Manny’s Mission (Broken Wheel Ranch #7)

Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

“Ready?” Manny asked early Monday morning as he exited his truck, and held his coffee mug. He looked at Duane and Scott and when they nodded, they headed toward the front door of the office building they’d been told to meet at. Before they even knocked, the door was opened and a large man stood there.

“Patterson?” Scott asked in shock as he stepped forward and held out his hand to the man. “Scott Gould.”

“Ah, yes, and that makes you Manny Sanchez, and you are?”

“FBI Special Agent Duane Manchester.”

“Right, you’ll be working out of these offices, and you’re our legal eagle on this matter.”

“Correct. I’ll be able to get wire taps, subpoenas, maybe get a couple of undercovers in there if needed.”

“I’d like to offer my guys first as undercovers.”

“I’ve done an extensive background check on all of you, and I won’t have a problem with that. I want to put this out there before we even begin.” They had entered the building as they talked, and Duane looked up to see ten men stare at him.

“What’s that?” one of those ten men inquired.

“Percy Biggins, aka Mr. Big, is on the FBI’s radar, and has been for several years. We haven’t been able to pin anything concrete on him, not that would stick in court, but we’ve been building a file on him that is adding up. After talking with your guy, Jake Cogburn, over in Colorado, and the information he has dug up, we’ve been doing more digging.”

“Actually, it was me and Carter Manning that did the digging,” Hank said as he pointed to the man pouring coffee into his cup. “Meet Carter Manning, he’s the head of Brotherhood Protectors, Yellowstone. I’m only here because I wanted to meet you guys, and tell these two that I’m glad they’re back with us. I’m not going to ask for details, but I’m glad you’re safe and home. How is Carter?”

“Good, he lost his eye to the fuckers, but he’s gained over half of what he lost, and has since ditched the cane.”

“One question,” someone asked, and they all turned to look at him.

“Are the fuckers dead?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” That lightened the mood, and they all gathered around a conference table.

Carter was the first to speak, “Did you go over what I told Naomi and the others?”

“Just the highlights, nothing specific,” Manny admitted, then went on to tell them about the mission he and Scott had jumped on while visiting Duane. “That was how we were able to hook up with Carter and the rest of the Delta team again.”

“Who did you take down?”

“Rudolph Royal, Philip and Erine Firth, and Paul Miller.”

“Junior or Senior?”

“Junior, it’s our understanding that Senior is still in jail.”

“Correct, now,” Carter said as he looked at his men, then at Hank. After the other man nodded, he turned back to the three before him. “This mission is yours. We will not step on your toes. We are here to help you in any way we can, however, the two of you will be the ones at ground zero.”

“Only me,” Manny spoke then. “Gould will be going to search for Patrick Clemmons. We want to get him safely to Colorado, and over time, we’re hoping over the next three months, we can get the horses out of Wyoming and over to their new home in Colorado. Erin Riceman will be working with Duane here on how to come up with a legal bill of sale without the mention of the Riceman ranch or Colorado on it. It is our understanding that Benson Alcott has no legal rights to The Double A ranch.”

“That is correct,” Carter said, and looked around the table. “Before we begin, I would like everyone to see this.” He picked up a remote and pointed it down the table. Everyone turned to watch as a woman came running down the arena, then around the barrels, and back. They saw her do it three times, but on the third trip, the horse stumbled and fell. From there, it showed the rider being loaded into an ambulance and a man screaming in her face before she was loaded. When they thought it was over, they watched as the same woman was brushing out her horse and talking to a man and woman. The horse jerked when the woman petted it, then the screen went black.

“The rider,” Carter spoke into the silence, “Is Naomi Alcott. I played those out of sequence. The first two races were correct, but then when she was talking to a man and a woman, did everyone see the horse jerk?” Everyone said they had, and he continued, “That was Benson Alcott, Naomi’s father, and the woman was/is the fiancé of Percy Biggins. That woman injected Princess, the horse, with Xylazine.” He paused when all the men started swearing.

