Rachel's Rebellion (Moss Bayou) (18 page)

The Friday
night crowd at Bank Shots was winding down. Friday night had passed into
Saturday morning agonizingly slow. It was now almost two which meant last call
had been given and the exodus had begun. Gabe was ready for it. He was more
than ready to return to Rachel. He wanted to be with her. Love her. Before
tomorrow night kicked things into high gear. Once the operation took over, he
had no idea how long it would be before he could see her again. He wanted to
spend his time loving her while he could. Because, when it was over…

As the final
patrons were shoved out the door, Denny appeared from the back. Casting his
eyes around the bar, he took another step forward and then spoke.

“My office.”

Those two
words drew Mullet’s attention as well as his own. He looked up to see Wyatt
walking toward him. Gabe gave a shrug. Wyatt returned the shrug and together
they walked toward Denny’s office. Gabe didn’t want whatever this was to stop
him from being with Rachel. He wanted to be there, not here. He was determined
to make it back to her.

Gabe kicked
into his Deke persona as he walked through the office door. He wasn’t surprised
to see Wylie had taken over Wyatt. What did surprise him was the number of
people filling the small office. Not to mention who some of those people were.
Deke Johnson, so casual and laid back, didn’t bother to show interest in anyone
in particular.

“Listen up,”
Denny ordered. “Plans have changed. Shipment is tonight.”

Gabe stared
at Denny. He worked hard to school his face. No need to show any concern over
changed plans.

“Everyone
working overtime,” Mullet said joyfully.

He couldn’t
believe his ears. They were fucked. He glanced around the room. T-Bob Chaisson
was definitely not hiding from the cops. He was standing next to a uniformed
Russ Patterson who looked bored to tears. Whiskers was there, as was Gill
Bloom. As Gabe tried to process the room, in walked Silas Prescott. His wife
Aurora was by his side. As usual, they both looked powerful and wealthy. Silas
wore his standard expensive hand-tailored suit and Aurora looked like she
shopped strictly off of the runways in Paris and Milan.

“Evening,
Mr. P.” Denny stood. “Mrs. P.”

“Get this
crew ready,” Silas ordered. “The change in plans will not allow any
interference from that task force Travis Haynes tries to keep tabs on. Those
idiots will be surprised.”

Wyatt gave
him a slight nudge as Denny agreed with Silas Prescott and Russ Patterson
mumbled something about having his eyes open. Wyatt obviously didn’t like the
situation any better than he did. Yep, they we’re fucked. Big time.

“Everyone
get ready to leave in about thirty minutes,” Denny announced. “We pick up our
package tonight.”

Gabe knew
they would not be able to get the word out in time. Every thought that came to
mind was quickly dismissed. They could not draw suspicion now. How were they
going to play this? He casually looked at Wyatt. He winked.

“I met a
girl tonight,” Wylie groaned. “She’ll have to start without me.”

Mullet laughed
but no one else bothered.

“You can
apologize to the lady tomorrow,” Denny told Wylie dismissively.

“Pick up one
of them five dollar silk roses at the Bayou Mart. You know? The ones that turn into
panties when you pull them apart,” Mullet offered. “Women eat that kinda shit
up.”

Roses
turn into panties?

“I’ll think
of something. If we have time later, I’ll borrow someone’s cell. Mine’s needing
a charge.” Wyatt gave a big Wylie grin. “She’ll be all mad that I didn’t call.
Maybe someone else can call her for me.”

What was
Wyatt up to? Was he going to try to make a call? Gabe mentally kicked the
thought around. He knew Wyatt’s phone wasn’t in need of a charge. The only
thing he could figure was Wyatt was going to attempt a call or a text. He
worried about that making them look suspicious but he knew enough to follow
Wyatt’s lead. He kept his mouth shut.

As Denny
barked out instructions, Gabe pretended indifference. He even gave a fake yawn
or two. He wanted to appear casual, relaxed, and ready to do whatever it took
to get his pay. Glancing to his right, he found Wylie the surfer dude playing
it the same way.

