Page 4 of Rex
“Have fun.” I say as I follow them out of my car and into the house, but I take the staircase that leads to my wing of the house instead of heading towards the kitchen like Seth and Austin.
Entering my office, I close the door behind me and head towards my desk. I move all the files I currently have on Dre’s case to one side of my desk, not caring if they mix anymore. There’s nothing useful to be found in them anyway. I take my seat and open my secure laptop, typing in all my security codes so I have access to the full Khaos Information System, or KIS for short. The moment I’m in the system, I type in Dre King’s name, but this time instead of focusing on his life now as an adult, I start at the very beginning. There will be no stone left unturned. If something is connected to Dre in some way, I want to see it. I want to study it. I will find some fucking answers as to what the everloving hell happened to him. I’m a stubborn fuck when I want to be.
Pulling up his birth certificate, I scan over the information and can’t help but stare at the names of his parents; something about their names is familiar. I’ve seen them somewhere before, and it’s pissing me off that I can’t place it. Where the fuck have I seen the names Beau and Annmarie King? Why are their names pulling on something in my mind that’s just out of reach?
More than a little annoyed that I can’t recall the information I need, I pull up another search window, one that will scan KIS for Beau and Annmarie King in any of our case files. Them being related in some way to a previous case I’ve worked is the only thing that makes any sense to me. My entire life is consumed by my work. I can’t think of any other reason except for work that I’d recognize their names.
Letting the search continue in the background, I switch back over to Dre’s file. As I scan through the information in front of me, nothing really jumps out and grabs my attention. There’s nothing in his earlier years that would warrant anyone kidnapping him and hiding him for all this time. As I get further down his file, I see his parents’ names pop up once more, but this time in reference to their deaths. According to what I’m reading, they died in a freak plane crash, and there were no survivors.
Even their cause of death is familiar to me, but I still can’t place why. It’s literally just out of reach to me. I’m stopped from driving myself insane with trying to figure it out when KIS beeps, and a window pops up across my screen. KIS has found Beau and Annmarie King in our files. As I read the name of the case file that contains them, I’m hit with the reason their names and cause of death were so damn familiar.
I feel sick to my stomach as the information conjures up in my mind. I remember it all now, and I’m kicking myself for not placing why they were so familiar before. They were involved in the most abominable case we’ve ever worked on. Operation Counterstrike. There were so many people involved from everywalk of life that it’s no wonder I couldn’t place them at first. It would be close to fucking impossible to remember every person involved in a case like that one, but there was only one couple involved in the atrocities we discovered who never faced justice for their crimes, dying before they could be held accountable. Beau and Annmarie King.
Operation Counterstrike went from being a regular mission to take down a criminal enterprise to so much fucking more in what felt like a blink of an eye. What we thought was a criminal network that operated just in the United States turned out to be a global operation, spanning nearly every first-world country across the globe. They had their fingers in everything imaginable, from trafficking people and drugs to murder for hire and everything in between. If it was illegal, they had their sticky fingers involved in it in some way, shape, or form. What we discovered was horrifying. Though what made it worse was that it was people you’d never expect running the operation and taking part in the atrocities. They were people you’d never even think to imagine could be the evil in the world everyone fears. They were all hidden in plain sight.
I can recall exactly what happened with Beau and Annmarie now that I know they’re involved in Operation Counterstrike. Just days before my team and I were slated to head out and deal with them, the plane they were flying in malfunctioned and crashed. It was reported there were no survivors. I remember the time of their deaths not sitting right with me back then; something just didn’t feel right. Not with them dying so close to finally being brought to justice for their crimes against humanity. However, I never looked into it further; there was just far too much going on back then, far too many criminals that needed to be dealt with. I definitely regret not following up on my hunch now. I have a feeling we missed something big backthen, and Dre’s disappearance is linked to his parents in some way.
It’s literally the only thing that makes any sort of sense. Other than his connection to Beau and Annmarie, there is nothing in his life, past or present, that should warrant him being kidnapped. He’s just a normal guy who was living a very normal life. He just happens to have parents who were criminals. Though I’m not sure Dre or even Wreck were aware of that fact. Well, isn’t that going to be fun to share with them when the time comes? Not. That’s something to worry about later, though.
