He paused as though expecting a reaction, but Leo had no talent for small talk. He waited for the older man’s attack.
Sabin leaned forward. “Misha’s unexpected death presents us with considerable trouble and equally considerable opportunity. Most immediate problem is that someone needs to oversee this facility. I—”
“You should.” Leo slipped that in before Sabin could tell him different. Leo had never run a business or even a complicated military campaign. He’d also never supervised women. In his experience, mercenaries were always men or boys.
Before Leo could say more, Sabin shook his head. “I am needed elsewhere. Langer’s genetic program is scientific genius. It has tentacles extending in many directions across the globe. I will remain here a day or so—until reinforcements arrive. Then I must move on.”
Leo assumed Sabin meant he had no more interest in herding the heifers than Leo did. But it was useless to cajole. Sabin was known for doing whatever Langer decided needed to be done.
Leo was already missing Misha. His friend had had a knack for bureaucratic bullshit and schmoozing people.
Sabin snickered. “You don’t look the least bit eager, as if that might save you from being honored by Langer’s confidence. Misha spoke very highly of you, unlike most of the other guards. You will take over here. Do not disappoint our mutual master.”
“Wait, I’m almost completely ignorant about what Misha was supposed to do here or how to do it. I just followed orders, like the good soldier I am.”
“For your sake, I hope you were paying closer attention to his work over the last ten months. Basically, you’ll be expected to operate this facility in the same way Misha would’ve, but hopefully with fewer mistakes. And unfortunately, you will have three times as many women and staff to manage. On the plus side, you will be well paid. For each child born here, you will receive three hundred thousand dollars. And as proof of Langer’s warmest affection, that amount has already been deposited in your Swiss account for the baby born before you took command of this operation.”
It sounded like a lot of money, but Langer was already trying to cheat Leo. Misha had told him how much he was to be paid here, but only one answer to Langer’s offer would be acceptable. “Please tell Mr. Langer he is very generous.”
“Tell him yourself, on the secure line. Never contact him any other way, not without his express order. I’ll make sure the women are settling into their new home.” Sabin handed Leo a cell phone and showed him how to use the encryption app, then left.
Leo’s chest tightened. He had no desire to speak with the lunatic billionaire, but no choice.
Leo selected Langer’s number from the few stored in the phone’s app. The phone rang but no one answered. Leo left a short message and hung up.
He sat alone, wondering how he could be expected to manage a medical experiment with almost a hundred pregnant American females. Although he spoke English fluently, and he could read it with difficulty, he could barely write in any language but Russian. He had never needed to before. But according to Misha, the only Russian words Langer understood were yes, no, and whore.
Chapter 17
To Athena’s surprise, Sabin walked into the dorm building and headed straight to Maggie. Athena edged over that way. It wasn’t fair that their Fearless Leader should have to stand up to the biggest monster alone.
As Athena drew closer, she looked for a signal from Maggie about whether she should move closer or stay away. With a slight movement of her head, Maggie motioned her in.
The old guy was spouting off, “…going to be up to you to decide who goes where upstairs. Twelve sleeping chambers on the upper floors. Each room contains four full-sized beds, one desk, and a closet. Two communal restrooms on each floor. If something is missing that you deem essential, contact Leonid. He will be assuming Misha’s duties.”
“What about medical care?” Maggie asked. “Two more women will be delivering their babies soon.”
“The gynecologist who provided your care in Colorado should arrive shortly. Her clinic is fully equipped, and she should be able to assume her duties immediately.”
With that, Sabin turned and walked away. Not the chatty type.
“Too bad he didn’t also fall and break his fucking neck,” Athena whispered.
Maggie hugged her. “Prison life is overwhelming, isn’t it? Let’s talk tomorrow about how to escape.”
“It is entirely up to us,” Athena said. “There’s no chance the FBI is going to find us, not so far from Durango. They’d have to assign an army of agents to swarm the Southwest. Too bad, none of us are famous. We’re just not worth much effort. Hundreds of thousands of women and girls are already missing in this country. It’s a national disgrace.”
o-o-o-
FBI Office, Durango, Colorado
Beau could remember a few nasty cases with ugly outcomes, and this case was beginning to look the same. Worse, he’d never worked on a case where he’d known a victim before she was attacked. This time, it was personal. He couldn’t get Chris’s warm laugh out of his head. During the day they worked together, whenever he’d explained some bit of Cajun wisdom, she began giggling right away from down in her belly. That silly sound bubbled up and out. He couldn’t push those memories out of his mind.
It’d been over five hours since the bus driver’s phone had pinged near Ridgeway. The damned vehicle had since vanished, despite hundreds of cops looking for it across a dozen Colorado counties.
Beau sat alone in the small FBI office. Yang and Heather had already taken off to visit the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office. The head honcho had already lawyered up, which was never a good sign when investigating a cop. As a species, cops hated defense lawyers and only worked with them when they absolutely had to.
Following Chris’s example, Beau had started using Google Earth to locate potential new compounds near Ridgeway.
Then Norwood’s Chief of Police called. “Special Agent Boudreau, I can hardly believe it myself, but we might’ve found evidence pertaining to your case.”
