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AMITA RED CLOUD GRABBED her radio and called her father, but no one answered the line.
She looked at Widow and said, “What if Shepard has already moved in? We’ve got to get back there!”
Widow nodded and said, “I’ll call Shepard.”
Widow pulled out the sat phone again and called Shepard.
The phone rang and rang a long minute. Then finally, quiet breathing came over the receiver, and a voice answered in a whisper.
“Widow?” Shepard said.
“Yes. I have him.”
“Who?”
Widow said, “Your man. Jacobs. And I found the case you’re looking for.”
Shepard paused. He signaled at his men to halt their assault on the community center.
“You’ve got the case?”
“I have the case, and Jacobs.”
“Is he alive?”
Widow said, “He is. And your diamonds are here waiting for you.”
“What are you doing?” Amita whispered.
Silence fell over the line, and then Shepard said, “So then you know the truth?”
Widow said, “I do. I know that you are a murderous piece of shit.”
More silence.
“Be careful, son. I’ve got bigger guns than you.”
“Where are you?” Widow asked.
Shepard said, “I’m in the middle of an interesting operation.”
“The community center?”
Shepard paused then asked, “How’d you know that?” He looked around the parking lot of the community center, thinking maybe Widow was watching him this very second.
“Because of the tracking device, I found. We figured you would come.”
“You found it? What about the boy?”
Widow said, “He’s here with me. We’re all here. Everyone who matters. Come and get us. We’ll give you what you want. No one needs to die. We just want to be rid of you.”
Shepard said, “If I don’t get my diamonds, you’ll all die!”
Silence came over the line.
Widow said, “Tell me something. How did you get that scar across your face?”
“A lucky African hit me with a machete. It was dull. Got stuck in my face. Lucky me. But the African wasn’t so lucky. He’s dead...along with his family. Don’t mess with me, or you’ll get the same.”
Widow stayed quiet.
Then Shepard said, “I come there, and you’ll give me the diamonds and the boy?”
“I’ll give you the diamonds. You don’t need the boy or Jacobs. They’re free from you now. Come get the diamonds, and then go.”
After a long minute, Shepard said, “You got a deal, Widow. But if you try to screw me, I’ll level this reservation to nothing but rubble and snow. You got it?”
“Just come and get your diamonds.”
Shepard didn’t say another word. He hung up, and the line went dead. Widow switched the phone off and stared at it. He wondered if it had a tracking chip in it, too. Regardless, he figured it was probably traceable. So he took the phone and slammed it into the wall, crushing it into tiny pieces.
“Why’d you do that?” Amita asked.
“In case he has a tracer in it.”
“What if we need to talk to him again?”
“We won’t. Either he’ll be dead, or we will.”
Jacobs said, “He’s not going to let us go free.”
Widow said, “We aren’t going to let him go free, either.”
Amita said, “We need the state cops. I can’t arrest them by myself.”
Widow said, “No one’s getting arrested.”