Page 26 of Saving Hanna
Chapter Nineteen
AIDEN
This neighborhood was no better than the one Hanna lived in. I watched patiently as the car stopped in front of a rundown house with bars on the windows. Some guy got out of the car, and I thought for sure this would be their last stop. Keeping my distance, I pulled the car to the curb, turned off my lights and waited. When the interior lights came on in the car, I couldn’t have been more relieved to see Hanna sitting in the back seat.
She looked scared and had every right to be. The trunk popped open and laying inside was a man covered in blood on a plastic tarp. I could only guess that the man walking to the trunk was either Mendez or Ruiz. I watched him pull the body from the trunk and drag the carcass to the front of the house and up the steps. Propping the body near the front door, the guy ran to the car. When the horn sounded, and the car sped away, I knew that they left the body as a message to whoever was inside.
What a way to go, I thought to myself as I gave the car a bit of a head start before pulling away from the curb. The men in the car were ruthless and Hanna was in extreme danger. I could only image how the young woman who answered the door must have felt.
Keeping my sights on the car, I followed behind at a safe distance so that I wouldn’t be noticed. Just as the car turned left, my phone began to ring. Answering the call by hitting the hands-free button on my steering wheel, I knew that it was Albert since his name came up on the dash screen.
“I hope you found something out, Albert,” I asked frantically, wanting to know who was holding my Hanna prisoner.
“I did, sir. The owner of the house that you gave me the address to belongs to Fernando Mendez. The house was purchased not long ago. Seems he owns several homes in the Houston area. The other guy, Ruiz, I didn’t find any information on him. I am guessing that he is an associate of this Mendez gentleman,” Albert paused. “Aiden, I hope you aren’t putting yourself in danger. I have lived in Houston a long time and know this neighborhood well. I suspect that these men aren’t law-abiding citizens.”
“I appreciate the concern, Albert, but these two dirt bags have Hanna. I can’t sit back and do nothing.” There was no way that I was going to let anything happen to Hanna, yet I knew Albert’s concern.
“Just be careful, sir. If I don’t hear from you, I will be calling the authorities,” he stated.
Maybe he was right. I was in no position to handle these guys myself. If they were part of a big drug ring operation, there would be more of them, and I didn’t like the odds of me against all of them. Hesitating for a moment, I said, “Don’t do anything until you hear from me. The last thing I want is for Hanna to end up dead.”
I could tell that Albert wasn’t keen on me going in alone, but I needed to see what my chances were before getting the cops involved. The best thing for me to do was to keep my distance until I could figure something out.
~*~*~*~
Coming up to another shitty neighborhood, the car stopped in front of a beige house and turned off the engine. “This is it,” I said to myself as I stopped and turned off my lights.
Watching the driver get out first, I waited for the back door to open. My breath hitched as Hanna appeared. The man who got out earlier followed close behind her and there was a gun in his hand. She didn’t seem to be hurt, which was a good thing. Keeping my eyes on the three of them, I watched as they entered the house. When the door closed behind them, I waited a few minutes before I got out of my car to check out the house.
Picking up my phone from the passenger seat, I opened the door and got out. I removed my suit jacket and placed it on the passenger seat before closing the car door. As I headed across the street, I kept my eyes on the house. Heading between the house and the one next to it, I carefully made my way to the front of the house. What I wouldn’t give to be another foot taller. The windows of the house were much too high and there was no way I could see inside.
When I reached the back of the house, there was no back door. I thought for sure all old houses had a back door. Rounding the back, I made my way to the other side to find the door to the back was on the side. There was no way I would be able to enter through it without being seen. The door led to the kitchen and sitting at a table were two big burly Hispanic guys drinking a beer. I had to figure out another way inside.
Just when I thought it was time to call the authorities, a light came on in the basement. Even though the windows were small, at least I could see inside and find out what was going on. Maybe this would be my way in. Crouching down, I extended my body and rested on my elbows. Looking inside, it was like looking at a war zone. Never had I seen so much trash.
Scanning the rest of the basement, there on the far end was Hanna. They had her cuffed to a pipe and she was sitting on a filthy mattress. Tapping on the window, I tried to get her to look my way, but had no luck. I didn’t want to make too much noise and attract unwanted attention. Using my strength, I tried lifting the window, but it wouldn’t budge. The window was locked. Other than breaking the glass there was no way in.
If she had only looked over, she would have seen me. Her sights were on something else. Trying to see what she was looking at, I adjusted my position and saw two men walking down the stairs. As they approached her, one of them uncuffed her hands, while the other pointed a gun at her. As they handed her a phone, I could tell that they were speaking to her, but couldn’t hear what they were saying. It was only after my phone began to ring that I knew she was calling me. I didn’t know why they would allow her to call, unless she had said something to them. Whatever the reason, I needed to play it safe and go along with her.
“Mr. Drake, this is Hanna. I’ve been caught and the men holding me want to make a deal with you.” As I listened, her voice was shaking, yet confident.
“What do they want?” I asked, careful not to reveal her last name. I wasn’t sure how much she had told them, and the less they knew about Hanna the better.
“They know that you had me stake out their operation to put them out of business. They want to make a compromise,” she continued. “They want to meet.”
With the way the phone was echoing, I knew that she was on speaker phone and I needed to be careful in what I said. “Where do they want to meet?”
One of the men must have grabbed the phone away from Hanna. A male voice with a Mexican accent replied, “Meet me at the old train station.”
“On one condition. The girl comes with you,” I demanded.
There was a slight pause and then the man said, “Sí. She will be with us.”
Heading toward the front of the house before they came out, I ran to my car and waited for them to come out of the house. With one guy in front and one in back, I knew that they listened to my demand as I watched Hanna get inside the car. Giving them just enough time to round the corner, I turned on the engine and pulled away from the curb. Even though I knew where they were headed, I needed to make sure that they wouldn’t be making a detour somewhere to drop Hanna off. I felt that if I kept her in my sights, she would be safe.
~*~*~*~
As I pulled up to Union Station, it wasn’t hard to spot the car. There was no one around. It didn’t surprise me given that there was no game going on, and it was the Astros off season. This could either work for or against me. With no one else around there would be no witnesses, which could be very bad. On the other hand, there wasn’t a chance of anyone else getting hurt.