“Yes, Princess was drugged. That started Naomi’s downfall. As you all saw, Benson was screaming at her that it was all her fault. What you don’t know, and this would be where Manchester here will start to come into play, is that according to our information, and the information we received from Naomi herself, along with Patrick Clemmons and Cole Mercury, Princess, the horse, belonged to Naomi, lock, stock and barrel.” Carter began pulling out papers and passed them around, making sure Manny, Scott, and Duane got the first copy.

“These are copies of the original papers proving Naomi is the rightful owner.”

“What does this have to do with anything?” Duane looked at him with a scowl as he sipped his coffee and glanced at the papers.

Carter didn’t answer, but passed him another set of papers. “This is a copy of the papers that were submitted to the insurance company that states Benson was the owner and he received a check for five million dollars. If you will note on the different sets of papers, the insurance companies are not the same one.”

“Oh, shit,” Duane said as he looked at the papers closely. “Who gave you these? We’re talking insurance fraud here if these papers are to be believed.”

“Correct, and this is where you’ll come in. We received the papers about Benson Alcott receiving the insurance money from Cole Mercury, he’s the manager of The Double A, and he’s the one that told Naomi to get out of town before Benson had her killed. Back then, Benson Alcott was in debt for about roughly a hundred, possibly up to two hundred and fifty grand to Mr. Big. Four million of the payout for the death of Princess, was paid by Benson to Mr. Big. A few months ago, Cole Mercury got word that Benson is in debt again, and this time they, Big and Benson, cooked up a plan to have Benson take out a life insurance policy on Naomi.” He paused and looked around the table. “For ten million. I don’t know all the particulars yet, but we are working on them. It was mentioned that Big’s fiancée might have something to do with wanting to take Naomi out. We have no clue where she fits into all this, if at all, it’s just a rumor at this time.”

“Shit,” Duane said. “But wait…” He held up his hand and looked at Manny and Scott “Isn’t she walking now?”

“Yes, it turned out that the doctor in Las Vegas, where she sustained her injuries in the rodeo, lied to her and told her she’d be in the wheelchair for the rest of her life. Something happened a couple of months ago and some men tried to take some horses from The Broken Wheel. In the take down, Naomi was tackled out of her chair. I don’t know all the minute details, but it started a chain of events where she started to feel her legs. Turned out with extensive physical therapy, she’s able to walk again.”

“We’re here to help Cole Mercury get whatever horses are still at The Double A out of Wyoming and over to Denver. Erin will be working with Duane on the paperwork, I’m going to be working at The Double A, and Scott here will be going to look for Patrick Clemmons to get him to Colorado to welcome the horses. It is my understanding that Naomi wants him there. She feels he will be safe if Benson or Big try to come after him.”

“Good, last I heard, Big and Benson were headed to Miami because that’s where Clemmons told them he saw her. He is in Arizona. I’ve been in contact with him, so it shouldn’t be hard to find him and get him to safety.” Carter had looked at Scott when he spoke. “I’ll get with you later to give you the code word we came up with to know we are the good guys.” He then turned to Manny.

“I don’t know exactly how many horses are at The Double A. I do know that I am talking with Cole, because I reached out to him in person.” He held up his hand to hold off what Manny, Scott, or Duane might have said. “I approached him as a horse buyer. When I got him alone in his office at the barn, I ran the place for bugs, put up a jammer, then told him who I was and what I was about. I never thought a grown-ass rough cowboy like him would break down and cry in relief.” Carter shook his head in memory. “He was so relieved because he had said that Benson kept pressuring him that he needed the bank information. It was subtle at first, but Cole knew that Benson wasn’t allowed that information at any cost. It was not only in Benson’s father’s will, but it was also in his contract with Naomi for him to stay on as the ranch foreman. He, Cole, admitted that he was starting to get worried because Benson told him that Naomi was on her deathbed from the injuries which put her in the wheelchair years ago. I told him that she was hearty and hale, I even called her and when he saw her over the phone, he broke down and cried again. I could also see the relief on his face. Cole didn’t come right out and say anything to me, but I got the immediate impression that if he didn’t turn over the bank information soon, Cole’s life would be in danger.