It’s time for a change in focus. Dre isn’t who I need to be researching anymore. No, it’s time to deep dive into his parents. I can feel it; the answers that have been eluding me lie with them. We’ve all been focusing on the wrong thing all along. While we were all looking into Dre and anything in his life that could have led to his disappearance, we should have been looking at his past. Mainly his parents.
It’s time to rectify that and take a microscope to Beau and Annmarie. It doesn’t matter that they’re dead; it doesn’t mean that something from their criminal life hasn’t now come back to bite Dre on the ass, all because he has the unfortunate pleasure of being their son.
Chapter Four
Rex
When I started this search for Dre King, I never imagined I’d uncover something like this. Seriously, I’ve seen some crazy shit throughout the years, but this might take the cake as the most insane thing I’ve dealt with to date. Uncovering the truth about his parents and their connection to Operation Counterstrike is a motherfucking game changer. I haven’t stopped working since the moment I discovered the connection. I’m determined to figure all this shit out and have something concrete to go on where Dre is concerned. The more information I manage to uncover, the more infuriated I can feel myself becoming. Putting all the pieces together is uncovering a much larger picture than just Dre being kidnapped.
I’ll give it to Beau and Annmarie; they were good. Really fucking good, but I’m motherfucking better. What they did was genius on their parts, really, faking their own deaths so well to avoid being brought to justice all those years ago. Honestly, if it wasn’t for Dre going missing the way he did and Wreck asking me to look into it, they would have never been discovered. There’s no way Wreck would have ever been able to uncover the truth about what his parents had done. He doesn’t know all the facts about who they really were. He was always at a majordisadvantage, something I’m sure Beau and Annmarie were counting on.
Beau and Annmarie were free and clear; they’d been left buried in the past with that fucking atrocious case. Everyone was none the wiser to the fact they were still alive and up to their old tricks. It was a fatal fucking error on their parts when they kidnapped Dre the way they did. They exposed themselves for me to find. They have no idea they’re about to meet their worst fucking nightmare. They should have met their end by my hands years ago; it seems like it’s only kismet that I’m going to be the one coming for them now.
I don’t know their motivation for coming out of the woodwork and taking their youngest son the way they did. That information hasn’t come up while I’ve been researching, and honestly, I don’t care what possible reason they might have. There is no justifiable reason for their actions, and knowing everything I do about the pair, all the crimes they’ve had their hands in, I can’t imagine they took him for anything good. I can only imagine the horrors that poor man has been exposed to being in their hands all this time. I just hope that whatever they’ve subjected him to, whatever he’s witnessed, hasn’t broken Dre in some way. He doesn’t deserve that sort of fate just because his parents are pieces of shit.
I never thought I’d see the bright side to anything to do with the shitshow that involved Megan and Wreck, but I can’t help but think fate had to have a hand in everything. That some higher force made it so I’d become solely focused on finding Dre. The truth behind what really happened was buried so deep; it’s only due to my resources, past knowledge of Beau and Annmarie’s crimes, and KIS that I uncovered what they’d done. I’m probably one of the only people in the world who could have uncovered everything I have. I have the highest level of clearance in The Khaos Group. I have access to things the majority ofpeople don’t. It’s only down to what I have at my disposal that I know what I do now.
Despite everything I’ve managed to uncover, I don’t plan on telling a soul. I can’t. Not until I have Dre safely out of those fuckers’ hands and under my protection. Something happened all those years ago; Beau and Annmarie had to have known we were coming for them. That they had to act to avoid being held accountable for their crimes. The only way they could have known what was coming is if someone on the inside told them. The only organization involved in the mass takedown was us. We kept it in-house. So that means somewhere within The Khaos Group we have a traitor. Isn’t that a right kick in the balls? Never thought I’d see the day someone would betray The Khaos Group, but there’s no other explanation for what happened.
I don’t know who the fuck sold out, and right now isn’t the time to be trying to figure that shit out. Don’t get me wrong, I want to fucking know who betrayed us and make them pay, but I have more pressing matters. Dre is my number one priority. I need to get to where I suspect they are holding him. I need to see if I’m right and then act accordingly. To do whatever is necessary to get the poor man out of their clutches. They’ve had him under their grubby paws for long enough. It’s time to bring him home to his brother and deal with their deplorable parents once and for all.
