Code Name: Buffy and Buddy
Chapter Seven
Two black Chevy Suburbans sat in the driveway when I arrived. Caleb was flying high cover. Angel, Xander, Oz, and Spike stood on a small rise overlooking the house. The sharpshooters stood beside them.
“Now what do we do, oh great wise one,” Spike taunted.
I heard a slap and a scream.
“Did they leave the drivers in the Suburbans?” I asked.
“Yes,” Spike replied.
“If we can get the drivers out of the Suburbans, can you subdue the drivers?” I asked the sharpshooters
“Of course.”
“Xander, Oz, distract the drivers and get them to exit the vehicles. Subdue them. Once they are pacified, Angel and Spike will sink the Suburbans in the river about a half mile back on the road and return here.”
“What do we do with the drivers?”
“Gag them, tie them to trees using their shirts or jackets and remove their shoes, pants, and underpants.”
“Underpants?”
“Yeah, if they get loose, they will be less likely to run for help.”
“You’re cruel.”
“No, just pissed. I’m tired and hungry and over this already.”
“What are you going to do?”
“After most of the people in the house run out to see where their wheels went, you will capture them and tie them up like you did the drivers. I will go in through the back door.”
“Then what?”
“I will disarm and tie up everyone I can. Once I have the house secure I will start asking questions and hitting people until I get answers I can believe.”
“Buddy, you are not a nice guy.”
“Never said I was.”
Caleb dropped in to report the arrival of a drone.
“Stick with the plan guys.”
The drivers took a lot more subduing than I had hoped they would, but we eventually got them trussed up in full view of the front door. I heard shouting inside. One voice I recognized as the Air Force Captain and one was a woman I could not identify. The scream was definitely Mrs. Carson. Spike and Angel took off in the cars spinning the wheels making a lot of noise and throwing a cloud of sand and gravel as they left. Two men ran out of the front of the house with their pistols drawn. They were much easier to subdue and tie up than the drivers had been.
I had no idea how many people were left in the house.
I walked in the back door. My uncle Jack was gagged and tied to a kitchen chair. I pulled the gag from his mouth. “Sorry about this, Cousin Jack. Where’s Jill?” The fact that he was drunk probably helped him not feel the pain of his restraints. I untied him as quickly as I could.
“Out drinking somewhere. Took the van this afternoon and ain’t been back since.”
“Probably a good thing.”
“Yeah,” he said as he massaged his wrists from the ties. “She’d a freaked out and got us all killed.”
“Stay here.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that.”
“Where’s your pistol?”
He reached into a kitchen drawer and handed it to me. I checked the magazine and walked into the living room.
All heads turned in my direction.
“In Florida, it is legal to kill someone who enters your house without your permission.”
I have no idea how my cousin Jill in her drunken state managed to slide past the small army out front, but she did. She opened the screen door and screamed and screamed and screamed. The sharpshooters came running. All my guys flew in. Even Caleb dropped down from flying high cover to join the melee. When it was over, the living room and adjacent dining room were trashed. The sharpshooters, bruised and in pain, stood guard at the door. Eight half-naked bodies lay tied up on the floor. Angel had taken a knee to the crotch and was in a corner writhing in pain. Spike had blood all over both fists. Xander was nursing several bruises. Oz had a cut over his eye that Caleb was trying patch up. The men who had been interrogating the former captives had blood on their faces that matched the blood on Spike’s fists. My cousin Jack was guarding a pile of weapons on the kitchen floor, and Jill was passed out on the dining room floor.
The lone woman who had been part of the interrogation team sat off to one side tied to a chair. Mrs. Carson identified her as the boss and the one who had hit her most often. I did not untie Mrs. Carson explaining that I did not want her trying to interfere with what I was about to do. “Mrs. Carson, I am not a nice guy. I am tired. I am hungry, and I am angry. Are you sure that this woman is in charge of this group?”
“Yes, I am.”
“Mrs. Carson, I would rather you not watch what I am about to do. I knew a guy who was at Gitmo, and he told me what they did. I knew another guy who was in Vietnam, and he told me what they did. I intend to interrogate this woman using their techniques. If I untie you, I fear you will try to stop me. Please do not do that.”
She nodded, but I could see the fear in her eyes.
I turned back to the woman who was the leader. “Where have they hidden Beth Anne and Buffy?”
“I don’t know.”
I backhanded her across the face. An angry bruise welled up immediately. Tears came to her eyes.
“Where are Buffy and Beth Anne?”
“I don’t know.”
All I saw in her eyes was defiance. I stopped for a moment. I was in high school. I had not even graduated. I was torturing a woman for information. What was wrong with me?
I kicked one of the men on the floor. “Does he know?”
“Probably not.”
“Do the drivers know?”
“They might.”
I turned to the guards. “Bring the drivers.”
The drivers were thrown on the floor in front of me. “Where are the girls?”
One came up crying, “We don’t know. He drove the other car. I drove your girlfriend. We transferred her to a dark blue van at a strip mall on Highway 50. That’s all I know. I swear to God. Please don’t kill me. I got a wife and kids.”
I pulled the other driver up by his hair. “Is he telling the truth?”
“I don’t know. I drove the four guys that held down the cop to the airport in Titusville and left them.”
“Who hired you?”
“We don’t know. Maybe our boss does. Here’s his card.”
I took the card. I turned to my crew. “Take everyone out but Mrs. Carson, the captain and my special friend here. Tie them to trees out front. Y’all need to wait outside. Xander, go meet Cordelia. Tell her what we know. Then take this card to Chief Johnson and tell him everything.”
Xander looked at me. “Everything? Including this?”
“Yes.”
“What will you be doing?”
“A little S and M.”
Xander shuddered but did as he was told.
I was left alone with the three captives. I stood silently for a few minutes rocking back and forth on my feet.
I put my face very close to the woman who had tortured Mrs. Carson. “So, let’s start again. Where are Buffy and Beth Anne?”
“I don’t know.”
I removed the rest of her clothes, so she sat naked in the chair.
“Where are Buffy and Beth Anne?”
“I don’t know.”
I backhanded her again. “Does that jog your memory?”
“I don’t know where they are.”
“I can keep this up all night.”
“That won’t help you find them.”
“What were your instructions for me?”
“I was to capture you and take you to the Lake Mary rest area on I-4. I was to transfer you to a dark blue van, and we would be paid in cash. That’s all I know.”
“Do you do a lot of this sort of work?”
She did not answer. I stepped on her foot. She cried out in pain.
“Do you do a lot of this sort of work?”
She did not answer. I stepped on her other foot. She cried out again and whimpered.
“Do you do a lot of this sort of work?”
She did not answer. I went into the kitchen and got a serrated knife. I held it against her nipple. I heard Mrs. Carson gasp.
“Do you do a lot of this sort of work?”
“Yes.” She broke down in tears.
“Who do you work for usually?”
“Drug dealers, organized crime. They will kill my family and me.”
“We’ll leave you with that thought.”
I walked out to the porch. “Those that can fly, come with me. Those that can’t call the cops. Those that stay tell the cops the truth.”
“Where are we going?” Spike asked.
“To find Buffy and Beth Anne. The key is the dark blue van.”
“What about the drone?” Caleb asked.
“It can follow us for all I care. We’ll ditch it later.”
Angel said, “I can’t believe what you did to that woman. You know, Nietze said that whoever fights a monster must see to it that they do not become the monster. I fear you have become the monster.”
“You’re right,” I said. “I am a monster. Now, let’s go rescue the girls.”