Page 18 of Higher Notes (Chaotic Abyss #2)

Chapter Eighteen

Snipe

I swore to whatever deity there may be if that fucker harmed one hair on Gabe’s head he would go down. Who was I kidding, he was going down anyway. Mother fucker was gonna pray for death when I got my hands on him.

Jason got up to use the restroom and Sikes chose that moment to check in with me.

“You good?”

“Nope. You?”

“About the same. Fucker better hope someone other than us finds him.”

“I just had a similar conversation with myself.”

As soon as Jason returned, the stewardess served our meals. Jason stared down at his plate, stirring it around with his fork but hadn’t taken a bite.

“Will you take a couple of bites for me, please?”

“Yes, Daddy,” he smirked but I’d take it as a win, easing his worries for a moment and getting him to eat a bit.

Sikes switched to our group texting chat with Fizzbo. Normally I was fine with them talking one on one, but he knew to include me in this one. Otherwise, I’d bug him every thirty seconds for an update.

Fizzbo: Car is waiting at the executive terminal.

Sikes: Any leads yet?

Fizzbo: So far none of the usual haunts have seen him for a couple of days.

Not a good sign. The fucker had been planning this for a while and staking out the school.

Then Sikes asked the one question I’d hoped to avoid, mostly because the outcome was beyond frightening and put the rest of the family at risk.

Sikes: Any chance he’s headed toward our house?

Fizzbo: Possibly. What are you thinking?

Sikes: My gut says he’s after money. Using the kid for extortion. Jason’s been in the news since Chaotic got signed.

Fuck…

Fizzbo: I’ll send another team in that direction. FYI, Dana and the twins are home and the alarm is set.

Thank fuck Fizzbo had eyes on that. I couldn’t get the plane’s wi-fi to load the camera app.

Me: Thank you. How many boots are on the ground?

Fizzbo: four with two more coming. School superintendent is on site, and the school is on emergency protocols. Students are only being released to registered parents and guardians to pick up. It’s chaotic but their own damn fault for not keeping a watchful eye. I’ll be surprised if there isn’t a lawsuit when all this is over.

We’d definitely suggest that to Dana. Why hadn’t the teachers on playground duty noticed Paul lurking along the fence line? Pure negligence.

“Gentlemen, please power down your cell phones and prepare for landing.”

As soon as we touched down, the belts were off, our coms were in our ears, and we grabbed our bags. When the door opened we burst out and Fizzbo came around the corner. His presence, which normally had me react in a formal military fashion, actually calmed my nerves today. Knowing he was here was a good thing. Fizzbo was known worldwide within our community for successful extraction missions both in and out of the military.

“Fizzbo,” Sikes and I shook his hand. “Thank you for being here.”

“Absolutely, this is about family.”

Fizzbo also considered us family. Sikes and I must’ve been damn good in a past life to have found so many people that cared about us and the ones we loved.

“I’ll brief you in the car.”

We slid into the back of the limo, I was sure this vehicle was selected for its ability to provide privacy. As soon as we were seated Fizzbo closed the divider between us and the driver.

“We’re working with the local authorities, and this is being treated as a kidnapping and child endangerment case.”

“But why?” Jason asked. “After all these years he’s never once reached out to see Gabe. Hell, he wasn’t even there when he was born.”

Fizzbo glanced at Sikes and me before he answered. “We believe it’s extortion.”

“Extortion? He knows we have no money.”

“Had,” Fizzbo corrected. “You’re a public figure now. Just signed a contract with a well-known management company and your debut CD hit gold. This is premeditated.”

“Fuck,” Jase ran a hand through his hair. “This is my fault.”

“No,” I squeezed his thigh. “This is one hundred percent on Paul. No one but him can take responsibility.”

“Exactly. The feedback Sarge and Frogman have received is Paul mumbled about the family having money and now and he was getting a piece of it.” While that hit hard and added to the charges the fucker was collecting, it didn’t make Fizzbo’s words any easier to swallow.

“Over my dead body.” Jason was pissed. “He’ll rot in hell where he belongs before I give that fucker a dime.”

“I like your attitude, son,” Fizzbo winked. “He’s wracking up charges with each passing moment. He’ll never see anything but the inside of a prison cell. The Social Sinners guards are on the hunt, minus Joey and Stoli’s. We have more than enough high-ranking former military experts on the ground plus local authorities. He will be found but he’s on the move.”

“Headed where?” Sikes asked through gritted teeth.

“Northeast.”

Fuck. Far too many wooded areas along the way for him to hide in. But he was indeed headed toward Mill Creek. Gotta give the man credit, he’d done his due diligence and now it was time for us to do ours. Come for my family and you’ve signed your own death certificate.

“Jason, we’re taking you home. Your mother needs you and it’s important we know you’re safe. Sikes, Snipe, I know you want to join the hunt but now that we’ve seen the direction he’s headed you need to stay with your family. Do you have your weapons on you?”

“Yes and plenty more locked in the safe.” We didn’t dare keep the guns out with kids in the house.

“Let’s pretend we don’t know where Snipe got his codename from.” That was Fizzbo’s way of giving a command without verbalizing it.

Being a sniper in the military was morbidly prestigious, in its own way.

Deadly. Aim.

Rarely had I missed.

“Shoot to disable, not to end.”

“Understood, Boss.” There were many points on the body that would do just that with minimal damage. I could hit every single one of them from a thousand yards away. Sikes was a damn good shot as well, but that was the single gift I possessed that surpassed his.

