He turned to all of us, shaking his head slightly. “Okay, all of this is hearsay. I didn’t think any of it was true. I mean, it was all water cooler talk. There’s no evidence that any of this is true, but…it would make sense.”
“Then fucking tell us,” I snapped. “They have my wife!”
“You said that, but who is they?”
“I don’t fucking know. Whoever’s behind this. They took Kate to get to me.”
“Shit. Knight, I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” I said angrily. “Just help me figure this out so I can get her back.”
“Okay,” he nodded. “So, the rumor is that there’s some conspiracy going on, a plan to take down the president.”
“Those happen every day,” Cap said.
“Yeah, but this was drastic. It was basically a group of senators that couldn’t find a way to beat the president at a second term, so they wanted to flip the odds in their favor.”
“Wait, so this doesn’t have to do with a terrorist attack or something?”
Caldwell shook his head. “Not if the rumors are true. Whatever they were planning, it was happening soon, to give enough time for everything to kick in before the election.”
“How the fuck does a virus change an election?” Derek asked.
“Fear,” I responded.
“Yeah, but this virus goes beyond fear,” Cap pointed out. “This virus will kill most anyone on the planet.”
“Not if they didn’t intend for it to be this bad,” Hunter said. “Remember, Becky said that from what she could tell, the lab combined these different viruses, but they probably never assumed it would turn into this super soldier virus.”
“If that’s the case, they’re probably having trouble finding a vaccination for it,” I surmised.
“I bet they would be,” Hunter said. “Viruses are complicated, but to put together a bunch of them, that’s asking for a storm of side effects you would never expect. Creating a vaccination for this would be nearly impossible and would take longer than normal.”
“Yeah, but if you’ve got a deadly virus waiting to meet you at every corner, your last thought is about the election.” Sinner asked.
“Not true,” Caldwell said. “Let’s say that news of a deadly virus broke. What’s the first thing that would happen?”
“Most people would shrug it off,” Derek said.
“Right, until mortality rates started coming out,” Caldwell said. “The virus starts to spread and the fear ramps up.”
“Government takes over,” I added. “The people need someone to stand strong and tell them everything’s going to be okay.”
“But with a virus this deadly, there’s nothing the president can say to make this okay for people.”
Hunter nodded along. “People start staying inside, thinking if they don’t go anywhere, the virus can’t get them.”
“People start stockpiling food, water, and other essentials like it’s the apocalypse,” Burg added. “Soon, there are supply shortages. Companies can’t keep up with the demand, and the workers don’t want to work because they’re afraid they’re going to get the virus. The economy basically shuts down.”
“Then the government comes up with plans to shut down states, enforce martial law in the name of keeping people safe,” I added. “Government steps in and takes over, saying they know best how to protect people.”
“You’re thinking too small,” Caldwell sighed in frustration. “These people want to sway the election. It’s not just about causing the problem, it’s about fixing it and making sure the American people are so reliant on them that they feel the need to make a change in power. They want the people to see that the current president isn’t giving them what they need.”
“So Cortez is working with people in the senate with a similar viewpoint, people that can see his vision.”
“They’re not just working with him. Cortez can’t be the leader,” Caldwell said. “He’s a junior senator. He has the drive and the ambition, but he’s not the brains behind this whole thing. It’s not possible. He’s got to have other senators on his side, that think the same as him. They have to not only drive home how deadly this virus is, but then have a solution at every corner to make people feel safer.”
“Except it’s going to kill everyone in the end, because they created a supervirus,” Hunter said slowly. “And once it gets out, they have no way of stopping it.”
“If they created this, you know they’re working on a vaccine. So, the main objective is to get the virus out there enough to destroy all the good that’s been built up,” I said, ticking off the next part on my fingers. “Shut down businesses, tank the stock market, millions lose their jobs, people are scared out of their minds. Basically, we’re talking about a non-functioning society.”
“And then the senators put forth a plan that will help jumpstart everything,” Hunter scoffed. “The lab they’ve been working with comes up with the miracle vaccination that will cure everyone or keep those not yet infected from getting sick.”
“And everyone applauds the senators that worked so hard to get it into the right lab to find the cure,” Cap scoffed.
“No, this isn’t about applauding the senators. They’re not looking for recognition. They’re looking at shining a light on any possible fault the president makes while this is happening. They point out how the economy has collapsed and they propose the best way to give people back their homes and their jobs. And of course, the right presidential candidate would back it one hundred percent,” Cap said.
“The problem is, Cortez has gone missing,” Caldwell informed us. “Nobody has heard from him since yesterday. His aides can’t reach him, and the senate appropriations committee hasn’t spoken to him either. The FBI was notified two hours ago that he’s missing.” Caldwell glanced at me warily. “They said there was a break-in at his house, but the FBI is keeping it low profile until they have more answers.”
“He’s missing because he’s down in our basement,” I answered smoothly.
“He’s-” He glanced away, shaking his head slightly. “I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve known you long enough, but still…Knight, you can’t just fucking kidnap a senator!”
