Monster Slayers MC Book 7

Rooster’s POV

I hated that I have to leave Dixie right now. I know she’s feeling really down but neither of us would deny Jenny her children. She obviously loves those kids and who could blame her. They are great kids.

I hurried to my office and picked up the phone. “Rooster.”

“Rooster. It’s Captain Dickerson from Decatur PD. I need your help asap!” Captain Dickerson said and I could hear the urgency in his voice.

“What’s up?” I asked with concern. Captain Dickerson didn’t ruffle easily so the sound of his voice had me sitting up and taking notice.

“I can’t say if there are any bikers involved in this or not but there are at least 3 black vans that have been spotted around town and teenagers are starting to come up missing over the last two days, boys and girls. So far there are 4 boys and 5 girls missing. The youngest is a 13 year old girl, the oldest is a 18 year old girl. I’ve got men working overtime trying to catch up with them but I’ve only got so many men and too much area to cover. Can you come help me out?” Captain Dickerson asked.

“Sure. First thing I need you to do is to get a map of your area and mark every abandoned house, barn, whatever in your area. If they are snatching these kids over a period of time, they have got to have some place to put them. The next thing you need to do is mark the locations of where the kids who have been taken so far went missing. These guys will usually work a pattern. We’ll be there as soon as I can get my crew rounded up and briefed.” I told him. “Do me a favor and check with Bolton and see if they have kids going missing too?”

“Will do. Thanks Rooster. See you soon.” He said then hung up.

I grabbed my phone and sent out a text to everyone calling for church NOW! I left my office just as Dixie came downstairs and I told her what was going on as I walked her back to the family living room.

“I’m going to tell you now that we’re going to make reservations that are set in stone that for my birthday, I want a whole week away from here and I expect to come back bowlegged!” Dixie told me as she pulled my cut to get me to bend down and give her a kiss, which I was more than happy to do.

“You got it my beautiful woman!” I smiled at her as I let her go. Hopefully we won’t be gone long and I can take my family home soon. Maybe some separation from Jenny and her kids would help Dixie get over her sad feelings. I know my wife well enough to know that seeing Jenny interact with her kids was going to be like punches in the heart for Dixie.

As soon as all of the men were in the meeting room, I closed the door and walked to the front of the room and banged my gavel on the block. “Listen up! I just got a call from Captain Dickerson in Decatur. He says there are at least 3 black vans around Decatur that are picking up kids. So far they are missing 4 boys and 5 girls. The youngest is a 13 year old girl, the oldest is an 18 year old girl.

I’ve told Captain Dickerson that we are going to need a map of the area marked with where the girls went missing and any location of any abandoned buildings in his area. He’s also going to check with Bolton to make sure there’s not a problem in their area as well. Circuit, I want you on this run as well.

Make sure you have everything you might possibly need and make sure we all have working coms. Bring all you have in case we need to share with their PD. Captain Dickerson has all of his men pulling OT trying to find these kids but there are just not enough of them and too many targets.

Grab your kevlar and as much extra ammo as you can carry. Also make sure you bring your night vision goggles, just in case. I want 30 men ready to ride in 15 minutes. Kiss your women and get ready to go. I need our best shots on this one but we can’t leave the house unprotected. Eagle, is Ghost ready for this?”

“He’s almost as good as me so yeah, he can handle it.” Eagle said and when I looked over at Ghost, he had a huge smile on his face.

“Good, then you stay here and watch over our families. Ghost, pull what you need and get ready to go. Circuit! Bring Hacker with you but make sure Kevin is set up as our back up here.

Pinto, I want you along on this one because you know Decatur better than we do. Maybe you will have some ideas of where kids hang out and can talk to them about being aware and safe.”

I picked the rest of the men who were going to ride with us and told them all, “Be ready to ride in 15 minutes.” Everyone stood up and the men who were going rushed out to gather what they would need to bring with them. I yelled for 4 prospects to follow us, one with a van with seats and one with a cargo van for bodies. “Make sure you have blankets and a cooler of bottled water. The cargo van should have tarps and plenty of rope.” Everyone ran in different directions and for those of them with women, they kissed their ole’ ladies and kids goodbye and went out to mount up.

Dixie followed me outside with all of the other women as we kissed them one last time and they waved us off, telling us to be safe and hurry back.

Two by two, we pulled out of the compound followed by the two vans and even though I don’t like for us to ride at night, we pushed the speed limit all the way to Decatur. About a mile outside of the city limits, suddenly Scout’s voice came over the com.

“Prez, check out the lights to the right. Looks like flashlights and they seem to be searching for something or someone.” Scout reported. He was about half way back in the pack.

