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“Good living, brother,” smirked Baptiste. “Just plain good living.”
“And good food,” grinned Alec. Peter laughed, nodding at the men.
“And good women.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The weather was not cooperating with the team at all. The rain continued to come down, inhibiting the drop of the climbing and safety gear. One thing they knew was that if they couldn’t move forward, neither could the two convicts. Their experiences in this terrain were nowhere near the experience the GW team possessed.
“Any tracks?” asked Nine as Zeke and Trak walked back into the cave.
“Nothing. I’m not sure we’d see them even if there were,” said Trak. “So you know it’s bad out there. It’s too slick to move forward on the rocks. We have to wait.”
“How much was in this armored truck they robbed?” asked Dex.
“I’m not sure, why?” said Gaspar.
“Well, if it was more than a few bags, I’m not sure how they think they’ll get it out of the cave. Also, if it required climbing gear, that would narrow down the caves we would search.”
“That’s a great point,” said Ian. “Let me see what the boys have on the initial robbery.”
“I’ve got you,”said Sly.“Grizzly Armored Car Service has been in business for almost forty years. They were doing their usual run between several different businesses when three men appeared in masks with automatic rifles. One guard was killed immediately, along with the driver. That left the guard in the back of the vehicle.
“As per policy, he didn’t open the doors, leaving himself vulnerable to grenades, bombs, and anything else they threw at him.”
“Did he survive?” asked Ghost.
“He did not because someone on the other end of the line opened the door. The doors can be opened remotely in case of just such a problem. For instance, if they’re run off the road and into a river or lake, or there’s an accident and the vehicle is on fire. If the guards are unconscious, the door can be opened.
“The controllers in the home office said they thought the vehicle was on fire and released the locks, giving our friends the opportunity to open the back of the truck, kill the last guard, and take the money.”
“You said there were three men who took the car. Where is the third?” asked Jean.
“He was killed by the guard when the doors were opened. Obviously well-trained because he got it straight through the heart. They fired twelve rounds into him. According to Grizzly, there were sixteen bags of cash in the back of the vehicle. A full count hadn’t been conducted yet, but it was estimated that there was about two and a half million dollars.”
“Doesn’t that seem like a lot of money for a few businesses?” asked Whiskey.
“Normally, yes. But it was the holidays, and the registers were bursting. None of the bills have turned up with dye on them, so they don’t believe that the bags were opened. They were all sealed, with the active dye inside.”
“So, all this for a couple million,” frowned Clay. “They were willing to kidnap and kill kids for that kind of money. I’d say that makes our men a little desperate.”
“I think they’re more than a little desperate,” said Antoine. “Sly? Where were they captured?”
“Just inside the national park. Authorities think they were trying to get away, but I don’t buy it. They had the money. They could have hidden in this park for a while before anyone would find them. It was the holidays. The park was covered in snow. There weren’t a lot of visitors. I think the men realized that they were going to die out here. Think about it. How many criminals do you know that wouldn’t remember where they hid that much money? I don’t think they remember because I don’t think they have ever been in the outdoors like this.”
“You don’t think or you know?” smirked Nine.
“Well, let’s just say I was prepared for this conversation. Frank Joest and Tommy Carroll were both from the Northeast. Frank was born and raised in Harlem, and Tommy was born and raised in Philly. Neither had ever been anywhere else until they left the big city, met up somewhere in Vegas, and started pulling small-time jobs.”
“They really don’t know where they put the money,” said Miller. He looked at Zeke and Trak. “How many caves do we have between us and them?”
“Dozens,” said Zeke. “We haven’t been able to search them all. In fairness, some are pretty small. They wouldn’t even be able to crawl in and stay the night comfortably.”
“Okay,” nodded Miller, “then maybe we have to find a way to get ahead of them and find the cash first. We’re better equipped to find it than they are.”
“And we’re certain that no one has found it already?” asked Ghost.
“We can’t be certain, but the authorities have felt confident that they would know based on the active dye.”
