Reclaiming (16 page)

Owen raised his finger to his lips.

There was a moment of silence and then once more, the sound rang out only this time it came with a verbal warning.

“Mr. Carmichael, open the door!” The voice yelled. “Pine Hill Sheriff’s Department. We have a warrant to search the premises, sir!”

Owen and Jett looked at Daniella.
“Were you followed here?” Jett whispered.

Daniella shrugged.
“No!” She answered in a loud whisper. But the truth was she really didn’t remember. Like the conversation she had with Billy earlier, the drive up was pretty much a blur.

“You are harboring a known felon, sir!” Another voice said. Daniella and Jett exchanged glances. That voice was one they both recognized. Billy Holder was up there as well.

“What do we do?” Daniella whispered.

Owen raised his finger to his lips again as several seconds passed in silence above them.

“Do it!” Billy shouted as several hard thumps rattled the front door. In the next instant, the door burst open and they heard a clamor of footsteps overhead. Owen listened for a few seconds and then held up eight fingers indicating the number of men he suspected.

“Check every room,” Billy said. “You four, I want a perimeter established around the property… A minimum of fifty yards in each direction until backup arrives. No one gets in or out. Got it?”

“Yes sir.” One of the officers replied.

For several minutes, the three of them listened as the police went from one room to the next. By the sound of things, they were anything but gentle as they went about it. The officers gradually moved away from the entrance to the bunker overhead and as they did, their voices became muffled and indistinct. Finally, the footsteps of the officers that remained inside returned to the living room.

“Jett!” Billy yelled. “I know you are here somewhere. Need you to listen up, bud. Your parents are in custody for harboring a fugitive.”

Jett grimaced and almost slammed his fist into the wall before he stopped an inch away. Daniella
’s eyes widened. She now remembered exactly why Billy dismissed the officers from surveillance and tore out of her neighborhood. The next item on his agenda was to arrest Jo and David after she’d… All of a sudden, she felt as if she would be sick. Billy must have forced them to disclose the location of the cabin.

“Daniella, I know we aren’t communicating well right now but you need to understand what will happen to you if you continue to stay involved with him.” Billy said. “If you don’t turn yourself in, right now, I will have no choice but to arrest you as well. You will go to jail, Daniella, and be charged with a felony. Now, is that what you want for yourself? Is that the life you envisioned? Because if it isn’t, this is your last chance to turn it around…”

Daniella remained silent. She was already going to jail and she knew it. Billy proved to be a liar and the last thing she was about to do is take any promise he made at face value.

Billy continued,
“Mr. Carmichael, sir… I don’t know how you got mixed up in all of this but the same warning goes for you. I know you are an old man. A friend of Jett’s parents or something. The last thing I want to do is throw someone my grandfather’s age in prison but… I will.”

Owen cupped his ear as he listened to Billy
’s warning. Once he received the message, Owen raised a middle finger skyward. From Daniella’s perspective, it looked like they were in it together until the bitter end. For several minutes, they stood together in silence in the basement as the police ransacked the rooms overhead. At last, all the footsteps congregated once again near the entrance to the bunker.

“Well?” Billy said. “There’s still warm food in the kitchen so they’re around somewhere.”

“Nothing…” one of the men replied. “If they were here, they managed to sneak out just ahead of us.”

“Shit!” Billy exclaimed. It sounded to Daniella as if he kicked something over though she couldn’t tell what it was.

“Where’s Cunningham?” Billy asked.

“Outside… you want him?” Another voice said.

“What do you think Johnston?” Billy replied. “Would I fuckin’ ask for him if I didn’t? Now, get your head out of your ass and get him in here. I swear, don’t make me regret getting you out from behind the desk.”

“Right, Sergeant, sorry…” the man said. Daniella heard footsteps go to the cabin entrance. “Cunningham!” the same voice yelled. “
Sarge wants you!”

It appeared as though Owen
’s plan was to just wait things out. Daniella wasn’t exactly crazy about the idea but she didn’t have anything better to offer so she decided to sit tight.

A few seconds later, they listened as another officer came into the cabin. The only difference was that instead of human footsteps, the scrapes of animal claws and multiple feet clamored about as well.

Owen slammed his head against the wall. “Shepherds…” he mouthed.

“Take the dogs,” Billy said. “Start in back…”

“Sarge,” another voice said. In the very next instant, the room above fell silent except for one distinct sound. The unmistakable noise of canine noses sniffed overhead, aimed directly at the entrance to the bunker.

In a flash, Owen took off and ran to the far side of the room towards a door. As he ran by Daniella and Jett, he motioned for them to follow. Max and Amigo jumped to their feet and out of sheer excitement, started to bark.

“Down there!” Billy shouted. “They’re underneath us!”

“
Damnit…” Owen cursed as he opened the door. As he did, Daniella glanced down the length of what seemed to be a dimly lit tunnel.

“There’s no time,” Owen said to Jett. “Take her and head down the tunnel. When you get to the end, take the ladder up. Once you are outside, you will see a deadbolt there. It’s unlocked. Use it to seal up the tunnel and take the key. Got it?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “What about you?”

“Don’t worry about me.” Owen replied. “Just go!”

With that, Daniella and Jett took off into the tunnel. As they did, the large steel door they’d passed through slammed shut behind them. At that point, they could no longer hear anything that happened in the house. Seconds later, they reached the end of the tunnel, climbed out and did as Owen instructed.

***

They emerged from the tunnel but at first neither of them had any idea where they were. Soon however, Jett spun in place and tapped Daniella on the shoulder. As she turned to face him, she discovered the tunnel dumped them into a thicket about fifty yards across from the cabin.

