Austin’s POV

Thursday afternoon, 4:37 P.M. I was sitting on the couch, watching TV and nervously folding my hands together. Alan had talked to a man named Tristin earlier today about what had happened to Kynder. He said that she had met with him and a bunch of other alley runners a few days ago to discuss the situation. While he was not happy about our profession, he said he would get the word out and group the alley runners together Friday evening for a meeting with us.

Aaron had a plan, and right now he was talking to Jack and Alex over the phone about coming down Friday. After telling them what had happened, Alex said that Jack had sprinted to his room and grabbed the car keys.

I was panicked and my mind was all over the place. Homeless gangs going to save Kynder, Alan munching on popcorn, the hotel maid being snobby, Tino’s garden, the man named Ghost we met at Moab, Kynder being locked in chains.

I couldn’t gather my scattered thoughts.

Okay, this will be all good. We’ll all save Kynder and she’ll be fine. I had to tell myself over and over. Aaron said he had a plan on how to take back Kynder, but he would explain as soon as he was off the phone.

Alan continued to munch popcorn loudly.

“Okay, thanks guys. Just meet us at the hill to the west of Denver, just beyond the train yard. See you then.” He clicked off his cell and sat down with me. I turned off the screen and faced him.

“So….the plan?” I asked him, worry still occupying my thoughts.

“Kynder is gone somewhere west, right? Well when I was talking to Tristin, he said that he knew a man that would tell us where Miles probably is. I don’t think he’s at his old house, but ran somewhere else.” Aaron explained. Alan sat up.

“Okay, so once we find out where Kynder is, what do we do?” Alan said through a mouthful. Aaron rolled his eyes at the ginger’s sloppiness.

“Look, the place will probably be heavily guarded, right? Tristin thought that since Miles has a bunch of men in grey running around the city, or he used to, that the place will have some security. To rescue Kynder, we’re going to gather a large group and go after the house.” Aaron smiled, proud of his plan. I raised an eyebrow, still having more questions to be answered.

“How many are going to be here?” I asked. Aaron produced a slip of paper from his pocket.

“Tristin is going to collect a group of about ten or so. Jack and Alex are on their way here, plus we have this number.” He handed the sheet to me. The name read Chris on the top, plus the ten digits.

“Okay, so if whoever Chris is decides to come down, we have about sixteen people, including us?” I raised an eyebrow.

“How are we transporting sixteen people in two cars?!” Alan cried out in desperation.

“By train, of course!” Aaron laughed. I shook my head.

“We don’t even know where this guy lives!” I cried out in desperation. Aaron had apparently already solved this issue and opened his mouth to speak when a knock rang out in the space between breaths.

“That’s the guy, Brecker.” Aaron went and opened the door. A man with a jacket that hung off his skinny frame came in. He wore baggy jeans and a tired expression. Aaron motioned for him to sit in a chair and join our little circle.

The man seemed to be intrigued by all the nice amenities in the small hotel room. Alan and I watched him carefully as Aaron began to talk to him.

“I’m Aaron, this is Alan and Austin.” He began to introduce himself.

“I’m Brecker, Brecker Buyers.” He sighed longingly. I caught myself. Buyers? As in, the brother to Miles.

“Yes, I’m his brother.” The man read my expression and I only nodded. Brecker shook his head angrily.

“So you know where he is?” Aaron asked. Brecker nodded, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. The time kept ticking away. We only had so long before Kynder’s time wore out.

“Miles is my brother. He got rich off this industry and taking innocent girls off the streets. I disapproved and was kicked out of his house. I was between jobs and he was giving me a place to stay at the time. After I saw him nearly drown a girl, I retaliated against him and he threw me out, saying he never wanted to see my face again. I always hated what he did, and how he treated the poor girls. Before he tossed me, we talked about the estate that he owned. There was a place in Nevada near the border. He owned a place up in New York, but he had a third estate in Aspen, into the mountain areas.” Brecker explained, his covered hands fiddling nervously. The fingers were cut off and like texting gloves.

“Do you think he went to the Aspen house?” Alan asked curiously. Brecker affirmed it.

“He always like that place best. It acted like his headquarter for most of his work. It’s highly guarded because he has all his collectors staying there. It’s tight security.” The old man warned us before standing to leave.

“Thank you for helping us out, Brecker.” Aaron shook his hand. The old man nodded with a faint memory of a smile.

“Anything for Kynder. She had some friends stay with her when I last saw her. I’ll see if I can contact them and get them to come down here. I know Tristin was gathering a bunch of people for you.” He nodded and turned to leave. Our numbers were growing. Once he was gone, Aaron picked up the phone.

“I’m calling Chris’s number.” He told me before walking out.

And so the rescue team grew.

Notes