“You spotted the bus?”
“Nope, never did. But one of the ladies who works at the local Forest Service office found a reward poster as she walked home this evening. It’s even got your name on it.”
Beau stifled a groan. The chief had sounded like a flake earlier, but this was ridiculous. “I’m sorry, but we haven’t offered any reward or prepared any posters related to the current case.”
“I’m looking at it. Weirdest dang thang I ever saw. Somebody took a page out of a book of poems and wrote over it in bold, block print. In big letters, it says, ‘$10,000 Reward. Contact FBI agent Beauregard Boudreau.’ Then it gives your phone number.”
A chill flashed through Beau. Chris had to be behind this insanity. Her bus must’ve headed west from Ridgeway to Norwood.
“Mon Dieu! Oh my God! Guard it with your life. I’m on my way.”
Beau called Yang on his satellite phone and passed on the news.
“What a blessing,” the boss said. “Where is this Norwood?”
“About a hundred miles north of Durango by road, and a little west, out in the middle of nowhere. And here’s the oddest thing, whoever drove the bus went way out of their way to get to Norwood via Ridgeway. A much shorter route would be to go west from Durango to Dolores then straight north.”
“Our quarry is obviously trying to confuse us. Collect that reward leaflet and check with every other law enforcement office in that vicinity. We might get lucky again.”
Given how few towns existed in the area, “in the vicinity” had to mean within a hundred miles. “I’m heading out now, sir.”
Beau drove to his motel room and checked out. The Virgin only knew when he might get back to Durango, if he ever did. Now that Chris and the others were gone, why return?
-o-o-o-
Homestead House, Utah
Langer returned Leo’s call and got straight to the point. �
��What do you know about Misha’s work?”
“I helped carry out his orders, and I understand the rules he laid out. Otherwise, I know virtually nothing about the Über-Baby Project.”
The egomaniac wasted half an hour in a disjointed, rambling explanation about how he needed ninety-six preggers to produce a continuous series of über-babies at the Utah compound.
But the crazy guy remained conspicuously silent on the most important point. Wouldn’t even hint at what made the babies so damned valuable. Misha had told Leo he thought Langer was selling each one for over a million bucks. Something about the little creatures had to be amazing.
When Langer finished his spiel, Leo asked the obvious question on his mind. “Why, sir, are these newborns so incredibly valuable?”
Langer’s voice suddenly turned ice-cold. “Not your business. Never ask again, and do not speculate. Don’t allow any of your staff to discuss the matter either. All you and they need to know is the babies are perfectly normal, and if you don’t provide them with the best possible prenatal care, I can promise you all a long and agonizing death. Understood?”
“Absolutely, Mr. Langer, sir. None of my business. Best possible care. Never discuss or speculate again.”
Even after kowtowing, Leo figured there was at least a fifty-fifty chance Langer would order Sabin to terminate Leo with extreme prejudice. But not right away, and as a mercenary, he was used to the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, as Misha used to say. “Is there anything you haven’t mentioned, sir, that I can do to help make your most excellent and exciting project more successful?”
Langer’s voice warmed a bit. “Thanks for asking. I think I covered the high points. Expect a steady influx of new surrogates and staff. Nine women are already on their way, including three new prenatal nurses. Each surrogate has already been determined suitable. The doctor should implant eggs as soon as possible.”
Only one answer was acceptable. “Excellent news. I will personally make sure the doctor meets the new preggers first thing tomorrow.”
“Wonderful.” Langer’s voice was full of cheer again. “By the way, Christina Nielsen is also about to ovulate. The doctor should proceed with her first. It would be a shame to miss the next window of opportunity for a successful implant.”
-o-o-o-
Dinner consisted of baked organic chicken strips and organic, preservative-free tater tots. After that spectacular meal, Athena laid on one of the sofas near the fireplace. The backs of her thighs and her butt remained sore, so she rested on her stomach…and pondered how they were going to get out of this hell on earth.
Her hands began to shake again, and her right frontal lobe throbbed, delayed reactions to the insane day. Twenty-four hours before, she’d been working in her Durango apartment, hoping to find Misha and the rest of his gang.
Athena’s thoughts reverted to an even worse day, as they often did. Two years ago, she’d parked her new SUV at the top of a parking garage, trying to avoid door dings.
She returned to the garage after a dinner with friends and stepped out from the top of the stairway. Athena was surprised to see two people standing close to her SUV, right behind a yellow sports car with an open trunk.
One person, Wyoming’s Attorney General, she recognized immediately. He happened to be holding a thick bundle of cash. She caught the tail end of him as he said, “…all here?”
He spoke to a tall, gorgeous, black-haired woman who was smiling at him like a cat eyeing a mouse. “Of—”
That’s when they noticed Athena and went for their guns.
Athena stood frozen in confusion for a few key seconds. Before she realized the danger, they fired.
One bullet hit its target. Lights out for the Cheyenne US Attorney’s Office’s most promising young prosecutor.