Add another fail on the whole say something good about myself challenge.

I really was my own worst enemy.

When we pulled up to the house, Sikes used the app on his phone to open the garage. As soon as we stepped inside the twins and Dana came running at us. I scooped up Nolan while Sikes had our princess and Dana was wrapped in Jason’s arms, the two of them sobbing uncontrollably.

“Who’s this?” Dana pointed at Fizzbo.

“This is our boss and the man who sent soldiers out immediately, Fizzbo.”

“Ma’am,” he held his hand out, but Dana wasn’t having that. The surprised umph came when the tiny woman tightly hugged him.

“Thank you for looking out for my family. Is there any sighting? Any word? I want my baby home.” She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.

“No thanks are required. This is about family and family comes first.” Fuck, Fizzbo’s words had me in tears and Sikes sniffled, too. “We’re following all leads. Seattle PD and the sheriff’s office are assisting. Sikes, Snipe, may I have a moment, please?” At his request we handed the twins off to Jason and Dana with a quick kiss to their cheeks and a promise to be right back. “Why don’t you show me around your lovely home?”

Something was up.

We started upstairs in our room, farthest away from prying ears.

“Any idea why the front gate was open when I personally know Easton ordered and paid for the installation to keep the community behind it safe?”

Fuck, how had we missed that?

“Shit, I hadn’t thought of that,” Sikes was the first to reply. “It was under construction when we left.”

“Makes sense. I don’t like it. I’m calling the contractor. And yes, before you ask, I have his cell number. I walked the house with Easton upon completion before you guys did to confirm the layout for the cameras and to address any security concerns I had before you moved in.”

Holy shit, that man was crazy on top of things, as Jason would say. Guess he was rubbing off on me. Some might find Fizzbo doing that as overstepping, but not us. Not when it came to our family’s safety.

“Fizzbo here. I’m in the gated community where two of my guards just moved in with their family but the main security gate Easton had you install was wide open. Is there an issue with it?” With the phone to his ear, we couldn’t hear a damn thing but his side of the conversation. “I was afraid of that. No, no guard was in the shack. How quickly can you get them here? Tomorrow is fine for the gate, but we need a guard placed immediately.”

Nothing like having contractors walk into an active police scene.

“He confirmed the gate was in working order and was concerned no guard was posted.” Sikes and I glanced at each other. Our faces mirrored the same determination. “Don’t even think about it. Your family needs you here. Besides, I’m not in the mood to bail one of my guards out of jail.”

Point made, though temporary incarceration might be worth it.

“House looks great, by the way.”

“That’s all Sikes and Dana.” Fizzbo’s brow rose. “Seriously. Those two picked the finishes and the furniture.”

First time I’d ever seen Fizzbo speechless.

“You’re the only occupied house, correct?”

“We were when we left,” Sikes replied. “Not sure if anyone’s moved in since we’ve been on the road.”

“I’ve alerted the other guards of a potential security breach regarding the gate and empty shack. They’re working their way northwest but are running into challenges with the forested areas. There are numerous ones between Tacoma and Mill Creek, not to mention bodies of water to circumvent.” Yes, it was beautiful here but with beauty came many obstacles. “He could literally be hiding anywhere.”

Or in plain sight…

“We all know the first twenty-four hours are crucial. We’ve got to find something.” Sikes was frustrated and he wasn’t good at sitting still. I was terrified of what Gabe may be enduring. Paul clearly wasn’t of sound mind.

“With the darkness setting in the challenge just increased tenfold.” Fizzbo typed away as he spoke. “PD and Sherriff are switching over to night shift.”

“Why don’t you stay here, and Snipe and I will go out.” Sikes growl wasn’t missed by Fizzbo.

“Stand down, soldier, and remain here protecting your family as ordered.”

Both our phones chimed at the same time.

“Downstairs! Now!”

We barreled down the stairs and scared the hell out of Dana, Jason and the twins.

“What is it?”

“One of the outdoor cameras was triggered.”

“Sikes, Snipe, you take the upstairs and I’ll secure the lower perimeter. Snipe, if you can get on the roof, do it. Dana and Jason, secure yourself in Nicole’s room.” Having Fizzbo know the layout of our house proved beneficial. Nicole’s room was surrounded by interior walls so there was only one window. “Make sure the curtains are drawn and keep the lights off. Stay away from the window.”

Sikes and I each picked up a twin and ran up the stairs then secured them in Nicole’s room and proceeded to check the others. There was no way for me to get on the roof without an exterior ladder so Sikes and I each took the farthest rooms apart. He was in our master suite while I was on lookout in Dana’s room.

I wished I’d had the forethought to take the night vision goggles out of the safe downstairs because I couldn’t see a damn thing. It didn’t help that our subdivision was surrounded by wooded acres.

Great backdrop for the house, not so great security wise.

What were we thinking by picking the farthest house back?

Fizzbo: Per Sarge, they hitched a ride up toward this area then disappeared again. Notified Mill Creek, Bothell, Everett, and Lynnwood PD along with the sheriff’s office.

Thank fuck he was all over that.

Sikes: Think he’s hiding out in the woods behind the house?

My skin itched to get out there and find him.

Fizzbo: Possibly. Sarge and Frogman are ten minutes out.

A lot could go down in ten minutes. Our past lives had shown us that much.

Fizzbo: Report.

Sikes: Nothing noticeable from the west wing of the house.

Me: Nothing noticeable from the east wing of the house.

Fizzbo: Copy that. He’ll come soon if it’s money he’s after.