Off we went to the next house. I had already sent others ahead of us to make sure everything was safe over there. The woman allowed us to come in and talk with her, but she had already heard about her friend being shot and she was scared that the same thing would happen to her if she said anything to us.

“If you help us we can give you protection,” I said, “but if you do not, then you will end up in prison as an accomplice to murder and knowingly helping these 10 criminals. That will mean years in prison for you away from your little boys. Do you want that?” “But you were not able to help my friend,” she said, her voice shaking.

“That is because she did not cooperate, and instead tried to delay things,” I responded, “that is why she was shot and nearly killed. Why do you want to help these men who only want to kill you? Even your own husband and father of your 2 kids does not care about you at all, he only cares about himself.”

Meow,meow.=Me see trouble outside, need to go. “Kat, Catalina, take Muffin and Storm outside please,” I told them. Off they went and Muffin showed them what she saw. Across the street, in an attic room, the window was open and the girls could just see the end of a gun. They ran around beside the house, then across the street out of sight and went to the back door of that house, which was locked.

Catalina held Storm up to the lock while he held his tools in his mouth and had the lock open very quickly. He learned well from MC. In they went and up to the second floor. There was a ladder up to the attic door which was open. Crystal climbed up slowly and quietly with the cats on her shoulders.

The cats then jumped off and into the attic and Storm ran quickly to the man at the window and jumped on his back digging in all 18 claws causing the man to drop his gun and scream loudly. There was a second man but “Thwock!” and he was down. Muffin never misses. The girls came up quickly now and Crystal kicked the man that Storm had attacked knocking him against the wall.

She then kicked him again and he was out. She then looked around and spotted some movement behind some boxes. She called Muffin over and whispered to Catalina to get ready. Catalina pulled out a small explosive charge and put it in Muffin’s slingshot. She pulled back a little and the explosive went right over to where those boxes were located and Catalina shot.

There was quite a nice, but small, explosion and a man came quickly out with his hands up shouting for the girls not to shoot him. The girls brought him down to us in the house while a couple of the guys picked up the other men. Muffin had just used a rubber ball so she would not kill the man. We want these guys alive if possible, so we can try to get information out of them.

The one man they brought in seemed to be quite scared, and the look on the woman’s face was one of surprise. “He is my husband’s best friend!” she exclaimed, “now he tries to kill us, me and my two little boys!” “Well, what have you got to say?” I asked the man. “Her man gave us a lot of money to get rid of his family,” he said, “he wanted to start over and figured he could find a more beautiful woman now.”

That really hit the woman hard and she sat down crying. Galyna went over to her. After a little while the woman looked up at me. “I, I do not know exactly where they are right now,” she said sobbing, “but it is one of 3 places, Auckland, Peoria, or Brasilia. They had that planned from the beginning and if they had to, then they could move from place to place.”

“Did you get that Annelie?” I asked. “Yes Steve, nice and clear,” she said, “I am checking things right now.” I do not think it took her even 2 minutes to give us an answer. “Auckland and Brasilia both have Baldwin Corporation safe houses,” she said, “very well built and well hidden, not many know about them or how to get into them. But, I found out.”

“Somehow I knew you would Annelie,” I said. “I wonder if that is why he said plan A and plan B and a place of last resort?” said the woman. “There is your answer Steve,” replied Annelie. “Yes, so it is,” I said. We have a long trip ahead of us since we are in Los Angeles right now and we are off to New Zealand. At least it will give us a chance to get some sleep on the way, I am sure we will need it…

To Be Continued.

©2023 Steve McLeod.