Man of Steel(12)

I was brought back to the present by the beeping of my phone. “What’s up D’Angelo?”

“You call Jake?”

“No, why?”

“He’s headed this way.”

“No problem.” I closed my phone and waited.

Jake was an old buddy of mine; in fact he was the only cop still on the force that I could say I was truly impressed with. He was honest to a fault and always went the extra mile. He didn’t suffer fools lightly and had a rep for facing down anyone who got in his way no matter who.

He had his own division in the force that was rumored to be some type of elite top-secret outfit that dealt with the more dangerous shit that went down in our neck of the woods. He’d offered me a place on his team when I’d walked but I’d already set my sights on the bar and forging a different way.

When I fell into this little sideline, he was one of the first people I’d tapped for help. It was always good to have someone on the right side of the law for all that the department was full of crooks and assholes. I knew that Jake was like me. He could be trusted. I didn’t know what he was doing here tonight though, since I hadn’t called him in since I’d asked him to be on the lookout for Sid.

He came around the side of the building like smoke and I couldn’t hold back the smirk. Fucker thinks he’s cool. I can’t see where having a wife and kids have softened him any, but he didn’t have that ‘I’d skull fuck you for breakfast and then piss in your eye’ look about him anymore.

Before I could open my mouth to ask him why he was here he beat me to it. “Where’s your boy Deke?” Oh shit. I wasn’t about to show my hand, there wasn’t anything I couldn’t get my guys out of and I’m pretty sure that Jake wouldn’t burn Deke for a piece a shit like Sid, but it never hurt to be careful. “Who wants to know?” He cocked his brow at me with a ‘don’t fuck with me’ scowl and I was hard pressed to keep my laughter in check.

We both know his intimidating tactics wouldn’t work on me though I felt Stryder shift nervously in his chair. Jackass, that only brought him to Jake’s attention and the other man turned one of his glares his way. “Cut that shit out Jake, now what do you want with my boy?”

“I’ve been keeping an eye on the Carter place since you told me about asshole number two’s threats against our girl. I figured you’d have eyes over there as well, but what I was not expecting was to be saving Sid from crazy ass Deke. You’ve got to do something about that one Masters he’s not wrapped too tight.”

“Deke’s cool, he just gets a little jumpy every now and then.”

“Frogs get jumpy, this one’s something else altogether. I had my guys run Sid to the hospital because Deke wasn’t looking too excited about doing it himself.”

“Where is he now?”

“I left him there watching the flames so they don’t get out of control. Couldn’t you come up with a better idea than torching the woods?”

“Nah, that place has been used to hide too much evil over the years, it was time someone took care of it. Now no one can use it as a cover to hide dark shit.” Dwayne had kept his victims hidden back there in a makeshift underground bunker he’d built.

Men had scoured those woods for days without a trace of anything and the whole time Stephanie had been buried under there. She could hear people going by overhead calling out to her, so close and yet so far away. I’m sure that had only added to her torment, and was now feeding her fear that no one would ever hear her or come when she was in distress.

It was by sheer luck that she’d survived after he’d taken her out and left her for dead elsewhere. No one knew why he hadn’t killed her there in his drop sight but we were forever grateful that he hadn’t. When she’d been found badly beaten and bruised with her head barely on her shoulders no one thought for a minute that she’d live let alone live to tell where she’d been kept.

She was one strong little angel. It was because of her that they’d been able to close at least three cold cases of other young girls who had gone missing over a ten year period from the area and there were believed to be even more who’d found their demise at his hands.

When the bunker had been unearthed there’d been DNA from the three cases that were now considered closed and they were still sifting through the shit they’d found down there. “I figure burning the shit would serve two purposes, he can’t use it anymore provided he ever sees the light of day again and the way the justice system works I’m not too sure that’s not an option. And two, when I drive Stephanie by there later she can see that her hell hole has been destroyed.”