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Tank notices another man arriving. He gives off the vibe of being the boss. The men huddle together conversing intensely for several minutes. The newcomer, very animated, pointing toward the shelter as if he’s giving them commands on where to go and what he wants them to do. Tank is getting ready to intervene even without back up if they make a move toward the shelter.
Tank, seeing the men make their move, begins to move toward the shelter. He has watched the shelter doors closely, but he hasn’t seen any sign of Ruby. Hawk and his teammates arrive about the time Tank sees one of the men entering the front door of the shelter. Tank is on the move heading toward the front door and Ruby. Hawk, Ace, Mercury, and Deadeye are at his side in the blink of an eye. Tank notices the others, Straw, Wallace, Hack, Virus and Worm heading toward the back of the shelter.
“What’s going on, Tank?” Hawk asks as soon as they catch up to him. Tank points toward the man he’d seen arrive a few minutes ago.
“That man just sent a guy inside the shelter. I’m sure they are after Ruby. He sent another couple of guys around back. I have to get to her before they do. I don’t know what they want with her, but it can’t be good.” Tank has reached the sidewalk in front of the shelter. Hawk, Deadeye, and Mercury move toward the man who’s directing the men after Ruby while Tank and Ace head inside the shelter.
As they enter the shelter, Jolene is walking down the hall from her office. Her face lights up when she sees the men entering the lobby. “What are you guys doing here this evening?” Jolene asks.
“Where’s Ruby?” Tank demands in a gruff voice. Jolene’s face falls and pales a little at his harsh tone of voice.
“I don’t know, Tank. Why? Is something wrong?” Worry lines cross Jolene’s face as she waits for a reply.
“We don’t know for sure, Jolene,” Ace answers. “Tank is just worried about her. He didn’t mean to be an ass,” Ace replies in a soothing tone to assure Jolene everything is all right. A loud bang and a scream from the rooms where the residents stay have the men and Jolene on the move. They enter the women’s section of the shelter to see a man being beaten by several of the women residents of the shelter. Many of the other women and children are huddled next to the walls on either side of the room.
“What is going on in here?” Jolene shouts, and all activity stops. The man tries to get up to escape, but Ace and Tank are on him before he can move. They haul him up by his arms and drag him toward the door of the women’s room.
“That man is demanding we tell him where Ruby is hiding. He claims to be her boyfriend, but I know for a fact that the only man Ruby has been seeing is that brute over there,” Shelia, one of the regulars at the shelter, is pointing toward Tank. “He thought he could force me to tell him where she is, but we got the better of him. Dumbass. He should know that no woman staying in a shelter is going to tell a man where another woman is hiding.”
Jolene looks around the room. “Where is Ruby, Shelia? I saw her come in a little while ago.”
Shelia shrugs her shoulders. “She left out the back way about twenty minutes ago.”
Tank leaves Ace to handle the man and hurries for the back of the shelter. He looks out the back door and sees Straw and Hack hauling one of the other men toward the front of the shelter. Tank scans the back lot but doesn’t see any sign of Ruby. As he turns back inside the shelter, he notices another door to his left. He opens the door to see a set of stairs heading upward. He follows them up a couple of flights to another door that opens onto the roof. Tank looks for any sign that Ruby has been here. He sees a plank laying off to his right. He walks over to the side of the roof and notices scrape marks on the edge of the roof. He kneels to get a closer look. Hearing the door to the roof open, he looks over his shoulder to see Hawk, Wallace, and Worm stalking over to him.
“What did you find, Tank?” Worm asks as they approach him.
“I’m not sure. I saw this plank and see these scrape marks on the edge of the ledge,” Tank stands and peers over at the next building. “Do you think she could have used a plank to get over to the next building?”
“It’s possible. It would make sense. How she just disappeared from the shelter without a trace,” Hawk muses as they continue to scan their surroundings. Fear races through Tank. Where is she? Has one of those men already found her? Tank feels sick thinking about her being out there all alone.
“Hawk were you able to detain the lead man?” Tank asks. Those men are the key to finding out who is after Ruby and why. He needs to know these things in order to keep her safe.
“Yes,” Hawk replies. “We have four of them in custody. Ace, Straw and some of the others are holding them downstairs.” When Hawk finishes, Tank turns and heads for the door. He has to find Ruby before someone else does.
“Where are you going, Tank?” Hawk enquires after him.
“To get some answers so I can find my woman. Come on, we are going to need some extra help with this.” Tank opens the door and heads back down into the shelter. When Tank reaches the bottom floor, he heads to the cafeteria where his companions are holding the men who were chasing Ruby. He is ready to question them. He wants to know why they are after her and what they want with her. Maybe they will be able to give him a clue as to where she has disappeared. His need to know she’s safe is riding him hard. He won’t rest until he can see her and hold her once more.
Hours later Tank is beyond angry. They moved the men from the shelter to Hack’s basement. They have been at this for hours; the men have been unwilling to cooperate. Tank wants nothing more than to beat it out of them, but Hawk has refused to let him. He knows that it would cost him his career, but Ruby is much more important than his career, than anything.
“Tell me where she is!” Tank growls at the men. He is fast losing his ability to contain his anger.
“We don’t know where she is you, dumb fuck. If we knew that we wouldn’t be here. We would have been long gone, before you got here,” the lead man barks back. Tank is ready to beat him to a bloody pulp. Hawk moves before Tank can react. He grabs the man by his shirt front and raises him off the floor.
“You will tell us everything you know about Ruby Cox,” Hawk yells at the man. The look on his face would make any grown man piss his pants. Hawk is through playing the good cop.
“Ruby Cox? You don’t even know her real name.” The man laughs cruelly. “You all are so defensive of her and she hasn’t even been honest with you. You have no idea what the bitch…” His words are cut off by Tank’s fist colliding with his face. Tank longs to hit him again, but Hawk has hauled the bastard away from Tank.
“Tank you need to leave. We will sort this out. Go and see what Worm and Hack have found out,” Hawk commands. Tank stalks from the room in search of his companions. As Tank enters the next room, Hack looks up to see him coming their way.
“There you are, Tank,” Hack calls to him. “Hawk put a call in to Tex. If anyone can track her it’s him.” Tex the former Navy SEAL was medically discharged after losing a leg on a mission. He is an expert with computers and electronics. He can get information no one else can seem to find with a speed that is scary. While everything he does isn’t always legal, he is relied on by many current members in service. He has dedicated his skills to helping those in need. Hacks phone begins to ring. Hack put is on speaker so they can all hear. “Hey, Tex. What have you got for me?”
“I was able to access the street and security cameras around the shelter. It appears she was able to move across the roof tops. She exited via a fire escape at a building down at the end of the block.” Tex’s voice echoes in the quiet room. “She is very smart to have figured out an alternate escape route from the shelter.”
“Was anyone with her?” Tank asks. He is worried that one of the assholes tailing her has gotten a hold of her.
“No, she was alone,” Tex answers. Tank is getting frustrated.
