Treasure Ch. 76-80

"Promise me no one else will know."

"I promise." He brought out the phone and unlocked it; he had already moved to the first picture he received. Her mouth hung open, and the mate bond surged with the emotions she was feeling. She read the messages, then went back and looked at the whole string again, staring at the photos and carefully reading the messages he'd already read fifty times. "Fuck."

"Yeah." She sagged against him, needing contact to ground herself as she tried to make sense of it all. It took a few minutes before she sat up and was ready to talk. "It's not his Pack doing this, we know they are down there."

"He doesn't want us to think it's him."

He nodded. "Daniel has to come back for the challenge, and his father will be with him. If I withdraw, under the rules he automatically becomes the Alpha. As a sovereign Alpha, he cannot be attacked or interfered with. Craig figures that if I do what I'm told, they'll think I chickened out and by the time I can say anything, it's too late."

"But why? Two weeks later they are still exposed."

His eyes suddenly got wide as he realized what they were planning. "True, unless they kill me too. The only way they get away with this is by killing me AND Donna, since she will point to them if she is released." He pushed her up and scrambled to his feet. "We don't have a choice, we have to bring others in."

"The messages warned us about that, said they had spies all around. You think they mean the Council?" She couldn't believe the new one was corrupt too.

"I don't know. Right now, if they aren't blood or mate, I don't trust them." She took his hand as they started to walk back towards the Pack House. "I'd trust Chase, Rori, Coral and Keith."

"You can trust Charles and Martin, they are blood and I trust both of them with my life," she said. "I don't know the others here enough to trust them. Nobody else down in Florida."

"Rori is going to want to bring in the Brotherhood." She grew up with them, she trusted them more than werewolves with good reason.

"Let's cross that bridge when we get to it. We have to let them know what to look for."

"We need to do this from our room, I can use the cellphone connection on my iPad to talk to them. I don't want to take any chances they've got an IT guy feeding them information." Ashley texted Charlie and asked him to get Rori, Chase, Coral and Keith into a private room with him and Skype him when they were ready.

It was good they had sent the others out of the house, because Rori's scream damn near broke his screen when he shared the messages.

Ch. 78

Rori let her emotions out for a minute, then she calmed down as she sat in Chase's lap and he rubbed her back. Sawyer filled them in on everything and showed them the photos and messages, then his suspicions on their plan.

You could see the strain on Rori's face. "We know these two are behind it, right?"

"We don't have proof, it's all circumstantial right now," Sawyer said. "It wouldn't be enough to convict them before the Alphas and Council right now, even with their flight. The text message was worded to give them deniability, and since they aren't the Alphas of the Donner Pack, they can't order wolves to do it. We need direct evidence of their involvement, like an eyewitness to the abduction. The best thing would be to have Donna identify one of them."

"We need to find your Mom," Coral said. "Everything in their plan depends on it. The real question is whether they have anyone working with them down here, since they will both have to leave for the challenge in two days. It makes things a lot different if they have help."

"To me, it looks like they have her hidden and plan to leave her alone," Keith said. "They've got her chained in a small space with poured solid concrete, I didn't see any windows so I'm assuming it's easy to secure. If the door is heavy duty and insulated, it's the kind of place she could scream all day and no one would hear her. The chain is not going to be broken by a human." He looked at the photo again. "The water they gave her will stave off death for a few weeks, assuming the temperature in the room isn't too high. I don't see her sweating, so it's probably in a climate-controlled space or underground, which isn't common down there."

"What about food?"

"You can go weeks without food, but what is in the photo could keep her going for a week or two easy. She's not going to be able to do much physically, that will help. Really, if they leave more water, she could live in there for weeks. They would never have to return." He looked back at the last text. "They said they would tell you where to find her, not deliver her to you."

"Fuck," Rori said. "Coral's right, finding her is the key. Can we use the number to help find her?"

"We don't have any contacts within the cellphone companies, I checked when we were hoping to track their phones," Ashley said. "Our guy at the hotel called both their phones and no one picked up, but he could hear their phones through the door of their hotel rooms. Whatever phones they have now, we don't have the numbers of. We don't even know if the number those texts came from is real or spoofed."