“Good eye. You and Ghost drop back. Cargo van, drop back and stop where you are. Hulk, Crusher, Bruiser, drop back with them. Park your bikes and wait for me. Hunter, the rest of you go ahead and act like nothing has changed but wait for us at the edge of town.” I told them as I did a U-turn on the road and stopped long enough to put my bike on silent and then rode back to where Ghost and the others were stopping.

As soon as I reached them, we all parked off to the side of the road as far as we could get and then began to walk through the field to where we could see the flashlights. Now that the sound of the bikes was gone, we could hear men shouting “Come back here or we are going to skin your friends. Their blood will be on your hands.”

We could see that there were at least 4 men swinging flashlights back and forth over the waist deep overgrowth of mostly dead weeds. I gave the hand signal telling everyone to stop and listen as we all strained to hear if anyone was running towards us. Then I reached in my pocket and twisted my silencer on my gun and motioned for everyone to do the same.

A minute or two later, we finally heard someone stumbling through the tall grass. It sounded like they were trying hard not to cry out but kept making noises of pain mixed with fear. I motioned for everyone to spread out. I whispered into the com, “if you can, grab them make sure you cover their mouth so that they can’t scream out. Be gentle. I think it’s the little girl.”

We spread out in a line about six to eight feet apart and a minute later, Ghost whispered “I’ve got her. Damn, she’s almost a baby. Shhhh. I’m not going to hurt you, little one. We’re here to help. Okay?” We heard him whispering to her. “I’m going to let go of your mouth but you have to be very quiet or they will find us. Okay?”

“Ghost, get her back to the van. The rest of you, get ready. As soon as you have a definite target, open fire.” I whispered.

We lay in the grass and watched as the flashlights got closer and closer and when they were about 20 yards ahead of us, one by one we popped up and took them down. “Well, that’s four of them at least. Stay here. I’m going to go see if we can figure out if we’ve found their lair and how many more we might have to deal with. Hopefully all of the kids are here and safe.”

We all heard Ghost introduce the girl he had rescued to Ivan and Jess. “Don’t worry, small one, they are not going to hurt you. What is your name?”

“Holly. Holly McGuire. Are you going to help the others?” Holly asked.

“Yes. What kind of place are they holding them in?” Ghost asked.

“It’s an old barn.” Holly answered.

“How many men are there in there now?” Ghost asked.

“There were 8 men there when my sister’s boyfriend pried a board loose in the stall they were holding us in and I managed to crawl through it. They told me that no matter what I heard, I was just to keep running. To get to the road and try to get someone to stop and help us. As soon as I got through the hole, I took off. Please hurry and help them. They are doing bad things to them.” Holly told me.

“Some of our friends are on their way. Holly, how many vans are there right now?” Ghost asked.

“There’s only two right now, I think. When they first brought us, there were four but as soon as two came back, the other two left and then come back with more kids. There’s three men in each van.” Holly said. She was being a lot calmer than most kids her age would be but seemed to realize that everything she could tell us would help her friends.

“How many kids are in there?” Ghost asked.

“Jeanne wouldn’t let me see much but I think there are at least a dozen, maybe more. I don’t know for sure.” Holly replied.

“Prez, did you hear?” Ghost said.

“Yeah. We’re going to need more men and as much as I hate to say it, we need to wait till those other vans come back so we can get them all at once. Ask her how long each van stays gone and when did the last ones leave?” I asked.

Ghost asked Holly, “Holly, do you know how long each pair of vans stay gone? When did the last ones leave?”

“The last ones left about half an hour before I got away but I’m not sure how long they would stay gone. I do know that once it got late, they would all be there. That’s when it got really scary. I couldn’t see anything but I could hear slapping and people screaming and crying. Jeanne told me to cover my ears and keep my eyes closed.”

“Prez, two black vans headed your way. They just left the city limits and are pushing the metal.” Hunter’s voice came over the com.

“Good. One man, hang back and go to the police station and give Captain Dickerson your com so I can talk to him. The rest of you, put your bikes on silent and follow them back our way. Park past our bikes and let’s walk in. We don’t want to give them any warning. There are over a dozen innocents in there.” I said quietly. “Ghost, get back up here with us.”

A minute later, Ghost tapped me on the shoulder and I nearly jumped out of my clothes. “Damn, man, don’t sneak up on me like that.” I whisper yelled at him as I grabbed my chest, trying to slow my heart beat and then heard several of the men near me snicker.

“Sorry, Prez.” Ghost said with a sneaky grin on his face.

“You and Scout, go see if you can get closer but make sure you stay out of sight.” I told them.

They each went in a different direction and a few moments later, Ghost whispered into the com. “There are three men standing outside looking in your direction. Can you get to the flashlights those guys were using?”

“Yeah.” I said and we all had to basically crawl through the grass to where the flashlights were laying on the ground. None of the men laying next to the flashlights were nearly as big as us and even from a distance, it was going to be obvious that we were not their friends. We are all too big.

