ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

Soni turned her head and stood when she heard a gunshot and then a woof.

"Manos arriba, senorita," bellowed a man from the front door - the opposite direction of the sounds she had heard.

Soni set her rifle on the chair and raised her hands.

TODAY'S POST:

Soni heard the crack of a rifle. Her predator fell as she glanced toward the direction of the sound. She sighed when she saw Tatiana holding a rifle.

Before she could relax, she heard, "Soni!" She reached for her rifle and slammed the butt of it into her prisoner's gut.

The man stumbled backward, held his stomach and groaned.

She watched Jim and Butkus walk in her direction. Jim shoved a tall slender man holding his right shoulder. "I see you got even with them for your shoulder wounds," she teased.

"Very true, and Butkus did his job." Jim motioned his head toward a second prisoner, who held his left forearm, dripping with blood. "Tatiana, I see you got your man."

"Sure did. They didn't know I was in the kitchen."

"I wish help would show up. I doubt these men are our only problems." Soni used her rifle to direct the new prisoners to join the first one. "Now we have three." She petted the large mastiff on the head before she sat. "Now we wait."

Jim removed his cell phone. "I think Homeland Security needs to hurry." He pressed some numbers and walked away to talk in private.

Soni watched Jim from her seat. If he weren't here, things would be a lot different, and it wouldn't be for the better.

"They moved up their ETA. They should be here in about fifteen minutes. Have any of our friends decided to talk?" Jim pointed at the three prisoners.

"Nope. I'm guessing ETA means..." Soni paused to think.

"Estimated time of arrive." Jim grinned.

"Of course. They just blankly stare. Nobody seems to want to talk." Soni turned her head toward Tatiana. "Should we patch up their wounds?"

"They've done nothing for us. Maybe the longer they bleed the more willing they'll be to talk." Tatiana turned and walked to the kitchen.

Soni rubbed her stomach. "I think we missed lunch."

"My stomach's complaining too." Jim pulled a chair beside her.

"I hear you. I'll bring something out in a couple of minutes," Tatiana called from the kitchen.

Jim's eyes met the original prisoner's eyes. "I bet you'd like some water. As soon as you talk, that could be arranged." He took time to stare individually the other two men. "Your wounds could be patched, if you talk."

The man Butkus captured mumbled something in Spanish.

"I know you understand English, so speak it."

He shook his head.

"The way I got it figured is you belong to the Sinaloa Cartel. If you talk, you're dead, and if you're arrested, you're dead, so you're dead either way. What I don't understand is why you're bothering these innocent people. They've done nothing to you. They must have something you want? But I can't figure out what. So tell me." Jim stood face to face with the man.

The man avoided eye contact but pointed at Soni. "Ask her. She knows."

Jim's eyebrows rose as he looked at Soni. "You know?"

"I don't know anything?" Soni's eyebrows rose and her mouth opened. "I never saw him before."

"You don't know me; senorita, but you know my boss very well."

"Who's your boss?"



I'm sorry if I've made stupid mistakes, I was doing a final edit and my 20 year old cat was lying on OUR driveway sunning herself and a large dog came and attacked her. My husband ran out and the dog's owner was upset because Whiskers scratched his nose. She's in shock and I am not sure she is going to make it through the night.