"Orlando is a big damn town, we're not going to find her without help. We could go to the cops," Ashley said. "This is a kidnapping, we bring the FBI in and show them the texts. They have the authority to track that cellphone down for us."

"Dangerous," Rori said. "We involve the human authorities and we risk exposure, plus the Brotherhood won't work with them. Roadkill won't even file a missing persons report, he refuses to go to the police. The Club will help if we bring them in. Craig and Daniel have no connections with them, so any moles they had won't be there."

"Do they have connections where we need them?"

She just looked at Sawyer like he was an idiot. "There are thousands of members, and more affiliates. We're everywhere. Trust me, the Brotherhood is pissed off. If I show them the pictures, they'll take care of things and you'll never find the bodies."

They talked about plans for a few more minutes, then Sawyer brought it to a close. "So to recap, no one outside of this group is to know about the messages except the Brotherhood, and Rori is going to fill them in. We keep the Council and the others looking for them in Orlando."

"That's it," Chase said. "We'll call you back late tonight after Rori is done with church."

The call was ended, and Sawyer pulled Ashley into a deep kiss. "Are we doing the right thing?"

"You haven't met the Brotherhood like I have," she said. "Those men will do anything to get Possum back. Now, I have to get back to work, and you need to train. Find some enforcers and get some sparring in, but don't get hurt. I'll see you back here in a few hours." She got up and left the room, leaving him to change into sweats before he headed to the training facility. He hoped to Luna the challenge would happen.

Two hours later, Rori and Chase were in Church at the Orlando Steel Brotherhood clubhouse. The place was packed, prospects manned the doors as members from five surrounding chapters joined them. Mongo and Three Tequila were up front with them at a table along with the senior members of the charters that came to assist.

After it was gaveled to order, Roadkill told everyone what he had found when he got home. Chase had already hooked his iPad up to the big TV projector and went through what they had found out. When he started to show the text messages he'd caught on screen capture during their talk with Sawyer and Ashley, the place damn near exploded when they saw Possum's condition. Mongo banged his gavel over and over until the place quieted, then Chase continued on. "The men that have Possum are similar to Club Presidents; the Challenge is for the title, and the loser can be killed or exiled. It's serious shit, and my older brother is the one who they are trying to pre-empt by taking Canvas's Mom," he said as he turned to Rori while the photos of Daniel and Craig were put up.

"These are the two men we are looking for. Three Tequila has already emailed these pictures to all Chapter Officers, if you don't have one get it forwarded or texted to you. As much as I'd like to kill them, we can't just yet. Not until we know where they are holding Possum and we get her back." She looked out over the assembled bikers, it was a big and scary group. "Not that I'd mind if you beat them up a bit, just make sure they can talk."

The men grinned at that, most of them thinking of ways they could torture men who DARED to do this to one of their Club's Old Ladies. If they were brutal, Rori could just imagine what the Steel Ladies were thinking. Chase took over again. "Daniel and Craig Forrest aren't an easy takedown. Both are big and smart, and they have money to spare. They know Rori runs with the Brotherhood, so keep the cuts hidden and use cages when you can, it will arouse less suspicion. Stay in groups of four or less, if they see the whole Club coming, they'll bolt. We are working to get a location for them, but right now we know nothing. Our best guess is that the room is in an industrial building, or might be a tornado shelter in a more expensive home."

"What about the text? I can help you find them with that, I work for Verizon," one of the Jacksonville members was standing up.

"Yes, if there is anyone with access to phone, police, airport, any other databases that would help, meet up here after we break."

Mongo stood up next to him. "We'll pair other Charters up with some of our guys and start canvassing. Hotels, bars, clubs, show the pictures around and see if anyone recognizes them. War room will be here, check in every hour or so and we'll keep a map updated with what we've found out. Make sure all of your cellphone numbers are checked in at the desk up front, we'll use group texting to keep everyone updated. Biggest thing is we don't get stupid and go in too fast with too little. If we spring the trap and don't catch both mice, Possum will pay the price. Now let's go find her." There was a roar as the men stood up started to filter outside. Groups of two or three formed up, guys knew each other from various Club functions and it was all pretty smooth. The Ladies manned the communications, sending out group texts with initial assignments for all the Orlando members.