They won’t be making it out of this encounter with me alive. I plan on making sure of it. Some people just need wiping out; Beau and Annmarie are two of those people. I’ve seen their list of crimes from the past, and I can only imagine the type of things they’ve had their hands in throughout the years when we believed they were dead. Death might be too good for them; they really do deserve to suffer for everything they’ve done, but it’s the safest option to protect the innocent people of the world.
Whoever the traitor is, their days are numbered just like Beau and Annmarie’s. They aren’t going to get away with what they’ve done, though. As soon as I have Dre safe, they’re going to be my next focus. They have no idea what’s coming for them or how much they are going to regret betraying The Khaos Group. The things I’ve done in the past are going to seem like small potatoes compared to what I’ll do to them. They will fucking pay for what they’ve done. That I can fucking guarantee.
Knowing there’s a traitor somewhere within the organization does leave me with a rather big problem, though: I don’t know who the fuck I can trust. Rescuing Dre how I normally would isn’t an option; I can’t fucking risk the wrong person getting wind of it. Under normal circumstances I wouldn’t have an issue roping my brothers in to help me; they all have the same level of training as me, even Jake, who isn’t an official member of The Khaos Group. We might all have different specialties that capitalize on our individual talents, but we’re still all trained to the nth degree. These aren’t normal circumstances, though. There’s too much going on around here; Seth has the reappearance of Everett to come to terms with. Jake has everything going on with Flash and Micah. Austin is the only one who hasn’t got some part of his life blowing up at the moment, but that means he needs to stay put and keep everything running smoothly.
That means I can’t tell them anything I’ve uncovered; if they knew, there would be no stopping them from trying to come with me and help. I can’t have them doing that; their focus needs to remain here. Maybe Seth had a point earlier when he chose to keep Jake in the dark about Everett being back. I can see the logic behind his reasoning now, even if I didn’t before. Definitely going to have to remember to bring that up later when the truth comes out. They’re all going to be less than impressed when they find out I’ve kept this from them. I foresee some time in thering with each of them as they let me know how displeased they are. Oh well, it’ll be worth it. Ensuring I can rescue Dre is what matters most. No matter the consequences I’ll have to face when we return.
Even with the normal means I’d use on a rescue mission and my brothers being out of the equation, I’m not totally out of options. There is one group within The Khaos Group that I know for a fact won’t contain the traitor, and I trust them implicitly. I’d never normally call on them; they aren’t exactly known for playing well with others. By others I mean the regular everyday members of The Khaos Group. They tend to work alone, with another member of their group, or, on the rarest occasion, with a Knightlye. Desperate times call for drastic measures. This most definitely qualifies as one of those times. Let’s just fucking hope and pray they aren’t already out on an assignment. I’m going to fucking need them.
* * *
Getting everything in order so I can head out doesn’t take as long as I expect it to. Thank fuck I left when I did; I want no part in the disaster Austin and Seth managed to make in our kitchen with Micah. When will those two learn that the two of them and baking do not mix? Ever. I’ve never been able to figure out how they manage to make such a mess every goddamn time. Well, that’s not my problem to deal with now; I’ll leave that for Jake to handle. I wish him all the luck with that task; that cleanup isn’t going to be quick or easy. Not only were both Austin and Seth covered head to toe in all the ingredients, but apparently so was Micah. That’s without even taking into account the kitchenitself; I’m pretty sure as I was leaving I spotted some mess on the ceiling. Yeah, that’s not going to be a fun cleanup at all.
I did make sure to check I wasn’t leaving Flash and Jake in the lurch before I took off. I didn’t like the thought of leaving if they were still in the middle of dealing with Trish and Raymond. Thankfully, they both reassured me that they’d gotten a handle on everything to do with those awful people, so I know I have nothing to worry about there. I guess now it’s just going to be them adjusting to the changes in their lives. To find their new normal. Not only as a couple for Flash and Jake—yes, they finally confirmed their change in relationship—but also as a family now that they have Micah in their lives too. It’s going to take time, but I’m more than confident they’ll figure it all out in the end.
I shut down my thoughts about my brothers and everything else in my life as I head towards my helicopter, more than a little thankful that I got my license years ago so that I don’t have to rely on anyone else to get me to where I need to be. The fewer people that know anything about what I’m doing, the better. I refuse to risk Dre, and considering I’m about to fly close to where I think he’s being held, yeah, I don’t want anyone knowing anything. Being cautious is the name of the game right now.
