The Serpent and the Crow

Book 1: Chapter Fourteen

Wade glanced around the abandoned Trepidation Police Precinct. Bums a long time ago stole the contents. It was what happened in this Rogue state. Abandoned to the wasteland, and those that dwelled in it.

Douglas bandaged his head with a red bandana. To stop the bleeding that he incurred during the crash. The larger woman patched up the Chief.

Hank pointed to the broader woman helping him. Hank said, "Detective Sala Cortez,"

Wade said, "Who are you then?"

"Detective Jaspreet Jador."

"What the hell kind of name is that?"

"It's American Indian. Not Native American."

"Where you're from, because on Katie Harding's case file, it doesn't have Armadillo PD on it. It has Solemn Pines on it."

Douglas said, "So, you're the two detectives Wayne Ray Lee was talking about. The ones who got the print off that snake, Wade killed."

Wade said. "Yeah, and I bet you guys are cosy with Solemn Pines County Sheriff Lionel Martinez too, huh?"

Hank interjected, "Shut up, will ya. And let her talk."

Jador said, "Forensics came up with a match, to his guy..."

She turned a photo around on the desk and pushed it towards Wade and Douglas. White Caucasian. Long goatee. Douglas thought he looked sleazy, the sleaze with a soul patch that grew too long under his upper lip. He looked like a pimp; he had a tattoo of a woman spreading her legs on his belly. Her vagina firmed around his belly button. Classy. Douglas knew he was a turd. The file said he was the leader of the Aryan Knights.

Jador said, "His name is Daniel William Proctor. Forty-Eight. He's wanted in Cold Cut and Mystic Mountain, Colorado, Armadillo, New Mexico, and Solemn Pines, Arizona. Our CI informed us he's in this Rogue state that intersects with all three aforementioned states. In Owl Creek Ridge, Trepidation. He's wanted on many charges from slavery, drugs, gun-running, and kidnapping."

Hank said, "sounds like our guy. If not, it's a carbon copy. These ladies are going to help us nab him, put a bag on his head, and march him across to Solemn County."

"The hell we are," Cortez said, "He's hanging in Armadillo."

"That's a mighty fine idea, ladies. Old Hank says, this guy is going to fry at Locklear Penitentiary, Solemn Pines."

Jador interjected, "I think not, Chief. That wasn't part of the deal."

Hank said, "There's enough to around. You said you were going to pick up the rest of his crew, being Donny Sorensen, Mick Rivers, and Christophe Himmer. "

Jador told him, "Thank you, we'll have those too. But we came for Proctor. He killed my little brother. Six years old. Interred like bird feed. Snakes... He's coming back to Armadillo. I wouldn't trust anyone from Solemn with him. He'll be set loose again."

Hank responded, "Well, fuck and you. These are the two words coming from your superior. The Pines has jurisdiction, not Armadillo."

Cortez shouted, "Your County lines may cross the river, but Owl Creek falls on New Mexico state lines."

Douglas interrupted, "hold on a minute. You said this guy had killed before in New Mexico?"

Jador showed him the dossiers. Wade and Douglas realised the extent of the kidnappings and murders. Four kidnappings and subsequent murders we know of happened in Armadillo. The killer cut open the kids, sewn up and force-feed snakes. The kids died on the fourth day after being kidnapped.

Wade said, "He's killed in Solemn, as Chief Kelly would've told you. But he's also killed in Fort Worth and Corpus Christi, Texas. I've been following this guy for five years because he kidnapped my wife and my daughter."

Douglas looked at Wade. The expression on the Crow was of utter surprise. He felt a bit betrayed, but it all made sense.

Wade said, "I have been working out of IA. Police corruption has been rife in the region both in Pines and Armadillo. I'm guessing your security clearance doesn't reach as far as you thought, Chief."

Hank asked, "Can you prove that?"

Hank was on a satellite phone to IA, and from the looks of things, Wade's story checked out... for now. Douglas still could not fathom why he kept it secret and felt that he couldn't trust him anymore. Not just because he was Internal Affairs, but because he invited him to his home, and he said nothing of the sort.

Jador laid down the plan. Her CI will help direct them to the AK compound, and we will pay them for their risks. Detective Jador does not mention how this will be paid or when. But from the sound of it, the entire operation is off the books.

There was no agreement reached where David William Proctor will be executed. But the consensus was that Proctor would be detained at Trepidation, the priority being his capture than his detainment arrangements. Douglas, Wade, Hank, Sala, and Jador all agreed on action. They were ready.