Rori and Chase stayed at the Club to help coordinate everything, plus they were the only ones who could talk to Sawyer and Ashley as well as the werewolves. The search continued, the Prospects in the kitchen bringing food in for them as they continued working. So far, nothing.

Back at the Oxbow Lake Pack, a phone call came in just after nine at night. "QUIET," Ashley said as she put her phone on speaker. "Go ahead, Chaz."

"Yeah, this is Elliot Webster, I'm a TSA supervisor out of the Twin Cities," he said. "I put an alert in the system on Craig and Daniel Forrest, so I would be notified if they tried to fly. I just got the message, they are boarding a plane right now for Minneapolis."

"Shit, they're at the Orlando airport? Let's get them," one of the warriors said.

"They aren't flying out of Orlando, they are flying out of Fort Lauderdale, connecting in Minneapolis for Duluth. Do you want me to have them stopped?"

The group looked at each other, Sawyer shook his head. "We know where they are going, we'll take it at this end." They copied down the flight number, then thanked him and ended the call. "Ashley, call Rori and Charles. Let them know they went from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale." He cursed, their job just got infinitely harder. Those cities were almost a three-hour drive apart, and that meant Donna could be anywhere in between. "We need to bring the Alphas in on this."

Ten minutes later, everyone was sitting in the big conference room as Sawyer laid out what they had learned. "The flight arrives in Minneapolis at 7:15, they change planes for an 8:30 flight to Duluth arriving at 9:48."

"We can't grab them in Minneapolis, they won't leave the terminal," Alpha Michael said. "We can pick them up in Duluth, we just have to make sure they get on the plane."

Chairman Coffey scoffed. "On what charge? What evidence do we have to arrest them?" He looked around the room. "I know we all suspect them, but right now we have nothing except they were in the same town for a while. Sawyer, what do you think?"

"You're right, sir. Right now, we have nothing that ties them to the kidnapping." He had more, but he couldn't share it with the Council, and even that may not be enough. They could just say people were working without their knowledge as the text implied. "I just don't want to lose them again. They are rogues, put people on them to watch them."

"I don't want to spook them, if they scent werewolves following them in the airport..."

"Sir, let the Brotherhood do it. Rori can call the St. Paul chapter and give them the information, we can use the humans to make sure they get on the Duluth flight where we can pick up the trail." Everyone agreed to the plan, it made sense. "We stay focused on finding two things; Donna's location, and evidence that would tie the Forrests to the kidnapping. We have less than 36 hours until the challenge, after that if Daniel wins, the two are untouchable without solid evidence."

The group broke up, and Sawyer and Ashley made the phone call on Skype to Chase and Rori in their room. "I'll take care of the watchers at the airport," Rori said. "The news that Donna might be down by Fort Lauderdale has really thrown a wrench in things. We've got the local chapter there involved directly, and we're sending people along the way. It's a needle in a haystack," she said as she yawned. "We're shutting down for the night. Call us if you get any leads."

"Will do. Good luck, Rori, we'll find her."

"I know." The call ended, and Ashley turned everything they knew over to the Ladies who were manning the room for the night shift. Sawyer walked her back to their room, both of them nervous that this wouldn't end well. They would continue in the morning.

The three bikers watched their targets get off the plane from Fort Lauderdale. They ate a late dinner and had a few beers at a bar in the terminal, then boarded a commuter turbo-prop for Duluth. Photos and comments were relayed live to Rori via text, and she forwarded the information to the Oxbow Lake command center. Enforcers watched them as they arrived in Duluth, rented a car and drove to the Radisson Harborview Hotel. They stayed back as they checked into their room, and one of the Enforcers planted a camera in the hallway outside as another rented a room down the hall. The two men didn't emerge again until nine in the morning, when they went downstairs for a lavish breakfast.

Sawyer's anger grew and grew as the time approached. Twenty-three hours and he would have to withdraw his challenge or be the cause of Donna's death.

