Betrayal
Chapter Twenty-Seven
It was at an old dive of a bar, in the seedy underbelly of Denver, where the
three men that had tried to kill Ezra were found. Nathan, Josiah, Chris, Buck,
and JD had walked into the bar and had immediately spotted Millard, Stilts and
Brown. They walked straight over to the three men, nobody bothering them.
Surrounding the three men, Chris spoke. "Rafe Millard, Henry Brown, and Gordon
Stilts?"
The three men looked at the five angry men that were surrounding them, before
slowly nodding. "Yeah, that's us. But, you can go right back and tell Mister
Mounds that we're not gonna break our promise. We promised him that we wouldn't
say anythin' and we won't," Rafe Millard quickly said.
"Do we look like damn thugs to you? Do we look like men that would work for
someone like Mounds?" Buck asked in a dangerously low voice.
When Henry Brown opened his mouth, Buck held up his right hand. "Don't answer
that," he growled. Henry Brown's mouth closed with an audible snap.
"The reason we're here is because you three men are under arrest," said a
cold-eyed Josiah.
"What for?" Gordon Stilts asked defiantly.
"Attempted murder of a federal agent, illegal gun trafficking, murder. And,
those are just the beginning of the list. Lord knows we have a lot more we can
charge you three with," replied Nathan. "Now," he added, "are you going to come
along peaceful or not?"
Gordon Stilts threw a punch at Nathan, only to have his fist caught in a steel
grip by the darker man. "Guess that's a no," quipped JD.
"We've got a problem fellas," stated Buck. Looking around, the others saw that
everyone in the bar had gone to fighting.
Chris sighed and growled, "Why is it that every time one fool throws a punch,
all the other drunken fools have to join in?!" Looking around, Chris saw a back
door. "Come on, we've gotta get them out of here."
Grabbing the three men, they propelled them toward the back door, ducking thrown
beer bottles the whole way.
Once they had reached the outside, the three men were handcuffed and put into
two different cars, Buck's and Josiah's.
AN HOUR LATER
Chris sighed in frustration as he walked out of the interrogation room that was
holding Gordon Stilts. The man had done nothing but throw insults that
questioned Chris's parentage back several generations. And, now he had finally
asked for a lawyer.
Seeing JD and Nathan standing in the observation room, he walked over to them.
"Buck and Josiah have any better luck?"
"Well, judgin' by Bucklin's face, I'd say not," answered JD as he looked over
Chris's shoulder. Chris turned around and came face to face with a scowling Buck
Wilmington.
"No luck?" Chris asked, even though he already knew the answer.
Buck shook his head, "Brown did nothin' but mope and complain about being
arrested. Now, he wants a lawyer."
Chris nodded, "Stilts is lawyerin' up also."
"Maybe Josiah can get something from Millard," said Nathan.
A few minutes later, Josiah hurried up to them with Orrin Travis in tow. Before
any of them could say anything, he was talking. 'I got Millard to roll over on
Stilts, Brown, and Mounds. I recorded the whole conversation."
"Wow! Brown and Stilts want a lawyer," said JD.
Josiah nodded, "Millard never requested one and I asked him. But, I did have to
get Mister Travis, here, to get a deal authorized for him. How that man ever
made it workin' for Mounds, I'll never know. He 'bout pissed his pants when I
started to question him!"
After taking a short breath, he continued, "Mounds knows where Ezra is. There's
a leak in the D.A.'s office!"
"WHAT?!" Chris nearly yelled.
"I've already informed the D.A., he's on his way. We need to figure out who it
is. But, more importantly, is that they know where to find Mister Standish.
And... Mister Tanner is also there."
"What? Why? How?" stuttered Buck.
Orrin sighed and said, "I told him where he could find Mister Standish. And, I
told him not to tell any of you where he was going. Ezra didn't want anyone to
know where he is, but I thought that he could use a familiar face."
"Why send Vin? Why not me? I'm his... lover," protested an irate Chris.
Orrin shook his head, "You were his lover. You're not now. Besides, he
didn't need you barging into the safe-house. It's better that I sent Vin."
Chris growled, deep in his throat, but when he saw the glare that Orrin sent his
way, he wisely kept his mouth shut for once.
"They need to be warned that the safe-house has been compromised!" exclaimed a
worried JD.
Orrin nodded, "They already have been. I called them before Josiah and I met up
with you."
"We need to go up there and help them," said Nathan.
Orrin started, "I don't...."
"No disrespect intended, Sir," Josiah said, cutting Orrin off, "but they're our
friends. We need to be up there."
Orrin looked at the worried faces, sighed, and nodded. "Fine. The helicopter
will take you all to where they are." Looking Chris directly in the eyes, he
asked, "Are you sure that you can be a professional? And, be honest."
Chris took a deep breath and nodded, "I can and I will, Sir."
Orrin nodded, and said, "Be safe. And, be on the lookout, we don't know how much
of a head start Mounds has as of right now."
Taking a minute to spare quick nods, the five ATF agents were off and running
for the agency helicopter.