jaw. "Why?"

"Because you killed my friends, you dumb fuck. I won't kill you, Vic, but I'd like to. It wouldn't be the right play for my Den. That takes precedence over what I want."

"I didn't plan to harm the baby, Stanley. I didn't want to pit them out at high speed because it was too risky, but I got overruled. The Chairman ordered me to stop them before they got to your den."

He shook his head. "Dead is dead, Vic. Intentions don't mean shit. You do risky shit, and bad stuff can happen."

He was right about that. "Nathan came after me when I pulled up, and I had to put him down in self-defense. Carol was badly hurt. I saw the lights coming and thought they might be humans, so I put her in the car and took off. I wanted to take her to a hospital."

"And you got overruled," Stanley said evenly. "The Council didn't give a shit about the baby; they wanted Carol dead."

"Yeah." I looked blankly out the window. "Her last words were to 'leave me to die.' When she didn't respond, I pulled over and tried to save the baby. I did an emergency C-section; the baby was alive when I handed her over to Bitterroot."

"And Alpha Todd let that child die, ending the Sampson and the Storm bloodlines and any questions about what happened to them," Stanley said.

I nodded. "My boss is closing the file when I report that I can't find the hideout."

"Swept under the rug and forgotten."

"Not by me."

"Tell me, Enforcer. What bothered you in Carol's file?"

"There was no reason to attack her and her family. If Bitterrot followed the rules, she'd be finishing college right now. Then there is the 'crime' of defending her family against an unprovoked attack. What the hell did they expect when they went in like that?"

Stanley nodded. "Why didn't they leave her to die, Vic? Why risk bringing Carol back to your Pack? Why keep her in prison for years if she killed a Warrior? Is not the sentence for murder death?"

"I don't know what Alpha Todd was thinking."

"Then you aren't putting yourself in his place. What value can a young female rogue bring to the Pack that justifies keeping her around for years?"

No. Fuck no. "A breeder?"

"Worse. Todd put Carol in a silver collar and used her as a sex slave. The unmated warriors and leadership at Bitterroot raped her repeatedly, every single night. You've seen her body. All the scars? They punished her endlessly."

I could only nod, but then my stomach flipped. I opened the door and bailed out, barely making it to the ditch before I started throwing up. How in the name of Luna did he think he could get away with it?

The Alpha had power, but someone at the Council had to know. I spit onto the ground after my stomach stopped heaving. "And the Council?"

"Powerful men are easily corrupted," Stanley said as he handed me a water bottle. "It wasn't just Pack wolves raping her."

I rinsed my mouth out, then took a long draw. The implication was obvious. "And Nathan had to sit back and watch this happen to his mate?"

"He told me the Alpha's sentence was to remain in slavery until she gave the Pack a male child to replace the warrior they lost. If Nathan interfered, he would be stripped of rank and enslaved alongside her. He spent years planning their escape because to fail meant a long and painful death."

I sat on the gravel of the ditch, trying to get my head around this. "What the fuck do I do now, Stanley? I can't go to my boss with any of this. It's all hearsay, and I'm sure Alpha Todd will squirm his way out of any accusation."

"I'm sure he will, especially if some of the Council was complicit. They won't hesitate to eliminate you if you speak up."

I looked at the setting sun and shook my head. "I've been a fool."

"Your superiors took advantage of you, Vic. You should choose better bosses."

I shook my head. "I've got four years left on my contract as a Council Enforcer."

Stanley put his big hand on my shoulder. "General Schwartzkov once said, 'The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard thing is doing it.' If you stay under those people, they will put you in these situations over and over again." He held out his hand to me and pulled me to my feet. "The question is what you do next, knowing the full situation."

I kept hold of his hand. "I promise I will keep you and your family out of this," I told him. "The problem is not yours."

"I believe you." We returned to the truck, and Stanley drove us back to town. "Vic? Take care of yourself. The buzzing mosquito gets slapped, even though it's not the one biting."

"I will. Thank you." He drove off, and I went back to the hotel.

I had a few days to kill before I had to return to work. I caught up to Cheri in Missoula, taking her to heaven and back in my hotel room. The next night, I ended up in a three-way with her and her married boss. On Friday, I went to Denver and took Diane to dinner. I nailed her on every horizontal surface in her apartment and a few vertical ones before leaving her sore and exhausted in bed.

Monday morning, I turned in my report to Enforcer Trestman. I couldn't find the hideout, so he closed the file without comment.

Then, I handed him my resignation.

(Apologies to the writer of A Few Good Men.)

Chapter 26

Council Enforcer Vic Knightly's POV

Council Headquarters

Monday, September 17th, 2007

"You're quitting?" Mark Trestman looked at the paper like it was radioactive. "Why?"

"I'm not cut out for this work," I said honestly.

