Chapter 75: Diogo

"How long ago?" I demand furiously, trying not to let my anger override my need for answers. If I wasn't desperate for the answer I'd kill this guy where he stands. He let my wife's abductor take her out of the sector. He saw Grayson's car, thought it was Taran's bodyguard driving and waved them through without a pause.
"Twenty minutes, Commander. We realized our mistake as soon as lieutenant Truss alerted the checkpoints to the security breach."
This is my fault. I should've thought to tighten checkpoint security where my wife is concerned. I hadn't imagined this scenario. Why would someone take her? The only people I can think who might have an agenda involving the Desert Wren are in the rebellion.
"Shut down the checkpoints. Only necessary personnel can go through and they must show paperwork. If anyone catches so much as a hint of my wife, they detain and call me."
I'm about to turn away, about to go to the slums to question the one person who both cares about Taran and has a reason to abduct her, Emery, when a call comes through on the radio.
Cruz informs me, "We have confirmation that a vehicle matching the description given to all checkpoints passed through the main gates five minutes ago."
My heart pounds at the implication. Taran was taken outside the wall and I have no idea who took her. I would suspect her ex-husband if I hadn't killed him myself. The fear rising up inside me freezes my ability to think. The only thing I want in this moment is to race outside the walls and find my wife.
Cruz must sense my state of mind because he immediately steps in with a solid plan, rapidly shooting out instructions. "Stryker is our best tracker. We'll have him meet you at the city gates. I'll collect several of our best men and vehicles to follow behind in case you need the backup. I'll keep the city standing while you go hunting."
Before I have time to acknowledge his orders, others pipe in with their assent and positions.
"I'll be at the gate in five," Stryker grunts.
"I'll take over wall duty from Stryker," Boss chimes in. "I'll pull in some of my best men and send them out to assist."
"Someone needs to pick me up at checkpoint 12," Grayson's strained voice interrupts. "I'm coming."
I want to tell him to stay behind. From the account I was given, he'd taken a solid hit to the head. A similar blow had killed the greenhouse manager. But in Grayson's place I would feel the same way. I'd need to hunt down the person that took my charge, redeem myself.
"Boss, have one of your men pick up Grayson," I grunt. "Grayson, no driving. We don't need you killing yourself before we find the bastard that took her."
A small hesitation then Grayson says, "Commander, there's something you should know. She put up a hell of a fight. Half the greenhouse is in ruins."
I grin savagely. That's my girl. Taking charge of her own destiny when faced with adversity. I hope that she wasn't injured in the struggle. She might be feisty, but she's small. Smaller than most. If a large man got his hands on her, he could easily kill her. My smile falls away and I stride toward my car.
Five minutes later I meet Stryker at the main gate. He gets wordlessly into the car while the men at the gate go through the elaborate process of opening the doors. I'm pissed off all over again that she could have made it through so many checkpoints without being questioned. Why the fuck would she go outside the wall with her bodyguard? There's no good reason she shouldn't have been detained.
But then, there's no reason she should've been detained. As the trust between us grows I've given her access to several city sectors. Why not outside the city? As far as the guards knew she could leave whenever she wanted to with my blessing.
"Stop the car a minute," Stryker says once we clear the gates. "Need to talk this through before we can start tracking." He gives me a sharp look. "Who would benefit from taking her? The ex is out of the picture, correct?"
"Correct," I grunt, not bothering with details. I'd allowed Xavier to quietly disappear. Only Cruz and a few others know what happened, but I'm sure there's speculation on the rebel leader's fate.
"Anyone else from the rebellion have reason to grab her?"
"Yes, but I don't think it went down like that. Grayson says there was an obvious struggle where she could've been hurt. The rebels revere their Desert Wren, I don't think any of them are capable of this." I stare out into the desert, toward the Catalina mountains. "They have no reason to bring her out into the desert either. She'd have been safer in the city, hiding out in the slums."
"If that's true, then who else would have reason to grab the girl?" Stryker's brow furrows as he tries to piece the abduction together. "Enemies?"
"No. As I said, the rebels love her, and the elites are fascinated by her. I can't think of anyone who would want to do this to her."
"I didn't mean her enemies, I meant yours, Commander."
I give Stryker a hard look and raise an eyebrow. "First rule of war, lieutenant."
"Don't leave behind an enemy capable of coming after you."
"Indeed," I confirm. "Yes, I've made my share of enemies, but they don't live long. I'm smarter than that."
Stryker nods his understanding and continues to think through the possibilities. I try not to get in his face, let my frustration show. I want to rip out of there and head after my girl, not sit and talk things through logically. But Stryker is my best tracker, part of the reason he's so good on the wall. Sharp eyes, sharper reaction time.
"What about prisoners? Someone in the city thinking they got an unfair shake, using your girl to strike back at you?"
I shake my head. "No, again I don't leave enemies behind."
"But you do allow the release of some prisoners."
"Only the ones that won't come back to bite me. For the most part I stay out of the criminal justice system. I can see someone going after the Judge, or their arresting officer, but few would dare to come after me personally. Besides, why leave the city? They'd be safer abducting Taran and keeping her inside Sanctuary."
"What about someone outside of Sanctuary?"
I open my mouth to deny the existence of Outsiders, only to trip over my own thoughts. "Motherfucker," I snarl. "He took her." I turn to Stryker. "That Outsider I set free a few weeks ago. Talon. He told me Taran has a sister. Seemed to take an interest in Taran."
Stryker absorbs the information and then nods slowly. "Two sisters would be worth a lot. Especially if the other looks anything like your bird. Where's the sister at?"
"Santa Fe Sanctuary."
"Then we're going Northeast, Commander. He probably intends to sell her. But even if that's not his plan, he'll need supplies."
"You sure?" I ask impatiently, cranking the wheel and heading around the wall toward the East.
He shrugs. "We'll know soon enough when we start seeing fresh tracks. Let's hope he intends to sell her and wants her intact."
The alternative doesn't bear thinking. I can't cope with the idea that we'll find her beaten, raped body in the desert, picked to the bone by Primitive scavengers.