“Get down…” Jett said.

Daniella knelt down and peered through the shrubbery.

“Do you see Owen anywhere?” She asked.

“No,” he replied. “He could still be inside the cabin. Hard to say…”

As they looked on, Daniella noticed a handful of officers around the cabin but otherwise she didn
’t have a direct line of sight inside of the home. For several minutes, the area in and around the cabin was quiet… too quiet.

“What do we do?” She said as she looked at Jett.

“Well, let’s give him a few minutes.” Jett replied. “For all we know, he’s got a half dozen tunnels carved into the ground around here.”

Daniella nodded. Jett had a point. There appeared to be no end to Owen
’s ingenuity. The entire perimeter of the property probably had explosives wired to detonate by remote control or knowing Owen, mind control. So she remained in a crouched position and waited to see what would happen next. As fate would have it, they didn’t have to wait long at all.

Out of nowhere, there erupted a tremendous commotion inside of the cabin. A
cacophony of sounds pierced the calm night air. Dogs barked, men yelled and all of it came to a pinnacle with a familiar roar. In a flash, several deputies ran out of the front door and hot on their heels was an immense grizzly bear.

They dove in all directions as the beast tore across the front of the property. From behind, Billy and another officer came out of the house and without a moment
’s hesitation brandished their pistols and fired round after round in the bear’s direction.

Their aim was true and almost as soon as they began to shoot, the animal cried out with an anguished bellow. In one swift motion, it crashed to the ground. A huge cloud of dust,
grass and rocks sprayed in all directions as he came to a stop, utterly still.

“Owen, no!” Daniella screamed from the bushes. In the next instant, she jumped up, burst through the
shrubbery and started to run towards Owen.

From behind, she heard Jett scream,
“No! Daniella come back!”

But it was too late, she ran as fast as she could and once she came upon the downed bear, she threw herself on top of him. As she did, Billy and two other officers ran up to her.

“Daniella?” Billy said as he looked down at her. “What the hell are you doing? Get away from that fucking animal. If it’s not dead, it will kill you with a single swat.”

She turned to face him, tears streamed down her face.
“This is not an animal you son of a bitch! Owen… shhh…” she whispered. “You’ll be okay.” In the distance, Max and Amigo yelped as Owen remained still.

A concerned look came over Billy
’s face. He holstered his weapon and knelt down next to her. Daniella was inconsolable as she lay draped across the hulking brown mass of fur.

“Daniella…” he said as he reached out to her.
“That’s… a bear. Please before you get yourself hurt, give me your hand.”

“Don’t touch her you fucking dirtball.” A voice to Billy’s left said.

Billy’s head snapped up to see Jett. Billy staggered to his feet, reached for his gun, aimed at Jett and said, “On the ground, hands behind your back, right now!”

From behind his back, Jett produced the service revolver he took from Billy the day of his arrest.

“As soon as you call for medical transport for him, I will surrender.” He said as he aimed the weapon at Billy. “If you don’t, I’ll kill you. I swear I will. I am going to prison for life anyway so I have nothing to lose…”

“
Sargeant?” One of the deputies who stood nearby asked. “What do you want us to do?”

Billy
’s eyes jumped back and forth between Jett, Daniella and the animal on the ground. He bit his lower lip and then looked down at Daniella.

“Daniella!” Billy exclaimed. “You need to tell me exactly what is going on, right now… This is your only chance. I’ve known you too long to have things end this way.”

For several seconds, Daniella continued to sob, overcome by grief. She wouldn’t even know where to begin to explain the world she’d discovered. This was especially true when it came to a hotshot asshole like Billy Holder. But she knew that she had to say something to try and convince him. What that was, she wasn’t sure but she had to try.

She leaned away from Owen for a moment and looked up to Billy. As she wiped away tears from her eyes she began,
“Billy, you have this all wrong. I don’t know any way to convince you of that right now but trust me when I tell you that it’s true. I…”

But as she looked up at Billy, she noticed his expression go blank. He dropped his gun, staggered back and collapsed on the ground into a seated position. At the same time, the deputies nearby retreated in a similar manner. Billy sat on the ground
and extended his index finger in the direction of Owen’s body. She traced the line of sight made by his shaky digit. Where a half ton animal lay still and lifeless not moments before, an older man, a third the size and covered in blood, was now in the same spot.

***

“What the hell?” Billy said. “That’s…
not
possible!”

“Billy,” Jett interrupted. “It
is
possible and it
is
real. Daniella and I will explain everything to you but right now, we need medical attention for this man. He will die without it.”

For several seconds, both Billy and his men looked on in stunned silence.

“Billy!” Daniella screamed. “Snap out of it!”

Billy shook his head and managed to get to his feet. His eyes never left Owen
’s body as he stood.

“Yeah, I…” he began. He looked at one of the deputies and said, “Call it in.”

“Sergeant…” the man replied with a tone of disapproval.

“I said call it in, goddamn it!” He barked.

The man nodded, pulled out his cell phone and walked towards the cabin. As he did, Daniella heard him ask for a helicopter transport.

About a minute later, he returned to the group still hovered over Owen
’s body. “Twenty minutes, sir…” he replied.

“Twenty minutes!” Daniella exclaimed as she looked down at Owen. “He’s barely breathing as it is!”

“Well, what do you want me to do about it, Daniella?” Billy asked. “I mean, maybe he’ll hibernate until help arrives. To be honest, I don’t care. Just be grateful aid is coming at all.”

Daniella glared at him and shook her head. As she moved close to Owen once again, Jett knelt down next to her and rubbed her shoulder.