A Warranted Box Set

by Shannon Nemechek

  “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask about that. What’s the deal between them? Are they a couple? Cuz if they ain’t, they should be.”

  Matt laughed. “Yeah, they are. Good observation. They told the general the other day. It’s pretty serious, too.”

  “I knew it. It’s the way they look at each other. They put on one hell of an act, though, and she never breaks protocol, but to me, it’s pretty obvious.”

  “I thought so, too. They told me quite a while ago. I’m happy for them. Sammie is a good woman, and she keeps Raleigh in line. After his string of bad relationships, she is a real breath of fresh air, and as a bonus, she looks really good too.”

  Then men laughed then started reviewing more video as they waited for Samantha to arrive.

  ***

  Raleigh

  The sound of Raleigh’s alarm raised him. As he sat up in bed, he reached for his cell phone to call Samantha. Besides missing the hell out of her, he wanted to find out if they found anything from the closed-circuit cameras. Dialing her number, he waited one ring, two, then three until the sixth ring, then it went to voicemail again.

  Where the hell is that woman?

  Searching through his contacts, he found Matt’s number then dialed him.

  Matt answered on the second ring. “Hey what’s up, brother?”

  “Hey, Matty. Is Sammie with you?”

  “No, she hasn’t gotten to the office yet. Why, what’s up?” Matt asked.

  “Well, I’ve called her twice, and it’s went to voicemail. That’s not like her,” Raleigh said, his voice now more urgent.

  “Let me ask Chance. Hold one.”

  Matt turned to Chance Maxwell. “You heard from O’Hara yet?”

  Chance quickly replied, “No. Why, should we worry?”

  “Hey, Chief. He hasn’t, either. You want us to go to the hotel to check on her?” Matt offered.

  Now panic started to take over Raleigh, but he tried not to let it sound like it. “Yeah, go check and let me know. I am gonna call Jared’s momma and check on Jerold, then I am heading to the airport to get the first flight out. Let me know as soon as you get there. Okay?”

  “Of course, Raleigh, no problem. Give us a few minutes, and I will call you once we get to the hotel.” Matt hung up the phone and looked at Chance. Without saying a word, the two men stood up, Matt grabbed his keys, and they ran out of the post office to Chance’s car then headed to the hotel.

  ***

  Matt

  When the pair arrived at the hotel parking lot, Matt saw Samantha’s truck and immediately noticed the driver’s side door stood wide open. Chance pulled his car in and parked directly behind Samantha’s truck. When they both got out, Matt walked to the driver’s side while Chance went to the passenger side.

  Matt was the first to peer inside and gasped. “Do you see that, Chance? That’s Sammie’s bag and her cell phone. Run inside to the front desk and have them let you into her room.”

  Chance ran inside and up to the front desk, explaining to the clerk that he needed a manager ASAP. After Chance pulled out his badge, the clerk finally complied. Within a few minutes, Chance and the hotel manager had gained entry to the room and found nothing—no Samantha. Chance called down to Matt.

  “Best get on the horn and call the locals,” Chance said as he made his way outside with the hotel manager in tow. When he arrived, Matt was just getting Raleigh on the phone.

  “Raleigh, man, you need to get on the next flight back. We got to the hotel, and Samantha isn’t here. When we arrived, her truck door was wide open, and her bag and cell phone were inside. The locals are on their way.”

  ***

  Raleigh

  As Raleigh heard the words, his heart sank and his pulse quickened. He wasn’t at all sure he wouldn’t pass out. But he shook out of it and finally replied, “Who? Why?”

  “Have you talked to Samantha at all, Raleigh?”

  “No, I told you I’ve been trying to reach her.” Raleigh snorted.

  “Okay, brother, well you might want to sit down for this.”

  “Why? Just fucking tell me, Matty!” Raleigh was fuming, and he knew he shouldn’t yell at Matt, but Samantha was missing, and to Raleigh, if he lost Sammie, he lost everything.

  “Okay, ya know yesterday we were reviewing tapes much of the day and all the way till about two a.m. this morning. As we reviewed, Samantha found something, and well, you aren’t gonna be happy about it.”

