I gave him a look that said, “I have no idea of what you are talking about and want”. So, he said, “we want to take over the new business dealings. We are better suited, that is all our Mexico, Central and South American Cartels along with the Islamic State Terrorist. They are but the so-called muscle in this ordeal because they kill without any conscious at all. Even though the Cartels do also, this time we want to become a kinder leadership, sort of, at least appearance wise.”
I responded with, “so what you are saying is that Mikhail is the head of this thing and that you want to be?”
“No, it is not me but another that wants it and he will be the new leader. He has done a lot to implement this business and make it to become, soon, the largest and most powerful entity in the world.” He said to me.
“Who is this one person that will or wants to lead the crime world?” I said.
Carlos smiled and said, “soon enough, but for now we will have some dinner, that way you will be willing to listen to what I have to say.”
But what others are involved?” I said.
He just smiled and said, “many.”
Then I continued with, “China, Germany, Ireland, etc.”
He said with a big grin on his face, “yes, yes, and yes to all. Every country and every crime syndicate or cell or group will be under one command, and all stationed here in your country. After all, if America is taken then the entire world will be also. One world order and all criminals. You see we are not as different as your politicians, which many have been under our control for a long time.”
As they fight to protect the southern border from illegals, we are with the help of your weak and gullible politicians, bring in people and drugs to quiet your people. When the terrorists were caught at the border we switched and started to dominate Canada and change them into the new Islamic front. Now we send all the Middle Eastern terrorists through the north and no one is the wiser.”
I was now feeling that I had enough information and that I can use to stop this once I escape, and with Laurie too.
I need to find out who intends on being the leader once they get Mikhail out of the way. They never said kill him but only to remove.
I then asked Carlos, “can I see this other woman that you took and make sure that she is ok?”
He looked at me and responded with, “yes, soon. First you eat something, after all we want you to look healthy when we show Mikhail that we have you. So soon.”
Chapter 33
After about an hour the door opened again and a young Spanish looking girl came into the room, carrying a tray with my dinner on it.
I sat still so not to frighten her, because she looked terrified as she entered. I smiled and was hoping that I could ask her a few questions with that smile but when she came within a few feet of me she put the tray own and was starting to turn away.
I then quickly spoke and said, “hi! My name is Terri, and what is your name?”
The girl did not say a word back to me, but she just continued to walk towards the door. I tried again, but nothing. So, I tried another approach and said, “my, you do have such pretty hair.”
Then a response, “thank you.” She said back to me.
Now I will try again with the name and asked her, “please you have been so kind by bringing me dinner that I wish to at least know the name of the pretty girl that did that for me.”
She answered me this time and said, “Rosa.”
I then tried to begin some type of conversation with her and said, “yes, a beautiful name for such a beautiful girl. May I ask you something?”
Rosa still standing in the same spot lowered her head and said, “I am not allowed to talk to you. If I continue, I will be beaten for disobeying those on the other side of the door. They hear everything that is said in here.”
She then left the room, but she did tell me that the room is bugged and anything that I might say to Laurie when I go to her or she comes in here will be heard. So, I must be sure to warn her immediately before we talk.
I decided to have the food that was brought to me. If it is poisoned, so be it. If not, I am still hungry from my ordeal of today, so I may as well eat something.
When I finished, the door opened, and Rosa came back in to retrieve the tray. I thought that not only listening but watching me too.
When Rosa was reaching down to get the tray, I noticed that she had a bruise on her face. She was right that they will beat her for talking to me. When, not if, I get out of this room, I will teach Carlos to not hurt a child. I know that it was him because there is no way that he would allow some other nationality to do it. Especially a terrorist, a person that is only a soldier in this new company and not any type of leader.
Well, I assume that the food wasn’t poisoned, and had no type of sleeping agent in it.
I feel full and satisfied now. I must keep my strength up for when the time comes that I escape from this room and teach those men how to treat a lady and a child.
About what seemed like an hour went by, I heard a noise coming from a room next to me. I could not make out anything that made sense, but a second later, a door opened on the other side of the room that I was in and in through that door came Laurie.
I immediately put my finger to my lips for a second. I didn’t want to make it to obvious, so I then put my whole hand to my face in a shocked motion. I just hope that Laurie picked up on what I tried to do and doesn’t spill that we know each other.
Laurie looked terrible, she has been beaten for some time it seems, because I noticed new and old bruises on her face and arms.
When we were within feet of each other she said, “do I know you? Are you here like me, a prisoner?”