“If we pick these up, they are going to know we’re not their friends. These guys are half our size.” I said.

“Take off your cut and wave it in front of you slightly to one side and keep the light shining directly at them. They won’t be able to make out your shapes with that small rise behind you. So long as a car doesn’t pass behind you.” Ghost whispered.

“Ivan, give us a head’s up if anyone comes from either direction, especially from the west.” I whispered as I removed my cut and picked up a flashlight. I shined it back in the direction of the barn and after a minute Ghost whispered back “It worked. They are falling for it.”

“Can you see how many men are inside?” I whispered.

“There’s 3 by the door and it looks like 1 more inside.” Ghost whispered.

“Prez, there are at least a dozen innocents in there. They have two boys hanging by their hands from the ceiling.” Scout whispered.

Just then Hunter’s voice came across “Prez, they are turning in. Two vans. No bikes.”

“Everybody, get down. Here they come.” I whispered as a set of headlights flashed near where we were crouched down in the grass. “Turn off these lights and get ready to move. Wait until the perps get out then open fire. Make sure you have your silencers on. Scout, is there a back door to that place?”

“Yeah, but there’s something parked in front of it. I think it’s an old hay baler. Even if I could get it open without making any noise, I doubt anyone could get out of the opening. The door looks like it’s about to fall off the hinges.” Scout whispered back.

“Damn. You guys make sure you hit what you aim at.”

Just then the two vans pulled to a stop and three men hopped out of each one. The three men that were standing in front of the barn walked towards them and we could hear their voices.

“What the hell are you guys standing around out here for?” One of the men from the van said.

“One of the little girls got away. Sneak, Rubble, Stoner and Freak went after her but they haven’t come back yet. I think they may be having some fun with her out in the field.” One of the guys from the barn laughed an evil laugh.

“Take these fuckers down.” I whispered and fired at the man who had laughed like the devil. Suddenly I heard quiet pops going off and all of the men began to jerk and twist before they hit the ground. The last man that was in the barn came running to the door and only had long enough to see his friends laying on the ground before his body began to jerk and twist before he fell to the ground too.

Just then, Captain Dickerson’s voice came across the com. “Rooster, it’s Captain Dickerson. What’s going on?”

“We’ve taken care of it. We got the perps but haven’t had a chance to check the innocents yet. You might want to send an ambulance our way and definitely a body wagon. We’ve got 14 bodies that need to go to the morgue. Don’t know yet how many innocents but I know some of them have been violated. We’re going to need some female officers too. I don’t have any women with me this time.” I told him as we walked up to check the bodies.

“Ivan, bring our van forward. Jess, stay with our bikes. Make sure no one rides off with them.” I told them.

“Aye Prez.” Jess replied.

“Be there in a minute, Prez. Come on, little one. Get up here in the seat and put the seat belt on. We’re going to go to your sister.” I heard Ivan tell her.

“When you get here, make her stay in the van until we locate the sister.” I told him.

“Aye.” He replied but there was a strange tone to his voice.

Scout came around the side of the barn and went inside, followed by me, Hulk, Crusher and Bruiser. A second later, I heard a strange yelp and when I turned around Hulk had Ghost by the front of his cut.

“If you want to live to see the next day, that had better be the last time you sneak up on me.” Hulk lifted him off the ground by his cut and got right in his face.

“Sorry, man. I’ve spent months training how to move silently. It’s kind of a hard habit to break now.” Ghost said.

“Let him down, Hulk. He’s just doing what we trained him to do.” Hunter said when he silently stepped through the doorway.

“I’m going to tie bells around both your necks.” Hulk said. “That’s just creepy.”

“It’s actually a talent it wouldn’t hurt you to learn. Your size is intimidating enough. You don’t have to make the ground shake when you move to scare people.” Hunter said with a grin.

“Somebody, bring some blankets. Some of these kids have been ummmm.... put through the wringer.” Crusher said as he stood near a stall with a bunch of kids cowered near the back. Most of them were boys.

“Somebody, get these two down from here.” I called out and Hulk walked over and grabbed one of the ropes that went through the pulley hanging from a beam of the roofing truss down to where the boy’s hands were tied. He slowly let the first boy down but the kid crumpled to his knees and bent forward, barely conscious. He had been beaten up pretty good. He was black and blue over about three quarters of his body.

Bruiser did the same for the other boy who wasn’t in any better condition, in fact, this kid had at least one shoulder dislocated and he moaned loudly when the tension left his arms and they dropped awkwardly forward.

Slowly, some more kids near the back of the barn began to peek around the corner of the stalls and I waved them out. “Come on out. We are not going to hurt you. We’re here to get you back to your families. The police should be here soon. Are any of you hurt?”

Slowly, they stepped out nervously looking around at all of us. There were half a dozen girls and four boys, all of them looked to be older than the ones we had seen so far. One girl held on to one of the boys’ hands as she inched towards me.