  “Out with it, damn it! The more time it takes you to explain to me, the longer it will take to get her back. Now fucking tell me!”

  “He’s alive!”

  “Who’s alive?”

  “Saheed. Saheed. Is. Alive, Fitz.”

  “What do you mean, he’s alive? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re gonna joke now?” Raleigh screamed.

  “It’s not a joke, Raleigh. It’s true. We all saw him plain as day on closed circuit video from the jail. He looked right at the camera going in and leaving the night Jared and Semeana were killed.”

  “Holy shit, you aren’t kidding. Then this is all Saheed. He has her. He must have her. Wait, why did you guys leave her alone after you found out he was still alive?”

  “Well, Fitz, I tried, but Sammie wouldn’t have it.”

  “That’s no fucking excuse! I don’t care if she wouldn’t have liked it. You should’ve stayed!” Raleigh screamed at his friend. “If she dies, it’s on both your heads. Yours and Maxwell’s. Find my fiancée, Matt, or I swear to the good Lord above, I will kill you both!”

  “Fitz, I know you are upset, and I am sorry. I really am. As soon as the locals get here, we are gonna start combing through papers and the video footage and see if we can’t get a lead. I really am sorry. None of us could’ve imagined he would take her,” Matt replied, then before he could say any more, Chance Maxwell grabbed the phone.

  “Fitz, I am sending my plane to pick you up at the airport. It will be there in an hour.” Raleigh thanked him and said his goodbyes.

  ***

  Raleigh needed to call Nancy Thompson and find out how Jerold’s surgery went then gather up his bag and head to the airport. “Ms. Nancy, it’s Raleigh. Have they taken Jerold back to surgery yet?”

  “They are just prepping him now, Raleigh. Are you going to swing by today?”

  “Ms. Nancy, that’s why I called. Something with Samantha has come up. It’s serious, and I must get back ASAP. Can you call me as soon as the surgery is over? I will have Macalister jump on a plane as soon as physically possible to help with everything.”

  “Is everything okay, Raleigh?”

  “Well, Ms. Nancy, to be honest, I am scared. I can’t go into details right now, but it’s dangerous and I gotta get back.”

  “Go, Raleigh. I will be fine. You go and take care of that girl. We will be fine until you get back.”

  “Thank you, Ms. Nancy. I promise I will call you as soon as I touch down in Fayetteville.”

  “That’s all right, Raleigh. I will let you know as soon as Jerold is out of surgery. Now go save your girl.”

  Raleigh hung up the phone then started gathering up what little he had with him and tossed it all into his bag. As he tossed his lucky Alabama blanket into the bag, he thought of Samantha and how scared she must be, and his eyes started to well up. He wondered if Saheed had hurt her, and the thought of Saheed touching her made him want to kill him with his bare hands. Folding up the blanket, Raleigh wiped his eyes and resolved that this would be the last time he would ever deal with Saheed. If it was the last thing he ever did, he would kill Saheed Al-Balshera and rid the world of him and his organization. He only had a few minutes to get to the airport to meet the plane, so Raleigh tossed his bag over his shoulder, closed out his hotel bill, and headed out.

  Chapter 22

  Chance

  When Matt and Chance finally arrived back at the post office, they got right to work combing through all the documents and evidence they had already collected. Many of the documents
were banking and real estate as well as CIA-collected evidence on Al-Balshera’s organization. Chance worked the real estate holdings while Matt shuffled through the banking stuff. It wasn’t long before Chance rose from his piles of papers with an idea.

  “Matt, do me a favor and help me check Senator Warren’s property holdings.”

  “Why Warren?” Matty asked, somewhat puzzled.

  “Just a hunch, really. Check them and let me know what you find out. Specifically look for warehouses,” Chance explained as he started.

  “Oh, I gotcha, I think I know where you’re going with this.”

  As the pair shuffled through their piles, sometimes pausing to fill their coffee cups or use the latrine, the time dragged. And with time clicking away for Samantha, they had to find something quickly.