Good I thought to myself, even with her abuse she still has it. Nothing said about us knowing each other so I can now talk as if I don’t know her and ask her some questions, or as least questions that they will allow me too.
I nodded with a yes and said, “a prisoner yes, do I know you, no. I only have heard of you I think from mutual friends. My name is Terri.”
She responded with, “my name is Laurie, and what friends do we know together?”
I said, “Mikhail, and some of his security team, which I am sad to say have been killed by these people who have taken us. I assume others also.”
She lowered her head and said, “Mikhail and I were good friends, but he never came for me.”
I responded with, “yes, he did try and so did many others that were contacted. But your location was never given up. So, I guess I am here to rescue you.” I ended with a chuckle, but it was now true, I will get her and me out and we will finish this assignment together.
I went to her and gave her a hug and as I did, I whispered in her ear, “Laurie, Charlie and the General have been looking for you, I was sent to both locate you and help finish the mission. We together will escape, so keep up your strength, ok?”
She gave me a kiss on the cheek and said, “even though you are here as a captive like me, I am happy that you are here.”
We parted because we didn’t want them to get suspicious of us possibly talking about escaping, which we were, so we now acted as strangers again. Our captors now came into the room and the terrorist, as I call him said, “so I was hoping that you two would say something that would allow me to beat you. But sadly, you did not, and I just have to wait.”
Carlos said, “ok ladies, soon we will contact Mikhail and let him know that not only do we have one of his female friends, but two.” Then he and the other left the room and as they did both laughed.
Now I gave Laurie a look and said, “I bet that this place is full of bugs. If you see some let me know.”
She nodded and responded with, “I know that this place has bugs, but they won’t bother you unless you bother them.”
Now we are on the same page completely and can start the plan to get out.
We both sat apart from each other and did not talk for a bit. Her and I wanted our captors to feel th
at since we don’t know each other that we won’t trust each other either.
So, we sat, and both thought of how to leave this place.
Chapter 34
Several hours later we talked. I started the conversation with, “how long have you been here?”
Laurie responded with, “I am not sure, I think about two to three weeks.”
What I said before about Mikhail, he was looking for you. I just happened to come along and distracted him, but he had many looking for you. Mikhail and I became friends by accident after I arrived here in LA. I am going to college for my doctorate and happened to run into him at a condo complex that I was looking at to possibly live while I am here. It just happened to be where he lived. But way to expensive for me so I went to a place by the college that his assistant found that gave a low rate to college students. A very well-run unit by the General…Manager.”
I knew she understood what I am saying so we smiled and then she spoke and said, “Terri, how long have you been in LA?”
I answered with, “a few weeks, I came for advancing my education and ended up finding a friend who I thought was a nice man, even though I didn’t know much about his family, and now I am a captive in this place, where ever it is.”
Deep breaths Terri and try to keep a positive attitude while you can. Even after all that I have been through, I knew that some day I will be rescued. Well, that didn’t happen with you but at least I have another person to talk to. I know that we will get out of here, either in a coffin or if Mikhail gives up leadership.” Laurie said.
Lowering my head, I said, “will they let us go even with them taking over, I doubt it. So, what I think we should do is keep calm and hope for the best.”
Then Laurie said, “when I was taken, I hoped to see something that I could recognize as we drove, but they had me in the trunk and I could only feel the road.”
Laurie smiled after she said that about the road, because she may have felt the different roads and possibly railroad tracks, things like that. Then I said, “I was knocked out and woke here. I have no idea how long it took to get here or any sounds or anything. Out cold, but I did take a few with me.”
Laurie nodded and they both became silent for a minute, that was because I wanted to see if they are always listening or just sometimes. That way if we have a better time limit of their observation of us then we can better plan our escape from here.
I felt that they can’t be watching and listening all the time, can they? Possibly taking turns? Or just every so often when we are together.
Chapter 35
While Laurie and I were trying to communicate where we were being held captive, back at headquarters was a bit different. With Mikhail now in custody. I wish that we knew that, but we didn’t.
Charlie, the General, and even Jenny was in on trying to get any information from him. At the time that they had him they had an idea that I was taken. What they hoped was that I escaped from their search of me and am holding up somewhere until the time is right. They have found my phone and where I was last at, along with the dead bodies that were near my car which was still in its same spot.
They were not going to tip their hand with Mikhail about me being possibly taken, just as Laurie was. They wanted to get whatever info that he has of this new Crime Syndicate and how many players are in it. What groups, countries, gangs, etc. So, they will give up on the two of us for now. Once they either get the info or find that he has none to give of things then what has been already found out by Laurie and me, then and only then will the unit do a search for us.