Denny kept
talking and Mullet made ridiculous comments here and there. Aurora Prescott had
left the room, but Silas stood front and center, overseeing every detail
discussed. Time passed and he still had no clue as to how to bring in the rest
of the team. At that moment Wylie stepped away from him, winked, and then made
a face accompanied by a loud groan.

“Something
wrong, Wylie?” He’d gained Denny’s attention.

“Man,” Wylie
pointed to Gabe and shook his head vigorously. “You smell. What crawled up your
ass and died?”

Gabe looked
at him. Had he lost his mind? “What?”

“Man, a fart
like that is an invitation to go shit.”

He looked at
Wyatt Hawke, so good at being Wylie, with worry for the man’s sanity. All he
got for his concern was a stupid Wylie grin…and another wink. Then it hit him.
Wyatt’s eyes seemed to say what couldn’t be said out loud.

“I think I
need a quick minute,” Deke casually told the crowd. “Give me a couple.”

“Hurry up,
Johnson,” Mullet called after him. “You ain’t shittin’ up my truck.”

Gabe rushed
to the bathroom, checked and found it empty. Quickly, he went into the first
stall and pulled out his cell phone. Unfortunately, it was Deke’s cell phone.
His contacts were limited which was standard protocol for undercover work. How
would he do this? He called up his text log and Rachel’s name appeared first in
line. He had no time. He had no choice. He did what he had to do. Working the
phone like a teenaged girl, his words were quick and to the point.

Call Dex
Greer. Gabe Deacon said NOW.
He quickly read it and sent it.

He mouthed a
silent apology to Rachel as he powered off the cell phone. This change in plans
shifted things. He didn’t want her involved. If anyone made the connection to
him tonight, she would be in danger.

Please
God, keep her safe.

He walked
out of the stall and made his way back to the office. Arriving just behind Aurora
Prescott.

“That was
quick.” Wylie snorted.

“I guess it
wasn’t as bad as you made it out to be,” he drawled. “Like you, it was all a
big wind.”

“Long as you
don’t shit up my truck, Johnson.” Mullet shook a finger at him and then turned
his attention to Denny. “We ready boss?”

“Gentlemen,”
Silas spoke up. “I would like to offer a bonus for whoever brings me the dead
bodies of those undercover cops we keep hearing about. As you know, the
descriptions are pretty general. Could be anyone. If you manage to get lucky,
it’s worth five grand a body to you.”

“I could use
that cash,” Wylie quipped. “Women problems, you understand.”

Gabe rolled
his eyes.

“Mullet, you
take Deke and Wylie,” Denny ordered. “T-Bob, you take Whiskers and Gill.”

“Gotcha, Boss.”
Mullet jumped into action.

“Move out.”

Like a herd
of cattle, they all moved from the office and headed for the bar’s back door.
Deke and Wylie were passengers tonight. Gabe didn’t like it. He and Wyatt
wouldn’t be able to talk or work out some sort of plan. At least they weren’t
separated, he reasoned. They could work this together. Somehow.

Once loaded
up, Mullet revved the pickup truck’s engine and pulled away from the bar. At the
end of the parking lot, to Gabe and Wylie’s surprise, Mullet turned right onto
Bayouside Drive.

“Mullet, I
think you went the wrong way,” Wylie said with a laugh.

“No.”

“Isn’t
Wheeler’s in the other direction?” Gabe tried to sound casual.

“Sure is.”

Gabe waited
for more, but Mullet clammed up. They drove through the dark streets of Moss
Bayou in silence. It was almost three in the morning now. No cars met them as
they traveled through town. Mullet casually steered the truck past Main Street.
Tellie’s Café was dark. As he drove through town, Mullet maintained the speed
limit and kept his eyes on the road. The bayou curved and the road followed it.
Mullet steered through the curve and then slowed the truck down. Without a turn
signal, he turned onto Landing Street.

Shit.

“Going to
Jensen Boats, I see.” He tried to sound casual. “Smart idea to change up like
that.”

“I agree,”
Mullet said. “Boss wanted it kept quiet until the last minute. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry
about it,” Wylie replied. “We’re just the hired help.”

