Chapter 3

 

 

Sitting in her living room on the sofa between her parents later that evening, Mary and her family watched the news. The big story that night was about the abduction attempt and Mary’s saviors who were still unidentified. The would-be abductor was still at large as well. Mary remembered the woman’s reassuring voice as she softly spokaye to her on the way home. They tookay Mary to a Catholic church; the woman leading Mary by the hand to a rear exit. The woman told Mary to walk inside, count to thirty, then take off the blindfold. Mary followed the instructions, walked down a short hall, finding found Father Joe in an office. He was on the phone with the police before she even finished her tale.

 

“Momma, why didn’t the nice people want me to see them?” Mary asked.

“I don’t know, honey; I wish I could thank them in person, but until we find them, let’s hope they watch the news and hear our thanks for saving you and bringing you home.” Mary’s mother, Cathy, hugged the little eight-year-old tightly, not wanting to let her out of sight again. She offered up another prayer in a countless stream of thanksgiving.

 

That night, Cathy read a bedtime story to her daughters as her husband fielded calls from the media and police.

She tucked the girls in and gave them each a kiss and a tight hug, thanking God again for her safe family. She turned to shut the light off and saw her husband Carter standing in the doorway looking very pale. Alarmed, she asked, “Honey, what’s wrong?”

“Let’s go outside and sit on the porch.” He said, turning away.

Outside in the cool night air, she asked him again. “I just got off the phone with the detectives. They found the bastard that tried to take Mary. At least they believe it’s the guy.” He answered.

“That’s great! Now we can rest easier knowing he can’t try again or take another kid.”

“No, he won’t ever do that again. He’s dead.”

Stunned, Cathy sat hard on the porch swing. “How? Do they know what happened? And are they sure it’s him?”

“Well, they have the van or what’s left of it, anyway; they found it near an old barn somewhere burned to the ground. Inside the barn, they found Mary’s backpack and the body of the man they believe did it. Apparently, the guy was beaten so badly they had to use dental records to ID him. His hands were cut off and burned in the van. The body they found is that bastard that murdered that little girl in Newburg a while back and got off.”

“Oh, my God. Carter…those people that saved Mary had to have done it.”

“Yeah, so the detectives want to talk to Mary again tomorrow and see if she remembers anything that can help ID them.”

“I almost hope they don’t find them. That sick bastard needed to pay…I hope he suffered.” Cathy said, trembling with anger.

“Cath—” Carter started.

“No Carter, I know how horrible it sounds, but I’m happy he’s dead. Think of what he could have done to Mary. To other kids…for that matter, what he’s done already. If the system can’t protect us from these freaks…I’m glad someone took him off our streets.”

“I know honey, I just…I don’t know…I feel weird knowing that our heroes turned out to be as violent as the freak. Mary was with them; they could have hurt her too.”

“No, they are obviously on our side. They saved our daughter’s life!”

“Okay, let’s just try to move past all this and help Mary heal. To be honest, I wish I could have been the one to hurt that slimy bastard.” Carter said, balling his fists.

 

 

 

Jack Bridger looked around the large table at his companions as a server brought their lunch. “I’m famished.” Said the petite blond woman across from him.

“You’re always famished. I don’t see how you stay so small,” replied the redhead to Jack’s right. “I stay in shape, from working off all these calories.” The blonde said with a wink.

A tall, gray-haired man joined their table, apologizing for being late. He looked as if he just stepped off a GQ cover and into the restaurant; every hair perfectly placed, not a wrinkle to be seen in his tailored navy suit. “Better late than never, George.” Jack said, digging into his steak.

“Okay boys and girls, what have we got?” George asked the table after the server had taken his order and left.

“Nothing. We’re clear; no prints, hairs, or anything to identify the team got left behind. The boys downtown are scratching their heads over it but aren’t putting too much work into it, considering who the guy was,” Jack replied.

“And the autopsy?” the blonde asked. “It’s okay. Sally believes the knife was a double-bladed six incher. Nice touch.”

A cell phone rang, playing the song Danger Zone; Jack looked at the number, sighed and answered it with his usual etiquette as the rest of the table waited tensely.

“Yeah…uh huh…spell that…got it.” Shaking his head, he said, “It never stops, let’s roll.” He pulled enough twenties from his wallet to cover the bill and a decent tip and stalked to the door, the rest following.

“Well, that almost a pleasant reunion. Maybe next time we can finish a meal?” asked the redhead.

“Come on, there’s work to do…who needs food?” George replied.

“I’m spending the first week of June with my kids at the lake…don’t call me unless it’s an emergency, okay? I really need some downtime and the kids miss their mom.” The red head announced as they started to split up in the parking lot. They each knew their part of the job and hurried off to get started.

“Okay, no problem.” Jack said, stepping closer to her. “Listen, we need to talk later.”

“What’s wrong Jack?

“Nothing yet. I just want to make sure everything is okay…if the job is getting to be too much for you…I’d rather you backed off before it becomes a problem.”

“No, I’m okay. It’s just that I need some time with my family. Don’t worry, I’m not headed for a breakdown or anything; if I can’t do it anymore, I’ll be the first to say so. I won’t risk the projects, or anyone involved.”

Jack looked at her hard for a moment, sizing her up. Obviously, he didn’t want any mistakes from someone burned out on the job, but he was also concerned about the people. He knew what they did was important, but also worried about the effects the job could have on a person after a while. God, did he know better than anyone.

“Okay, get to work then. If you need anything or run into any problems, call me.” He handed her a slip of paper that had a name and location.

Pam stared at the paper a moment, memorizing it, then tore it into several bits and dropped two of the bits into a dumpster. On the way back to the courthouse where she worked, she dropped a few more out the window of her car as she sped along the interstate. The last few pieces she flushed in the ladies’ room.

 

Jack drove to the airport, thinking about Pam. She was one of the original group members, and one of the hardest to rattle. He worried about her, but he knew he needed her. Her talent and contacts were hard to match, but maybe it was time to bring in an apprentice for her. He had a few people in mind that she could take under her wing.

In the air, he booted up his laptop and started learning about his target. By the time he landed in Nevada, he knew everything about the woman, down to her clothing sizes and favorite foods. Sometimes he hated the job, but he hated the need for it more.

 

Jack checked into a hotel near the airport, ordered room service, and turned his thoughts to his group. It originally began almost ten years ago with a group of five. Now it numbered in the hundreds. The core group remained small, with only ten key people organizing everything, but nationwide, hundreds had small parts to play.

They had no name, no formal affiliation. Most never met each other or had any contact besides a quick phone call. They were made up of people from all walks of life, young, old, rich, poor. They were atheists, Christians, agnostics. Many lawyers, cops, social workers, judges, doctors worked alongside people living in ghettos, gang bangers, hookers, prison guards, servers and even homeless for a common goal. To rid the country of the slime that permeates our streets, but the so-called system lets escape. The system can be good, but when it fails, there’s The Group to right the wrongs.

He hoped in vain for the day that the pedophiles and other slime that slip through the cracks of justice would realize that eventually…they would pay. He wished the fear alone could stop them, and he could disband. However, he knew his hopes were little more than pipe dreams. Hollow. He knew fear could not cure the sickness that rotted the brains of these people. He also knew that in ten years, no one has caught on that many that escape justice…eventually find it. No, there was only one way to stop them.

He shook off his ruminations and started his work; the end for a sleazy mother that sells her children to men, sometimes for as little as the cost of a bottle of vodka. Jack opened his laptop to go over the details once more.