The whole time that Charlie was asking questions of Mikhail, the only words out of his mouth was, is “Terri Ok?”
He repeated that over and over every time that anyone would ask him of the newly formed syndicate. Charlie was starting to get a bit upset because he knows that this whole time, his sister and an agent, Terri could have been taken or is lying dead somewhere in a field.
But Charlie and the General knowing about as much as Mikhail of Terri’s where about, but they kept pumping him for information on the criminal organization that he is a part of. What part they aren’t sure yet, but they will, hopefully soon.
Jenny wasn’t saying anything, she is looking at this man Mikhail and trying to get a better sense of who he is, and what is his real feelings of either Laurie or Terri. Jenny sees something flicker in his eyes only when Terri is mentioned. So, Jenny decided that with this interrogation seemingly going nowhere at this time, she would try a different approach.
Jenny gave a look at both Charlie and General Kelly and gave a nod. They both knew what was coming and they sat back and let Jenny do the talking now.
Jenny being a woman she felt that Mikhail would hopefully accept any and all comments that she would be making now.
Jenny then said, “Mikhail, what was your relationship with this woman Laurie?”
He answered with, “she was a good friend that I was hoping would become more, but when she was taken, and I tried to locate her, I thought for sure that she was taken, but some of my employees thought that I constricted her to much in my surroundings, they felt that she just ran away. I was confused especially since nothing was ever discovered that she was taken or even dead.”
“So, after her you just jumped into another relationship, and what was this one to you?” I said with a slight neck lean.
He then said, “Terri was not just any other woman, no, she was everything that any man would want. She was brave, resilient, straight forward, kind, beautiful and the woman that I hoped would be with me forever. That is why I had so much security around her all the time, and she knew and would laugh at it. Terri didn’t seem to mind that I was hoovering over her as she tried to be a student at college. And what was seemingly to be a new life with me. She had no idea of who I am and who I represent here in your country. She never asked, and I thought that at some point she would and that made be fear that day because she may not accept me than. I knew that if anything would happen to her, I would rather I die before any harm came to her.”
Now Jenny has her knowledge that this man cared deeply for Terri and when I say that she may be taken or even worse, I feel that he may just give us all that we need.
“Mikhail, I want to ask you the same questions of your organization and the new one that is about to be formed, OK?” I asked him in a very soft voice, because the next voice will not be the same.
He said again, “I will not give up my families business and any thing of any new crime syndicate that you keep asking me about.”
At the time I was asking him questions I was leaning back in my chair, then I moved forward and with a frown not a smile on my face as I had just before I said, “Mikhail, you told me that you would rather die before any harm would come to this woman Terri, am I correct?”
He nodded with a yes, and now he had a sad face, because he knows or has an idea of what I am about to say next.
I then started with, “Mikhail, your people that you had doing security on Terri, Ivan, Oleg, and Lana, are all dead. Their bodies were found just outside of the entrance to the college that Terri attended. And her car was still in the parking lot and neither her or her body were nowhere to be found.”
Mikhail’s eyes were now tearing up and he cleared his throat before he asked, “do you know for sure that she was taken. I had many more watching her too. What happened to them?”
Well, when you were attacked, we presume that all but the ones dead at the school came to your rescue. We have been watching you for some time, that is how we know that they left her to go to you.”
“I gave explicit orders that under no conditions that she was to be left unguarded. Everyone knew my orders and they would never not do what I said.” He said.
Then Charlie jumped in and said, “we intercepted a call from a Carlos to your security team at the college, and he said that you were under siege by unknown assailants, and they were by your orders to leave the American and come to help you.”
Now we all thought from what he is saying that soon we will have all we need. So, Jenny gave a nod to the General and he picked up his phone for the unit to assemble so the search would now begin. After Mikhail gives us locations that would be safe houses and places for Carlos’s people to live, that way we at least have a start of places to look for the two agents.
Mikhail was now giving more information then we anticipated from him, even with his obligations to his family, he gave us everything. Now the search is on for Terri, and at the same time the destruction of the New World Order of Crime.
Chapter 36
Now back to mine and Laurie’s dilemma. What is going through my head right now is us trying to escape before either one of us or both are killed because we aren’t needed any longer.
It has been good that they are leaving us together, for now. I hope that we can stay put and then that will give us the opportunity to devise a plan of escape.
The Beginning: In the Families Footsteps (A Terri Walker Series Book 1) Page 12