Gabe had no
clue how they could send out a message with a new location. He also knew there
was no way he and Wyatt could take on five people with guns. His cell phone
seemed to burn a hole in his pocket. But there wasn’t a way he could take it
out and send a text without drawing Mullet’s attention. He glanced at Wyatt
quickly. Didn’t appear to be any ideas coming from him, either.

Without any
other options at the moment, Gabe and Wyatt got out of Mullet’s truck and
waited for him to lead the way. Jensen Boats, a dealership specializing in
custom boats, was dark as they made their way through to a side edge of the
cyclone fencing that surrounded the show yard. T-Bob and company appeared in
the darkness as Mullet was cutting the fence away from a post. With T-Bob’s
help, they pulled the fence back enough to allow passage. One by one, everyone
passed through the fence and came to a stop, waiting for Mullet’s next
instruction. They were hidden by an ink black shadow cast by a large deep sea
fishing boat. No chance of being seen by any of the Jensens who lived in houses
directly across the bayou. At that moment, Gabe didn’t know if that was a good
thing or a bad thing.

Denny
arrived alone. No sign of Silas Prescott or his wife. As he stepped up to the
group, a dull hum filled the quiet darkness. The hum of a boat motor. Gabe
waited for the sound of another. It never came. That meant a second decoy boat
was either bullshit or scrapped when the plan changed. Okay. That meant he and
Wyatt might stand some sort of chance, depending on how many men were on that
boat.

“Come on,”
Denny ordered and walked toward the bayou. Docks awaited. There were spaces for
three or four boats. Gabe wasn’t quite sure. A small cabin cruiser pulled into
the last slip in line. What looked like a teenaged boy jumped on the dock and
tied first the bow rope and then ran to tie the stern rope. The boy looked to
be of Latino descent but Gabe couldn’t see much else.

“Let’s
unload,” said Denny. “Mullet, you and T-Bob stand guard.” With his beefy hand,
Denny motioned to Deke and Wylie. They followed.

Shit. They
were about to unload a shipment of heroin. No back up in sight. He glanced at
Wyatt, who seemed to be himself instead of Wylie. He raised a brow in question.
Wyatt gave a slight shake of his head. So, he had nothing, either.

Once they
reached the boat, a man appeared on deck and then another. Slung around their
bodies were guns. Bad ass guns. Gabe thought about the revolver in his pocket.
And then he relaxed a bit. His
Glock
was waiting in a
holster strapped to his lower leg. Wyatt was armed in the same manner. Knowing
the weapons were there didn’t stop the trickle of sweat he felt drip down his
back. This thing was going to turn into a giant cluster fuck.

They made
quick work of unloading the shipment. The two bad asses passed the packages
over and he and Wyatt passed them to Gill and Whiskers. Smaller than he
would’ve guessed, the shipment didn’t take long to unload. Whiskers and Gill
were loading a truck. He turned back to look at Wyatt and a shot fired through
the quiet darkness.

Simultaneously,
he and Wyatt hit the dirt. The boat roared to life and left in such a hurry,
its wake washed over the docks with a loud splash. Denny hit the ground with a
flop and Mullet pulled his 9mm from the waistband of his jeans. Another shot
sounded, followed by another. Dirt sprayed across Denny and Mullet blindly
returned fire into the darkness. T-Bob ran, stooped low to get to Denny as
Whiskers and Gill remained down, protected by the truck they had been loading.

Wyatt kicked
his leg and got his attention. “We can’t just wait for our turn. Whoever that
is, they’re looking to pick us off one by one.”

“From the
sound of things, I’d say it’s a rifle.” Gabe rolled from his stomach onto his
back and reached for the
Glock
strapped to his leg.

“Same
thought,” Wyatt said as he produced his weapon.

“Didn’t know
you boys packed that heavy,” Denny said.

Gabe turned
his attention toward Denny. The man was definitely paying attention to both of
them.

“Good
thing,” Wyatt retorted as another shot sounded.

Mullet came
out shooting blindly into the darkness once more.