Brain Storm by Cat Gilbert (detective books to read .TXT) 📖

“WE DON’T KNOW how many people are guarding him or what kind of condition he’s in,” Jonas pointed out for at least the third time. “Not to mention that we have no idea what we’re going to find once we get inside.”

I closed my eyes in frustration. We’d been debating various methods to extricate Brown from his captors for the better part of the evening and still didn’t have a viable plan. There were too many variables and not enough intel, but it was all we had, and we needed to make a move.

It had been late in the afternoon by the time we pulled up to the cabin. Jonas and Trinity had done a great job finding the place. Set back into the trees, you’d never find it if you didn’t already know it was there. We’d unloaded the cars and then Mac and I left Trinity and Mama D to put the house in order while Jonas showed us the lay of the land before darkness fell. The entrance we had taken to the house turned off a main road, but the second access to the house met up with a dirt road that eventually came out onto a paved main road and joined up with the highway. If push came to shove, we had a nice little escape route. Listening now as Mac and Jonas argued the pros and cons of various plans, I just hoped we wouldn’t have to use it.

“Wait. Just wait a minute.” I waved my arms, cutting into the argument going on between them. “This isn’t getting us anywhere. Let’s take a break.” I picked up my cup and headed into the kitchen, topping off my coffee on the way out the back door. It was cold outside, but I needed the fresh air to clear my head.

What should have been an easy snatch and grab had become a huge undertaking when we added in the psychic factor. If Hughes had abilities, it stood to reason that whoever was in with Brown would too. If they were from the same group that had attacked the condo, I knew they’d be heavily armed and professionally trained. The warehouse unit Brown was in wasn’t large, but we had no idea where he would be once we were inside and it would take precious time to locate him. Time we simply wouldn’t have.

The door opened suddenly behind me, Mama D nearly knocking me off the small landing where I’d been standing.

“Here. Let me take that,” I said, setting my cup on the railing and relieving her of the trash bag she was toting.

“Make sure you get that can closed up good, now. Jonas said there were bears up here,” she cautioned as she headed back inside, the door closing behind her.

I looked out and scanned what passed for a yard. It was barely illuminated from the lone bulb mounted on the side of the house. The front of the cabin was pretty as a picture, nestled in the side of the mountain, surrounded by towering pines. The back was where they’d put all the unsightly stuff that went with living in the middle of nowhere. The big metal trash enclosure was set away from the house near an enormous pile of firewood. I went down the steps, keeping an eye peeled for wildlife and made my way over to the bin. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to open the bear-proof container and by the time I had finally managed it, I was certain that any bear smart enough to need that much deterrent, would be smart enough to just sit by the door and wait for someone to come out with the garbage and nail them on the way to the bin instead.

It was as I was closing the door of the bin, that I caught sight of the hulking mass out of the corner of my eye. I jumped back, ready to run. My heart leaping into my throat in that split second before I realized the black mass I was looking at was a storage tank.

I shook my head, chuckling to myself in relief as I started back to the house.

“You okay?” Mac’s voice startled me, and I looked up to find him coming through the door, heading in my direction. He’d obviously felt my moment of panic and was checking up on me.

“See that?” I asked, pointing to the tank in question.

“Yeah. It’s a gas tank or propane maybe,” he answered quickly, as he scanned the yard for trouble. “Why? ”

“Thought it was a bear,” I explained, heading back to the house, ignoring his laughter as he followed behind me.

I was reaching for the door, when I saw them, and stopped short, causing Mac to run into me.

“What?” he asked, looking around to see what had my attention now.

There, rising from the ground, the pipes ran up the exterior wall and into the house. Bright yellow. My gaze flew back to the tank. They were gas pipes. Marked with yellow paint.

I’d seen those pipes earlier at the warehouses. I remembered my panic of a few minutes ago and knew I’d found the answer. We had our way to get to Brown. Now if we could just manage not to blow ourselves up in the process, we’d be in good shape.

* * *

THE WAREHOUSE COMPLEX was amazingly busy when I pulled the van in at 4 a.m. It had been fairly quiet an hour earlier when I had dropped Jonas and Mac off across the street from the entrance, but now it was bustling with activity.

My hands tightened on the wheel as I followed a food services truck down the drive between the warehouses, slowly passing the Camaro where Trinity sat parked, waiting for the signal. We’d left Mama D at the cabin with specific instructions to call the police if she didn’t hear from us before 6:00 a.m. She wasn’t happy about being left behind, but it couldn’t be helped. We needed someone to send in the cavalry if things went wrong. So far, everything had gone according to plan. With any luck, we’d have Brown and be gone within the hour.

The van in front of me slowed, and I used it as cover to back into the service bay entrance opposite the unit that held Brown, quickly cutting my lights. Within seconds, the side door slid open, and Mac hopped inside.

“We’re all set,” he whispered, as he climbed into the front seat. “We’ve got one canister hooked to the vent system. The other is hidden in the bushes by the back door. Jonas is in place, waiting for the signal. You’re on.”

I froze, knowing the next step was up to me. If I failed, it was over. We’d have to re-group and come up with some other way to get to Brown, and I wasn’t sure there was one. Not and avoid Hughes in the process. There was a lot hanging on the next few minutes.

“Taylor, it’s a good plan. We’ve been over and over it.” Mac grabbed my arm, trying to reassure me. “It’ll work. You can do this.”

I nodded, going over the plan in my head one last time. The propane tanks had been Jonas’ idea. We didn’t need to break any of the gas lines. We just needed it to smell like a line was down, and the odor in the propane was good enough to handle the job with the added benefit of being more controllable. We’d stopped by a 24 hour Wal-Mart, picked up two big canisters and we were in business. Now it was time to contact Brown and set everything in motion.

Taking a deep breath, I centered my mind on him. From the lack of buzzing in my head, I knew he had to be asleep, and I needed to wake him up. We needed to know for sure he was there before we went any further, but most of all, I needed him to play his part.