“I can and I did,” I said very bluntly. “And I’ll kidnap any other fucking senator that has anything to do with my wife’s disappearance if it means I get her back.”
Caldwell sighed and motioned for us to go. “Well, I’m already involved. I might as well see how I can help.”
We made our way over to Reed Security and down to the basement, the place where normally nobody aside from us would be aware of. It wasn’t on the blueprints and the elevator didn’t have any buttons for it. You had to enter a special code when you got on the elevator in order to get there. Caldwell watched in amazement as we made our way down the hallways to the room Cortez was being held in.
I turned back one last time to face Caldwell. “Jim, are you sure you want to be part of this? There’s no way you can walk away from this.”
“If all this is true, there’s no fucking way I’m walking away. I’d like to think that you keep coming back to me for help because you know I’m one of the good ones. I don’t think I could call myself a good agent if I walked away from a plot like this and pretended I didn’t know anything.”
I nodded and opened the door. Cortez was hanging from his arms by chains from the ceiling. Blood dripped from his body and ran in little rivers to the drain.
“So, Cortez, not only did you have my wife kidnapped, but you’re planning on unleashing a deadly virus on the population.”
He sneered at me through his battered face. “The plans are already in motion. You can’t stop them.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. See, you fucked with me when you took someone I love. You’re going to tell me everyone that’s involved in all of this. How painful it is, that’s up to you.”
“It doesn’t matter if I tell you or not. Like I said, it’s already in mot
ion. You can’t stop it now.”
I grabbed his leg and slammed my foot into his knee, snapping his leg. He screamed out, gripping the chains above his head even tighter.
“You want more? I can keep going!”
I picked up a chair and swung it at his ribs. The metal crushed his ribs, breaking most of the ribs on his right side.
“Still not enough?”
“Even if I tell you,” he wheezed, “it won’t stop anything.”
“Tell me where my wife is and I might let you live.”
“She’s dead no matter what.”
My hand flew out, wrapping around his neck. “You’re lying. You need her alive.”
Blood spilled from the corner of his lip. “Everyone outlives their usefulness.”
I pulled out my knife and slowly slid it between his ribs. His cries of pain quickly turned to gasps for air. I could tell that the pain wasn’t enough though. He was scared for sure, but he wasn’t terrified yet. I dragged the knife up his chest, cutting at his shirt and cutting through his skin on the way up to his neck. Once I reached his face, I dug the knife in hard, cutting so deep that no cosmetic surgery would ever fix it. His pleas fell on deaf ears. I would never give mercy to such a coward. When I got to his eye and started pushing the knife in, that’s when he really started yelling and begging.
“Stop! I’ll tell you!”
I held the knife there just for a moment before pulling back and flipping the knife in my hand. “Who else is involved?”
“Senator Samuelson,” he said, wheezing as he spoke. “Senator Allan, Senator Brunswick, and Senator Burke.”
“Who’s helping out at SynGen?”
“Helen Taylor,” he said, his head lulling as his energy faded.
I grabbed him by the jaw and forced him to look at me. “Who else?” He didn’t say anything and I shook his head slightly, my anger barely restrained. “Senator Harding, Senator Selleck, and Senator Green. But they don’t know everything. We just used them for minor jobs.”
“What about Agent Dennick with the FBI?”
He nodded slightly. “He doesn’t know the exact plan. He’s just filtering information.”
I leaned in close, my hand still gripping his jaw. “Where is my wife,” I said slowly.
He swallowed hard. His eyes flicked away for a second, like he was trying to decide if he had a way out. His eyes met mine again. “251-342-6867. Call it. Let me talk to him.”
“Where are they?”
“I don’t know. They were just supposed to take her.”
I pulled out my phone and dialed the number, holding the phone out on speakerphone.
“Boss, it’s about time you called. We’ve been sitting on our hands for hours now.”
“It’s over,” Cortez gurgled. “Cut her loose.”
There was silence for a moment and then, “Got it.”
The line went dead. “How the fuck am I supposed to find her?”
“You’ll find her,” he said, his head falling to his chest.
Chapter Seventeen
Kate
After pleading with Barret profusely to let me up to use the bathroom, and promising that I wouldn’t run, I was finally able to use it. I had been up for all of three minutes when there was a banging on the bathroom door.
“Hurry up! Your time is up,” he snapped.
I glanced in the mirror at my dirty face. I didn’t look terrible, but this definitely wasn’t a look I was going for. I quickly washed my face, just grabbing a towel to wipe the water off as the door flew open.
“When I say to hurry up, that doesn’t mean to take your fucking time,” he growled.
“I was just washing my face.”
He grabbed my upper arm and dragged me back to the wooden chair I had been sitting in. “Please, can’t you put me on the couch or something?”
“What’s wrong? Does it hurt your ass?”
“Frankly, yes. I’ll be a much nicer hostage if you let me sit in comfort.”
He smirked at me, but tossed me back on the wooden chair. “You can be as nasty as you want. This isn’t about comfort.”