Ch. 79

No one could have predicted the search would be broken wide open by a five-foot-nothing, pink-haired woman of Japanese-American parents in Silicon Valley, but it was. The Steel Ladies chapter in San Francisco had put out the word to help, and Spider Monkey found it. She worked at Google Headquarters.

Three Tequila took the call as she was opening up the email. "EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP," she yelled as she put the call on speaker. "Sorry, go ahead Spider Monkey."

"OK, so I was able to trace back the spoofed phone number to the original cellphone," she said. "It's been inactive since yesterday and is registered to Donner Pass Property Management."

"Oh hell yeah," Chase said.

"It gets better," she said. "The thing about the iPhone is that it doesn't really turn off unless you power it down, and location tracking is still enabled. The phone is in Duluth right now at the Radisson Harborview."

"Our suspects are there, this gives us the first direct tie," Chase said with a smile on his face for the first time in a day. "Thank you so much, this gives us what we need to hold these guys responsible. Have a great day, Spider."

She laughed on the other end of the line. "What, you don't want to hear the rest?"

"There's more?"

"Of course, silly. I work for Google, we know EVERYTHING. Including how that phone was used with Google Maps to give directions from the airport to a house in Orlando, then to a house in Jupiter, Florida." She read off the addresses, the first was Roadkill's house. "The second is where they stayed for about five hours before going to the airport in Fort Lauderdale. That's where they are hiding her."

Rori was already pulling up the address on Google Maps, it was a large home between A1A and the beach on the way to Juno Beach. It was set alone, no other houses within a quarter mile. "I'll send the group text," she said.

"We can't thank you enough, Spider Monkey. Whatever you need is yours," Chase said.

"That's dangerous, I'll have to think about it," she said. "Good luck, get her back."

"Damn right we will." He hung up, just as the phones lit up with Rori's group text.

"TARGET LOCATED, 1987 COASTAL CIRCLE, JUPITER, FLORIDA. RETURN TO CLUBHOUSE OR HEAD TO JUPITER, DO NOT APPROACH. WILL SEND STAGING LOCATION ASAP THANK YOU ALL- RORI."

Chase was already on the phone to the pilots, telling them to warm up the plane. "Is there a private airport near there," he asked one of them. He told them to prepare to head there and turn around and be ready to fly to Two Harbors as soon as possible after they landed. He then sent a message to Charles and the others back at the condo, telling them to pack quickly and pick them up because we needed to get to the plane immediately. "We've got to go soon," he told Rori. "Roadkill, you're with us. Mongo, are you going with?"

"If you have room," he said as Chase nodded. They'd leave two people here to return the rental cars, one of the warriors could fly back. "Baby, can you stay here?" He kissed her, and they walked out of the conference room to the main area. People were getting up and looking to him for direction. "We're converging on Jupiter. I don't need more than thirty people, I prefer those with military or law enforcement backgrounds. Check in with Tequila, strap up and get going. We'll text you the rally point."

"FUCK YEAH," one of the men yelled as he headed for the door.

Chase, Rori, Roadkill and Mongo piled into one vehicle while Charles, Coral, Keith and two others got in the second van. On the way to the airport, Chase called Ashley in the Oxbow Lake Beta's office and asked her to step into a private area, so they could talk freely. "We know where she is, one of the Steel Ladies got into their phone," he said excitedly. He gave him the address. "We also have proof they were involved, Rori is forwarding the screen captures now. The phone is owned by the Donner Pass Property Management Company and was used to get directions to both Donna's house and the house we're headed to now. If she's there, we've got him dead to rights. The Brotherhood is heading there now, we're heading to the airport now."

"Oh HELL YEAH," Ashley yelled on her end. "I'll let everyone know up here, you guys get her back."

"Don't do anything yet," Chase said. "We don't know who the moles are, and the last thing we need is for someone to tip their guy off there is a raid coming. In fact, even if we get her back, we're only telling you and Sawyer. I don't want them to take off on us, I want Sawyer to coat his teeth with their blood."

"Mine too," she said. "A lot of us want a piece."

"I'll call you back in a few hours and let you know. If anyone asks, we got a lead on a property in Orlando and the Brotherhood is preparing to storm it."

"Got it. Good luck, Chase." He hung up the phone.