  Chance stood up from his desk and screamed, “I think I got something!”

  The pair stopped what they were doing, then Matt grabbed some geographical maps and began to plot them. As they continued to dig through the mountains of documents, they started finding more and more warehouse property listings in the DC area, most near the water front and one listing in Fayetteville—an old blue jeans factory. Each location was pinned on the map so they could have clear view of where each property was and what they were currently being used for.

  “You see most of these are concentrated all in one area, Matty.”

  “Yeah, I see that, but what I am not seeing in the records is what they are being used for.”

  Chance paused and started thumbing through a few months of banking documents.

  “I am not finding anything in these that reference rental to anyone or merchandise purchases for himself to store his own purchases inside.” Chance thumbed through a few more. “I think we need to bring the fine Senator in and find out what he does in these warehouses.”

  “I agree. Chance, call your guy at the agency and see if they can get the Department of Justice to issue search warrants, and get a warrant out for the Senator, but tell ‘em to keep it on the down low. We don’t need the media getting ahold of this.”

  “I would bet a million bucks that those bastard Al-Balshera brothers are right here in Fayetteville, but we need to get Senator Warren in here. I’ll call a friend of mine at the Agency that can push the warrants through. I’ll tell ‘em to concentrate on getting the Fayetteville warrants first.” Chance grabbed his cell and dialed while Matt pulled out their equipment. He needed to inventory what breaching equipment they had and request what else they would need to rescue Samantha once they figured out where the brothers had her.

  When Chance hung up the phone, he said, “You are not gonna believe this. Guess who happens to be in town campaigning?”

  “Wild guess—Senator Warren,” Matty replied.

  “Yep!”

  “Do we know where he is at right now?” Matty asked.

  “Sure do! He is speaking at the Marriott. Some big campaign fundraiser. So we are going to have to wait to pick him up afterward and do it on the down low.”

  ***

  Matt

  Matt’s face started to burn with rage as he thought about having to keep everything on quiet to avoid media attention, but he knew it was best. “Don’t know why we gotta protect that crooked son-of-a-bitch’s reputation when we know he is all part of this shit storm.”

  Chance’s reply was quick to point out, “Well, brother, we gotta do what we gotta do to keep Sammie safe, and once we have her back, then you can bury the motherfucker.”

  “Deal!” Matt replied, glancing down at his watch. “Chief should be landing soon. I am guessing he will probably have the base shuttle bring him on post since he didn’t ask for a ride.”

  “Where’s his truck?” Chance asked then quickly stepping his question back once he saw Matt’s face of non-reply. “That was Chief’s truck in the parking lot. Fuck, I am losing my fucking mind lately. Damn.”

  “Just keep packing!” Matt replied. “Once Chief gets here, he is gonna want to interrogate Senator Warren, so we need to get going.”

  ***

  Raleigh

  Raleigh’s leg did a continuous thumping the entire flight, and the poor passenger next to him, an elderly woman in her seventies, attempted to calm Raleigh down, but she didn’t have much luck. She kept him busy chatting here and there, and he would forget for a moment then the shaking would start in again.

  “Young man, is everything okay?” she asked.

  “Ma’am, I’m sorry, am I disturbing you? I don’t mean to. When I am nervous or worried, I get a tad jumpy.”

  The old woman smiled and put her hand on Raleigh’s shoulder. “Oh, sweetheart, I promise the plane won’t crash.”

  “Oh, ma’am, it isn’t that. It’s something, well, I can’t talk about it, but it’s a really bad thing.” Raleigh attempted to explain himself, but he was failing miserably.

  “Nothing is that bad, son, that can’t be undone or fixed. I am sure once you explain to your girl what you did, she’ll forgive you.” Raleigh smiled at the woman then resigned himself to the fact he couldn’t tell her the real reason he was as nervous as a jack rabbit on crack. Instead, he smiled and agreed with her and attempted to keep his leg in check.