“We got my little sister out of here and I know she ran but I don’t know if she managed to get away. Have you seen her? We heard someone fire a gun. They didn’t hurt her, did they?” The girl asked. She was maybe 16, light brown hair and light brown eyes. She looked like the typical cheerleader type and her boyfriend looked like a basketball player. Tall, skinny, blonde hair, blue eyes.

“Are you Jeanne? Is your sister’s name Holly?” I asked her and saw relief wash over her face.

“Yes! Is she alright?” Jeanne asked.

“She’s fine. Brave and intelligent little girl. Most children her age wouldn’t have been able to tell us half of what she told us. They would have been too scared but she kept her wits about her and told us a lot. You and your parents should be proud of her.” I told her.

“Where is she?” Jeanne asked, eager to get back to her sister.

“Scout! Come here and take Jeanne back to her little sister.” I called out.

Scout came forward and told them “This way.”

A few minutes later, Captain Dickerson showed up with 10 patrol cars and the coroner’s van along with a couple of other vans, followed by two ambulances.

We had all of the kids that had been attacked wrapped in blankets and they were all huddled together. The other kids were standing off to the side, just watching what was going on.

Captain Dickerson gave orders for his men to get statements from all the kids who had not been hurt and then to take them home. The paramedics began attending to the two boys who had been hanging from the ceiling first and once they were loaded into the back of one of the ambulances, the driver came over and said “We’ve got two boys who we need to get to the hospital. The others are not as badly hurt but they should be looked over and rape tests need to be done but we can’t haul them all in the ambulances. Can someone drive them back to town and to the hospital?”

“Four of those vans belong to the perps. All you need is drivers.” I told Captain Dickerson.

“Good. I’ve got a lot to deal with but thanks for your help, Rooster. How did you find this place so fast?” He asked.

I told him about how Scout had spotted the flash lights when the little girl, Holly, had run. “Just lucky, I guess.” I finished.

“She must have had a guardian angel watching over her, thank God!” Captain Dickerson said. “Can I call you tomorrow to follow up?”

“Sure. For now, me and my crew are going home to our women.” I told him and called my men to get ready to hit the road. I walked over to the van intending to catch a ride back to my bike when I found Ghost knelt down in front of Holly, Jeanne and her boyfriend.

“Thank you for saving me, Mr. Ghost. I was so scared.” She told him.

“You’re welcome sweetie. If you ever need us again, you just call and we’ll come running.” He said and handed her one of the club cards we had printed for all the members.

She took the card and then threw her arms around his neck and gave him a big kiss on his cheek.

“You take care sweetie.” Ghost said when she finally let go and he stood up, towering over them. He was one of the smaller men in our crew but he still stood a good foot taller than Jeanne and more than a foot and a half taller than Holly.

He waved as they walked away, then jumped into the back of the van. “Got you a new girlfriend, Ghost?” Crusher teased him.

“She’s a sweet kid. Reminds me of.......” He started to say and then just turned his head away. He’d never really opened up and shared his story with anyone. He’d just shown up one day, half starved to death and bruised, asking if he could have some water. Hunter had found him practically passed out in the driveway when he had pulled in one morning.

“Come on, let’s go get our bikes. I want a nice cold beer.” I said as Hulk sat down in the back and slammed the door closed. Ivan drove us back to where our bikes were parked and soon we were on our way back home.

We pulled into the compound around 10 pm and all of our women came running outside to meet us.

“So how did it go?” Dixie asked after a long kiss.

“I’m buying all the extra drinks that Ghost and Scout want tonight. They almost took care of it all by themselves.” I told her. “If they do as well in the contests in May as they did tonight, they are guaranteed shoe-ins for positions as seconds. They are going to be hard to beat, that’s for sure.”

“Well, come on in and have a beer. All of the children are down for the count so we have time to cut loose a little bit.” Dixie grinned at me.

“I thought we were going to go home and cut loose?” I grinned back at her and wiggled my eyebrows.

“We can, if you prefer?” She smiled at me.

“Let’s go get our son and go home. We spend far too much time here and tonight I want you all to myself.” I said. We hurried into the house and while Dixie went upstairs to get Sammy, I went into the bar to talk to Hunter.

“Dixie and I are going home. We need some alone family time. Are you and Marley staying here tonight?” I asked him.

“Yeah. Our kids are already asleep and Marley had already planned for us to stay here tonight. Take your time tomorrow. I’ll watch over things in the morning.” he said.

“Thanks, Hunter. See you sometime tomorrow.” I said and then walked to the bar and got a six pack of beer. I left the bar and met Dixie coming down the stairs with Sammy on one shoulder and a large diaper bag on the other. I took the bag from her and opened the front door for her. I helped her get loaded up in her SUV and then followed her up to our house.