Chapter 242: Chapter Two-Hundred and Forty-Two

London nodded. “Yeah, big fucking deal. Nathan Dalton is a drunkard and a monster when it comes to his children. In the four years since our mother died, my father has changed for the worst. Now I don’t even know him anymore.”

“Is he likely to come after his son?” one of the older men with a patch of Wilder wanted to know.

London shook her head. “I doubt it. He probably won’t even know Chris isn’t at home for a few more days.”

Hawkins glared at her. “How can the man not even know his kids aren’t there?”

London sneered as she explained, in pure disgust, “Because the man is a bastard and he turned his back on us when Chris was born deaf.” She paused, then asked, “Can I see my brother?”

Hawkins nodded then turned and opened the door. He led the way inside.

When London stepped into the main room, she was looking around and finally caught sight of Chris. She called out his name and then shook her head as she knew he couldn’t hear her. She was just so glad to see him safe, she acted out before she thought first.

Suddenly, Chris looked up and caught sight of her. Rushing to get up, he ran to her.

London gulped heavily with tears in her eyes as she stood there with her arms spread wide. When he crashed into her, she quickly wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. Both brother and sister had tears on their cheeks as they hugged.

London ran her hands over his shoulders protectively. Then she held his head away from her and checked him over carefully. Finally, she asked him, “Are you okay?”

Chris nodded and embraced her again. They both walked over to the table.

A beautiful smiling woman joined them. “Hi, I’m Cat Gannon, I’m the one who called you this morning.”

“London Dalton and thank you for taking care of Chris for me.” London looked at her brother and shook her head. “When I got home last night and couldn’t find him, I panicked. I hardly slept at all, wondering where he went and praying he was okay when you called.”

Chris patted her arm to get her attention then he began to sign.

London’s expression showed her shock at first then she felt very pissed off.

He told her of the dark, of how he was so sore and how he thought he might fall into the deep darkness of those caves, never to see light again.

She signed back. Telling him she was glad to see him safe. She was sorry she had been at work and couldn’t help him.

Chris shook his head sadly. After a long, fluent conversion, he pointed at a man he called Boots. Telling her of how he had helped him. But he wondered who would be named after a pair of shoes. Then he told her about the sweet Cat doing nice things for him but that she should be called Kitten or Sugar Bell.

London cracked a smile and shook her head. Chris had his own way of viewing the world.

“Well, what did he say?” Hawkins barked out. “Does he know who carried him into the tunnels?”

London had heard that part too from Chris. She turned to the group as a whole and told them, “Yeah, he just said that he was knocked out yesterday and when he woke up, he was already in the tunnels. He panicked and started going the wrong way. That he was so scared and then he saw the lights and he feared someone was going to hurt him. That's why he fought with you guys last night. He said you helped him.” She glanced at Boots.

“So he doesn’t know who knocked him out?” Boots asked.

“Oh yes, he knows and so do I and I’m gonna kill him this time,” London vowed. Tears welled in her eyes but she refused to let them stream down her face in front of all these strangers. She wiped her eyes as she seethed. “This is the last time he hurts Chris. I’m done.”

“Woah girl, settle down.” Hawkins growled.  “What’s going on here? Is this something big enough that we need to know about or what?”

“Yes, most don’t know about it. There’s an element in town that’s been here for a while already,” London told them. “But nobody knows because they aren’t making a big fuss yet. My dad got mixed up in something that could wreck this town. It could hurt a lot of people and he’s too dumb to even know what these bastards are really doing here.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Hawkins asked.

“This group got here seven years ago. They’ve been watching us and how we do things for a reason.”

“Who the hell are they watching and what on earth for?” Wilder wanted to know.

“They need some land to process the drugs they’re bringing up the river,” London explained. “They bring up the raw product, then they refine the process in their labs and ship it back downriver again. My dad is helping them.  My mom found out and they killed her for it. That was four years ago now and Dad is drinking himself to death just to avoid the guilt he feels.” She shrugged as the men around the room growled. “I guess his new friends want to keep their secret. My mom threatened them and they took care of her for good. Now Dad is starting to get belligerent and this was their way of making him behave, hiding Chris in those caves. Dad doesn’t even know he’s missing yet.”

“Who gave Chris all the bruises?” Boots finally spoke up.

“Probably my dad.” London sighed heavily. “When he drinks he’s not always nice. Hell, who am I kidding? He’s not a nice man ever. It's his fault that Chris is deaf. He would hit my mom when she was pregnant all the time. He beat her once so bad she thought she would lose the baby. I was just a kid at the time so I couldn’t help her much either. After we buried Mom, Dad made me stay at home to take care of Chris. He wouldn’t let me take custody of him if I wasn’t living there but Chris won’t be living there anymore.”

“So who are these guys that are running the drug lab here?” Titan asked her.

“They run the local garage and call themselves The Car Guys. There are five of them and they only run it as a cover for their real jobs. They live out on the old Rucker farm. That’s where they make all the money.”

Titan looked around the room then at London. “The Car Guys repair shop is all but closed now.”

London nodded. “It's five guys. Ronnie, Luther, Johnny, Abe, and Sonny. Ronnie and Abe always stayed mostly out at the farm getting things set up. Once they got going, they stayed out there all the time. Now they spend most of the time there anyway. That's why the garage is mostly shut down.”