“Anyway, I told him that I would put one of my people on as a ranch hand and if there were any problems they could step in. So far, I hear from my operative three times a week, there haven’t been any problems from Benson or Big. I do know that a few weeks ago Mr. Big came to the ranch and started berating Benson, but no one could understand what he was saying. The men arguing were too far away for them to be overheard without drawing attention to Cole or my operative. Big quickly left, but when he returned, he gathered Benson, and they took off. The only thing Benson said to Cole was that they were going to Miami.”

“Who is your operative?” Manny asked. “Will they know about me?”

“Her name is Ann. I’ll let her tell you the rest. Before you get all hot under the collar, she’s former military,” Hank spoke then. “She’s actually from Brotherhood Protectors Montana. I sent her to Carter because I didn’t have anything for her to do at the time. He informed her of the situation, and she immediately volunteered to go to The Double A.”

Manny nodded as he looked at Carter. “I’ll call her when you leave here so she knows you’re coming.” Carter turned to Scott. “Are you going with Manny, then leaving from there for Arizona?”

“No. I think it would be better if the people from The Double A don’t know about me. You said Mr. Big and Benson were gone, but I don’t want to take the chance of having them return with me there. When all this goes down, I don’t want them to try to say I was in on whatever scheme they had. I think it would be better that I head to Arizona from here, and Manny head to The Double A.”

“I agree,” Hank said as he stood and went over to the coffee pot to refill his cup. “We’ll make sure you have all the information you need about Clemmons before you leave.” He sipped his coffee and headed back to the table. After he settled down, he looked directly at Manny. “Ann has a story, but it’s not mine to tell. What I can tell you is that she is…” He paused and looked around at the other operatives at the table, like he was looking for their help in describing the woman.

“Prickly?” one of the men suggested. “I’m not being mean, but she has a gigantic chip on her shoulder—it’s about the size of the entire country of Australia—and I think that’s only because of what she went through during her time in the service. Unlike Hank, I don’t know what happened, but I got the impression it wasn’t pretty. Don’t ask me how I know, but I feel she might, after some time together, but she might warm up to you because of what you went through.” The man who spoke shrugged his shoulders as he looked at Manny. “Just my take from meeting her only once.”

“Ah, got it. I will be the first to admit that I don’t know anything about horses, except for the weeks I was at The Broken Wheel, I observed what they did with them.” He shook his head and chuckled. “Erin Riceman wouldn’t even let me pick up a shovel to help out. Neither one of us. And that includes Carter also. She told us that she wouldn’t even put us on the payroll until we gained at least twenty-five pounds and our wounds had closed.”

“Wow,” Carter said, then turned to the others. “I met Ms. Riceman, she’s a great person, and a great businesswoman.” He scowled, then whipped his head back toward Manny and Scott. “Where are you going to put the horses from The Double A? It’s my understanding that Erin’s Way is for stud stallions, while The Broken Wheel is for people with disabilities.”

“Correct, but remember when you did your research into Royal Pain In The Ass?”

“Yes, what about it?”

“Erin was the one who put Miller and his wife in jail for fraud.”

“Ah, got it. Wait, what does that have to do with anything?”

