I watched for another minute as they gathered themselves, reconstructed their demolished campsite, and zipped themselves up in their tents. When I was satisfied that they’d thoroughly followed my instructions, I put my gun away, turned, and headed in the same direction as the rest of my team.
I came upon them as young Oliver Wilson Jr. was starting to pass out from the injection.
“He’s going down,” Manny stated.
“I got it.” I scooped low and picked up Junior in a fireman’s carry, to transport him the rest of the mile or so to where I parked the truck.
“Open the door,” I ordered the New Guy as Manny moved around to the passenger seat.
I tossed Junior in the backseat of the truck and nodded for the New Guy to get in before I opened the driver’s side door.
“It’s late,” Manny said as I pulled off.
I nodded. “Sy,” I called out.
“I’m here,” his voice pushed through the earpiece.
“Call that hotel by the psych hospital and book a room for the night.”
“On it.”
“We’ve got a four hour drive ahead of us. I’ll be in contact if we need anything else.”
“I’ll text you with the hotel room information.”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me before disconnecting the call and removing the earpiece, along with the goggles. Tossing them into the glove compartment, I glanced over at Manny, who was also frowning.
I pulled off wordlessly, glancing in the rearview to ensure that Oliver Jr. was still resting peacefully.
“That went pretty well,” the New Guy said after about fifteen minutes of silence.
I snorted. “You think so.” It wasn’t a question, but he was eager to answer it.
Nodding, he responded with, “Yeah, we got him, and no one got hurt.”
“Manny.”
“Yeah, I got it, boss,” he grunted before turning and looking at the New Guy. “You almost blew our fucking cover by practically announcing our arrival. And you didn’t stay with Boss to make sure no one was following him. That chick or any one of the others could’ve pulled out a piece once he turned his back. Seamless this shit was not,” Manny spat out before turning around.
I let my gaze move to the rearview mirror. “Now shut the hell up about what a great fucking job we did and focus on all the ways the next snatch and grab will be flawless,” I directed before concentrating on the road again.
In reality, there was no such thing as a perfect snatch and grab. Factors were always changing. Not even when we went over every detail with a fine-tooth comb could every single thing be accounted for. However, the New Guy, also known as Michael Dawson, didn’t need to be told all that. He was young and fresh out of undergrad. I hired him as a favor to a client of mine. He had some skills, but still had a hell of a lot more to learn.
Thankfully, Oliver would be out for the next few hours of the drive. I had enough solution to keep him knocked out for the rest of the night until we were able to drop him off at the psychiatric hospital. His father, Oliver Wilson Sr., was a high roller in the oil industry up in North Texas. He requested that we take his son to that mental facility. He hired my firm, LS Investigations, to do everything for him, including investigating potential employees, digging up dirt on business partners that were plotting against him, and yes, kidnapping his twenty-five-year-old, schizophrenic son. Who also happened to have joined a cult.
Now, we were on our way to the Dallas area to drop Junior off at the hospital to get him back on his meds and away from the group that’d told him he didn’t need them in the first place.
The next morning saw Manny, Michael, and I up early with a barely coherent Oliver Wilson Jr.
“I’ll drop Junior off at the hospital and then swing by to pick you back up to head home,” I informed them.
They both nodded, and I helped Junior stand. He was coming to from the solution I gave him a second dose of the night before. The sooner I dropped him off, the better. Snatch and grabs were my least favorite part of the job. Yet, they were, at times, necessary.
“Let’s go, Junior.”
“Who’re you?” he asked wearily as I piled him into the passenger seat.
“A friend of your daddy’s,” I responded as I closed the driver’s side door behind me. I turned the key, starting up the ignition, and was ready to pull out of the parking lot, when Junior abruptly sprung forward, wrapping his hand around my wrist.