The next six months consisted of one horror after another, as Athena tried to retrain her damaged brain to operate her body again. The only high point she could recall about that time was when she got the chance to testify against the Attorney General at his attempted murder trial.
He was convicted and sentenced to life without parole, but that hardly made up for her being permanently maimed and forced to live in hiding. Those because the woman who paid him off, Dominique Santiago, had gotten away clean. Her father had put a huge bounty on Athena’s head to try to prevent her from testifying against his daughter, assuming she was ever brought to justice. And so far, she’d remained free.
Chapter 18
Most of the women and girls in the barracks had congregated upstairs where Maggie was assigning rooms. Athena didn’t worry because their Fearless Leader was sharing her room with Athena, Donna, and Jackie.
Eventually, a handful of women wandered downstairs and turned on the TV to CNN.
Donna was part of the group and yelled, “Hey! They’re talking about us! We have to tell Maggie.”
One of the other women ran upstairs.
Athena glanced over at the big TV on the far side of the room. Sure enough, it showed a driver’s license picture for the poor woman Misha had stabbed that morning.
Athena scrambled to her feet and hobbled over to one of the sofas in front of the TV. She laid on her stomach again.
A banner under the woman’s picture identified her as Brenda Matthews from Decatur, Illinois. The announcer said, “Brenda disappeared five months ago. She was a registered maternity nurse at a local hospital. All local police efforts to find her at that time were unsuccessful. Now, if the FBI’s information is correct, we know there are many more like Brenda still alive.”
Maggie hurried up just as CNN started playing a clip from a news conference by Stephen Yang. Athena knew him from her former life.
He said, “In response to a tip from a concerned citizen, we are investigating the potential kidnapping and disappearance of approximately forty women and girls. Many are reportedly pregnant. We raided the compound where the women were allegedly being held against their will but discovered that the prisoners were gone.”
CNN flashed a map on the screen showing the location of the La Plata County compound.
Yang continued. “We found three dead bodies on the property, including a local sheriff’s deputy, Steven Maddox. We’ve also discovered a pit with at least one other corpse. Our investigation continues, and we will not stop looking until we find every victim. At present, we believe most remain alive.”
Maggie smiled. “That’s encouraging. At least, the FBI finally seems to care about our situation.”
“After I shamed them into it,” Athena said. But despite her words, it was encouraging to see the head of the Denver FBI office taking charge. On the downside, she’d been involved in enough criminal investigations to recognize happy talk designed to calm down the public when she heard it. And she couldn’t imagine how they’d be able to track her and the others so far from Durango.
CNN cut to a commercial, and when they returned, they began talking about a minor earthquake in Southern California. Athena moved back to the sofa near the fireplace where she was more comfortable. Soon, she nodded off.
She woke when Maggie brushed Athena’s hair out of her good eye. “I’m afraid there’s more trouble. The black sedan that took Erica and the baby away just showed up. She’s not inside, just that driver.”
It was too much for Athena. She burst into tears and hugged Maggie. There was no way Misha or the others would’ve allowed Erica to get away. They had to have killed her.
As the news spread about Erica, the women stood together and mourned. Just like they had for Mia. Then, someone said, “This is for Brenda, too.”
They prayed and shared memories of their departed friends. Athena didn’t know Mia or Brenda, but in less than a day, she’d learned to love Erica.
Outside, a large engine roared to life. One of the girls walked to a window and peeked through the drapes. “That guy who drove Erica back is taking off with the bus.”
So, they were truly stuck. Ath
ena had been tired before, but the idea of being trapped so far from any help exhausted her. She’d endured too much shit for one day.
As soon as one of the guards had conducted the nightly roll call, Athena headed upstairs to her new bed and collapsed.
-o-o-o-
US 145, Norwood, Colorado
Beau didn’t reach his destination for two hours, despite speeding most of the way. Time was moving too quickly. The kidnappers were most vulnerable while taking their victims from place to place. That may have already happened.
The sun had set by the time he found Norwood’s town hall. Inside, the chief sat alone in a tiny office. He was a short, thin, white-haired man who might’ve been the entire police department.
“You made good time,” he said. “I saw your boss’s press conference on Fox. This seems to be turning into quite the shitshow.”
“You got it.” So many people were involved that Beau had no idea what most of them were doing, and most seemed to be spinning their wheels. “Can you give me the gist of what he said. I was out of contact with the world when he spoke.”
The old cop filled Beau in and showed him the reward leaflet inside a sealed evidence bag.
“Did you touch this?” Beau asked.
“Nope, never did. The woman who brought it in dropped it straight into this bag. She said nobody else had held it either. When she found it, she came straight here. For purposes of exclusion, I collected her prints for you.”
He handed Beau a card with her fingerprints and personal information. Then, he studied the reward note. The bus was supposedly filled with people, but he was somehow sure that Chris had written the makeshift reward poster. It showed her dramatic flair. And it mentioned her name before any of the others.
Although Beau didn’t know anything about her background before witness protection, he would’ve sworn she’d been involved in law enforcement. The gal spoke all the lingo, and the leaflet had managed to get a potential witness’s attention quickly while conveying the important facts.
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