  It wasn’t long before he felt the rattle of the plane as it slowly descended into the Fayetteville airport. Attempting to make sure he was one of the first off the plane, he grabbed his bag and stuffed it under the seat in front of him. At least I have an aisle seat and near the front. I can grab and run to catch the first shuttle to post. His mind kept wandering as the plane came closer to the ground. I hope she is okay. I don’t know what I would do if I lost her. Just hold on, Sammie. I will be there as quickly as I can. These words kept repeating in his mind: I can’t lose you! I just found you!

  When the plane finally touched down, Raleigh already had his bag in his lap and his seat belt unbuckled. It was go time, and he had no time to lose. As the flight attendants opened the door to allow the passengers off, Raleigh was already waiting. The flight attendant at the door wasn’t pleased that Raleigh assisted her in opening the door, but he flashed his signature smile at her, and she melted like sweet cream butter on a hot dinner roll. He laughed to himself at the reactions of some women to his smile, but it worked every time.

  Once the door was open and Raleigh got the chance to pull his cell phone out of his pocket and turn it on, he was already at the shuttle waiting area.

  One text. Two texts.

  Raleigh clicked on the messages icon, and an unknown number appeared. He clicked on the first message, and a photo appeared. It was Samantha, tied and gagged and a bomb strapped around her torso.

  Unknown: We want a flight out of the country and the release of all our bank accounts. If these two things happen then we will release the woman once we get to Afghanistan.

  Unknown: If we do not get what we want we will blow up two national monuments in Washington, DC, every three hours until we do. We will contact you in two hours.

  Raleigh wanted to reply with a threat of his own, but he held off and instead forwarded the messages to Matt and Chance as well as General Andrews to appraise them of the heightened situation and his status.

  Raleigh: I am on the ground.

  ***

  Matt

  It was enough, though, when the three men received their texts; they knew it was getting close to go time. Matt and Chance had already made it to the hotel and back with the Senator, who had made it a point to demand his lawyer. It took all Matt had not to bust the Senator in the jaw, but they couldn’t show their hand yet. They had to find out everything they could from him and attempt to make a deal if they had to.

  Matt and Chance had no idea how long it would take Raleigh to get there, but they knew there was gonna be hell to pay once he did. So the two did all they could to prepare as much as possible. They stuffed the Senator in a room at the post office to await his lawyer while they grabbed what they could so they could brief Raleigh once he arrived.

&nb
sp; Grabbing some of the paperwork he had sitting on his desk, Matt asked Chance, “Did you grab the maps and property listing? We’ll set up in the common area, so we can brief Chief once he gets here.”

  “Yeah, I got it all. Do you have the banking stuff?” Chance replied.

  “Right here. Let’s get set up, and by then, that crooked ass lawyer of the Senator’s should be here.”

  “Roger that.”

  As the men prepared, it wasn’t long until Raleigh burst into the building, yelling profanity and screaming for the two men.

  “You get that piece of shit Senator yet?” Raleigh screamed as he flung open the common area door to find Matt and Chance shuffling papers on the long conference table. “Where is that son of a bitch? I know he knows where Sammie is, and I wanna beat it outta him.”

  “Whoa there, cowboy. We gotta wait on his attorney.” Chance knew he just took his life into his own hands, standing in front of Raleigh, his arm outstretched holding the six-foot two-inch Irishman with all the muscle strength he had.

  “I don’t gotta wait on shit. I wanna know where ya stuffed that piece of shit so I can find out where his buddies are holding Sammie. They got her strapped to a bomb in some building, and I wanna know where and I wanna know now. Not when his attorney gets here and tells him not to talk. Now, when I can beat the shit outta him until he talks.” Raleigh pushed his way past Chance, only to be stopped by Matt.

  “Chief, you know you can’t beat him.” Matt tried to reason with him, but there was nothing that was going to stop Raleigh Fitzgerald. He was determined to get to the Senator, so instead of stopping him Matt quickly thought of an alternative. “Okay, Chief, Chance and I will take you to the Senator, but you have to promise not to lay a hand on him and let us do the talking. You just stand there in the corner looking like you do right now. If you do that, I bet he talks.”