I scoffed as he started retying my binds. “I’m sure you would feel the exact same way if it was your wife in my position,” I said sarcastically.
He jerked to a stop and slowly looked up at me. “My wife is dead.”
My mouth dropped open and I blinked rapidly, trying to figure out the appropriate thing to say. “I’m so sorry,” I said with sincerity. “How did she die?”
He scoffed and finished tying the binds around my feet. “Ironically, not too much different than you’re going to.”
He moved back to the couch and sat down. I wanted to ask more, not necessarily because I wanted to use it against him, but because I was genuinely curious. He was obviously very upset and I hated to see people in pain.
“What was her name?”
He looked up at me in surprise. “Why do you care?”
“You know, just because you’re holding me hostage, taking me away from my family, my kids, doesn’t mean that I’m so heartless that I would be happy your wife died.”
“You should hate me,” he growled.
“I can hate you later, and I will.”
His shrewd eyes assessed me for a moment. “Marie.”
“How long were you together?”
“Six months. Turns out, that was six months too long with me.” His eyes drifted off like he was caught in a memory. “I tried to keep her separate from my life, but I guess I wasn’t careful enough.”
“So, why did you keep doing this stuff then?”
His eyes flashed back to mine and all sorrow that I saw on his face vanished. “Revenge. You’re either in this life or you’re dead. Much like your husband found out.”
“My husband isn’t in this life.”
He chuckled slightly. “Of course, he is. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here. You see, there’s no real escape from this life. He made a good effort, and if it wasn’t for the senator accidentally coming across him, chances are he would have never been found out. But he was, and now you’re going to pay the price.” He smirked as I swallowed hard. “What? Did you think you were sympathizing with me? That I was going to remember my dead wife and decide that I couldn’t do to you what they did to her?” He scoffed, shaking his head slightly. “You’re foolish if you think that way.”
“You really are heartless,” I murmured.
He stood suddenly, grabbing my hair at the nape of my neck and yanking my head back. “You have something to say?”
“I wasn’t asking about her because I was trying to gain a sympathy vote. You looked like you were in pain and I wanted to help. I thought talking about her would help you. I doubt in your line of work that you get to think about silly things like emotions.”
“You don’t give a fuck about me.”
“You’re right, but in general, I care about people. I care that someone would be so cruel to take an innocent woman and kill her all to get back at you. I’ve been there already, so I know what that’s like. My husband was lucky enough to save me before. I’m sorry you weren’t able to save her.”
Slowly, the pain in the back of my head eased and he released his grip on my hair. He took his seat, just wiping the emotion from his face as the door swung open and the other two walked in.
“Just got the call,” Adam grinned. “It’s time. Who would like to do the honors?”
“I’ll do it,” Barret said, getting to his feet and pulling a gun from the waistband of his pants.
My heart kicked into overdrive as fight or flight kicked in. But I had no way to fight and there was no way for me to escape. This was it. He was going to kill me. He took a step toward me, a smirk on his face. I shook my head slightly, tears filling my eyes as I thought about the last time I held my kids or kissed Hudson. My whole body went into meltdown mode. Hudson wasn’t coming. I was alone and I was going to die alone, with only people that hated me surrounding me.
�
��Please,” I said quietly. A tear slipped down my face and Barret slowly brushed it away with his thumb. “You said to trust you,” I said, keeping my voice low.
He nodded slowly and leaned in to look me right in the face. “I also said unless I found a reason to kill you.”
He racked the slide and stepped up to my side, pressing the gun against my temple. I squeezed my eyes shut as tears streamed down my face.
“Wait,” Tristan said. “We need to get this on video. The senator said he wanted to watch.”
My stomach revolted as he came around in front of me to stand, his phone held out to videotape the whole thing. “I’ll connect the call. Let’s do this.”
Chapter Eighteen
Knight
I was just turning to walk out of the room when my phone rang. I ignored it and kept walking. Whoever it was, I would deal with it later.
“I would answer that if I were you,” the senator taunted me from behind.
I pulled the phone out of my pocket, seeing the same number I had just dialed for the senator. I slid the button on the screen, my breath catching when a video call connected. Kate was sitting there, tied to a chair. She was scared. No, she was terrified. Tears poured down her face and she pleaded with someone else in the room.
“Don’t do this. Please, you don’t have to do this.”
My chest seized. I couldn’t do anything. I wasn’t there. My gaze shot up to meet the senator’s. “Stop this,” I demanded.
He just shook his head. “The events have already been set in motion.”
I stormed over to him, yanking him painfully off his feet. He was just dangling, barely able to touch his toes to the ground. “Stop this now!”
He chuckled, but didn’t say anything else. Panic wrapped around me. I wasn’t there. I couldn’t stop them. She was going to die. My eyes slid back to the phone, back to the terrified face of my wife.
Cap and Hunter both started yelling at the senator. I heard a gunshot and a cry of pain, but the senator wasn’t budging. I saw the gun in the video. It was so close to her head.
GoodKnight: A Reed Security Romance Page 9