"This is about the baby," he said as he gestured for me to sit down. "Shit happens that you can't know or control, Vic. You spin that car out a second earlier or later, or Nathan does a better job of steering, or that rock in the ditch isn't there. It was bad luck that the car rolled, and it sucks, but it wasn't your fault."

I shook my head sadly. "I keep telling myself that, but it doesn't change a thing. I held that baby in my hands, covered in her mother's blood. I watched her take her first breath, and now she's gone because of me. Every time I think of her, I think of my daughter and it rips my fucking heart out. You ever kill a baby?"

"No. I came close a time or two."

"I've killed men before and slept just fine. I haven't had a decent night's sleep since that night."

He tossed the letter on the desk. "You've got some vacation time left, and we don't have much going on. Take a week or two off. Go see your daughter, get drunk, get laid, run through the woods until you're exhausted! Get your mind off this shit. It's not healthy to dwell on this."

"I've tried, boss. Nothing helps."

He put the letter in his drawer. "I can hold on to this for a few weeks. Get away from this case and get your mind right, Vic. That's an order."

I stood up and held out my hand. "I quit, Mark. I'm not yours to order anymore, and I'm not changing my mind. I appreciate all you've done for me, but I can't do this job as you expect. Staying isn't fair to either of us."

He looked at me, then shook my hand. "You're sure?" I nodded. "Fine. Let's go see the Chairman and break the Pack bond."

We couldn't get in for another hour, so I returned to the dorms and cleared my room. Everything I owned fit into two large suitcases, which I left by the front door.

The Chairman wasn't happy to discover why his Enforcer was coming to see him. "You're quitting? You bring in the two most wanted fugitives, and now you're going to QUIT?"

"Yes, sir."

Chairman Gruber shook his head. "That's a pity. Does Alpha Robertson know?"

"Not yet, sir. I wanted to finish my business here before speaking to him."

He nodded. "I'll speak to him. I won't try to talk you out of this because I need Enforcers who are 100% committed to our mission. I'll depend on my Chief Enforcer to replace you."

Quitting like this wasn't the proper way to go. The Chairman valued a wolf whose word was his bond, and I'd just walked away from four years I'd signed up for. There would be words with my Alpha, and my reputation would take a big hit. I didn't care; it was more important to have my honor intact. "I understand, sir."

He led me through the words to break the bond with him. The loss of the Pack link was painful, but I stayed standing as the connections ripped free in my mind. "Get out of here, Knightly."

"Yes, sir." I followed Mark out of his office and out to a waiting car. An Omega had my luggage loaded, the message clear. I wasn't on the team anymore, so I didn't belong here.

Technically, I wasn't a rogue because my Alpha had released me, not banished me. I was Packless for the first time in my life. Instead of heading to Alaska, I bought a plane ticket to Minneapolis. It took me until Tuesday afternoon for my rental car to make it to the Oxbow Lake Pack in northern Minnesota, where I asked to see the Alphas.

The wolf at the gate recognized me, as I'd been there a few weeks earlier for my daughter's mating ceremony. "Enforcer Knightly, I didn't expect you."

"Just Vic now, I'm no longer with the Council," I said. "Please ask the Alphas if I may have a few minutes of their time." I didn't call ahead to ask permission to visit, nor had I called Denali to tell them I'd quit. I had an opportunity to change my life if the Alpha cooperated. "He can see you in thirty minutes. You can wait outside his office."

"Thank you," I replied. "I know the way." I drove in, contacting my daughter on the link since family bonds are independent of Pack ones. She was surprised to hear from me and invited me to dinner when my business when the Alpha was done.

I sat in the office, the Omega at the desk eyeing me curiously. Finally, I could go in. I knocked on the door softly thrice, then entered at Alpha Ulffson's command. Michael was sitting behind an enormous mahogany desk with Margaret on his lap. I stopped three paces from the desk, bowing my head to the pair. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Alpha and Luna Ulffson."

He gestured to one of the leather chairs, and I sat down. "I did not expect to see you so soon," Michael said. "I was on the call when you took care of those rogues. Great job."

I shrugged my shoulders. "It was blind luck more than anything, sir. I came out of the store as they came out of a fast food joint."

"You are too modest. You found a dangerous pair of killers and tracked them until they were away from humans, then took them out without backup? That was heroic stuff. That's why I was so surprised to hear from my gate guard that you were no longer with the Council."

"Yes, sir. I quit yesterday."

"So I heard. So did Alpha Robertson, and from the Chairman first! He's not very happy with you over that. My ear is still ringing from our phone call."

Shit. I wouldn't have any advantage here. "Alpha, when I was here, you raised the possibility of joining Oxbow Lake when I finished with the Council. I'd like to make that change now, if possible."

He shook his head. "If you'd have honorably completed your service with the Council, I might have been able to convince Alpha Robertson to let you go. The way you left changes things, Vic. The Denali Pack reputation is diminished because of your actions, and your Alpha isn't happy about that."