“Erin was able to purchase a property the Millers tried and succeeded to put into foreclosure, and she gave the owner living rights. She stepped in at the last second and paid the bill to prevent the ranch from going to auction. I don’t know all the particulars, but I had heard that after the Millers were sentenced, she was able to get her money back, since the property in question had already been paid off decades before. The owner was old when that happened, and his property borders Erin’s. The guy’s name is Donald Donaldson, but we all call him Ducky. He moved to The Broken Wheel when we were on the mission to take out Royal, both Firths, and Miller, Jr. He stayed. When he had his property, it was a chicken farm. When we flew out of Denver to go to LA to pick up our trucks, and gear, Ryan Carter was in charge of converting the chicken barns into horse stalls. As of this morning, one of the barns was half done. By the time we start transferring the horses from The Double A, the stalls should all be done. I got a text from Carter that he’ll be working on a bunkhouse for any employees that come with the horses.”

“Before you allow any of the workers at The Double A to know where you, Cole, and Ann will be taking the horses, I want names. I want to run them to make sure they’re not working for Mr. Big. So far, you three are the only ones I trust. Yes, before you even ask, I did run a background check on Cole Mercury. He’s Team Naomi all the way.”

“Good.” Manny nodded and looked over at Scott and Duane, to see that they agreed with him.

“Before I head south,” Scott spoke then. “Do you know if Clemmons is using his own personal phone, or a burner phone?”

“Burner, because before he left Colorado after seeing Naomi, Jake Cogburn hooked him up with everything he would need. As we speak, Clemmons’s phone is locked in a safe at The Brotherhood compound there in Fool’s Gold. I would highly recommend that you tell Clemmons to stop in to see Jake before he heads out to the Riceman spread, and contact Jake yourself to give him the heads up of Clemmons’s pending arrival,” Carter answered as he rose from his seat, went across the room, and picked up a file off the desk there. He came back and handed it to Scott. “This is everything we have on Clemmons. The photo of him is what Jake took last fall.”

“Got it,” Scott said as he took the folder, but didn’t open it. The meeting concluded then, and before Carter and his men took Duane off to his own office, the three men went outside to their trucks.

“Call me if you run into any problems. I know these guys are good, and I trust them, but I want to know if you run into any problems. I can do a background check just as much as these guys can. I know I’m not legally related to you any longer, Scott, but like you, I still consider you family. You be safe out there, and this next part is for the both of you. Do not overdo it in your driving. If you have to rest, for goodness sake, stop and rest.”

“We hear you,” the two men said as one, then shook Duane’s hand. They turned to each other and gave each other a bro hug, failing to slap each other on their backs because of their still healing wounds, before they climbed into their respective vehicles, waved, and took off.

Duane looked up when someone joined him, and he nodded at Hank Patterson. “Think they’ll be okay?”

“I do. You know what it is to be a SEAL, and they went through hell last winter, but they’re good guys. They should be able to bounce back soon. I just hope they take it easy on their drive down.”

“Why the drive and not the actual mission?” Hank turned is head to scowl at the FBI agent in confusion.

Duane looked at the other man with a dark expression. “When the rescue team came, they were in the middle of trying to remove a kidney from each of them. I didn’t see them then, but I saw the wounds months later, the cuts were deep, and it’s my understanding that they still aren’t completely closed even after all this time.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Hank bellowed.

“No. The SEAL team had six members. Two were killed in the ambush, Manny, Scott, Ryan Carter, and Patrick Broome were taken. Manny and Scott were in one room, Carter and Broome in another. When they were finally reunited, after being tortured for twenty days, Broome was dead. The fuckers disemboweled him in front of Ryan, who held him as he died. Before doing that to Broome, they tortured Ryan and gouged out one of his eyes when he wouldn’t reveal state secrets. When the fuckers worked on Manny and Scott, they cut them, and were trying to remove a kidney. They have scars all over their bodies, and I’ve seen Ryan Carter’s improvement since going to The Broken Wheel. I don’t know what’s in the air there, but Erin Riceman knows what she’s doing when it comes to healing not only horses, but also people.”

“Amen,” Hank whispered as they both watched the two trucks drive away from them. They didn’t move from their spots until they didn’t see them any longer, and the dust from the dirt driveway settled, only then turning to go back inside.