Ripple Effect

by L. T. Ryan

  Sadie’s voice still sounded in my ear, but I pushed it to the back of my mind as I concentrated on the barrel of his rifle appearing around the tree. I dropped to a knee and struck at the man’s groin as soon as he was within reach. There was a grunt and then he dropped to the ground. His grip loosened on his weapon. I yanked it out of his hand and tossed it a few feet away.

  He may have been an amateur, but the kid could fight, and he was quick. He was out of breath from the blow, but he was already recovering. He blocked my next shot and crawled away and tried reaching for his gun. I rushed ahead and kicked it out of the way and brought my knee up to his chest. He landed on his back but was already scrambling away as I took two steps toward him.

  He kicked up at me. I dodged his foot and drove mine down on his knee. I leaned down to wrap my hands around his neck. His hand shot out, a glint of silver winking at me as he went for my jugular. I whipped my head out of the way and gripped his arm in my hand, pinning him down with my knee on his chest. He was fast, but I was nearly twice his size, and there was no way he was getting out from under me. I pulled the knife from his hand and plunged it into his neck, quickly and effortlessly. He was gone before I pulled it clear.

  The buzzing in my pocket resumed. I wiped my hands on the kid’s vest and pulled out my cell, not even bothering to look at who was calling. It could only be one of three people at this number, and they each knew a phone call risked my life.

  “This better be good. You nearly got me killed.”

  It was Javier. His voice was strained. “They found a body.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  I rolled the window of the Land Rover all the way down and stuck my elbow outside, feeling the hot sun and mild breeze along my arm. I spotted Jack and Sadie making their way toward me, silent and looking harried. Goddard had them dropped off at Sadie’s place, and I’d followed behind at a distance. Once the coast was clear, I’d called Jack and told him what Javier had said.

  Jack slid into the front, while Sadie scooted across the seat in the back to sit in the middle so she could lean forward and listen better.

  “News?” Jack asked.

  I shook my head. “Javier’s been up my ass. They’re not going in without us. Time to move out.”

  “Got away as soon as we could, big man.”

  “I know. He’s just worried about his kid.”

  “Can’t blame him.”

  The trip was made in relative silence, punctuated by a discussion here or there over what would happen between Goddard and Nicolás should one of them decide to do the unexpected. We all agreed it would be disastrous. If they played their parts, we might be able to save this op.

  But as the conversation died out, I could tell all of our minds focused on what lay ahead. Javier had called to tell me the same men who had taken Camila had sent another video, this time of the body of a young girl. Her face was never shown, and they couldn’t tell whether she had been killed or just badly beaten, but she matched Camila’s description.

  Except the men had slipped up in the video. It was a different warehouse than the last one, and the crates had identification numbers printed on every side. They were specific to a certain company, and from there, it was just a matter of narrowing it down. Javier had called in his men to secure the perimeter to make sure no one went in or out. He was waiting for us to show up before he moved in.

  Javier was a tough man, but when it comes to your children’s lives, no one is that strong. I could tell he didn’t want to admit it, but he was putting off the inevitable. He was doing whatever he could to delay going into that warehouse and finding out whether his daughter was still alive.

  I pulled up alongside the road and threw the Rover in park. The three of us took in our surroundings, looking for anything out of the ordinary. If Jack or Sadie were caught working with Javier, the whole op would be a wrap. But Javier’s men had arrived ahead of time to sweep the area and disable any security cameras. The scene was clean.

  I pulled the latch and pushed out against the door. It smelled like where they dumped the waste from dragging the seabed. The breeze swept across my skin and cooled me down after a long and stifling ride in the car. I could tell Jack and Sadie were doing the same. The moment was brief as Javier stepped around one of the cars, a pained look on his face.

  “Are you ready?”

  The three of us pulled our weapons. I’d had my Springfield XD .45 on me all day, but Jack was sporting a backup Glock 9mm from Sadie’s apartment. It wasn’t ideal, but we had all agreed it was smarter to get to the warehouse as soon as possible. Javier’s mental stability couldn’t take much more.

  We followed Javier around several cars and to the front of a small metal building. Everyone had been instructed to stay out of sight. If the girl was still alive we didn’t want to risk further injury. If she was dead we wanted to get the jump on the bastards who did this to a ten-year-old child.

  The building’s sides were dull and rusting, but the sun glinted off the metal roof and struck me in the eyes. I squinted against the glare and tried to gauge the warehouse’s layout.

  “It’s one large room, with a smaller office off to the right.” Javier pointed to a corner of the building. “I don’t know what’s on the other side of that door.”

  He was talking about the possibility of the kidnappers still being present, but I knew he was thinking of his daughter. I clasped him on the shoulder before taking point. “We’ll get it done.”

  As the four of us moved in, firearms drawn, Javier’s men closed around the building. We didn’t have to worry about open fire coming from the roof or the surrounding area, but as soon as we were through that door, we were walking into the unknown.

  When we reached the building the four of us flattened ourselves against the façade. I leaned my head against the cool metal and waited, breath held. There was no noise coming from within but that didn’t mean the building was empty. It might just mean whoever was inside was ready for us. I figured it wouldn’t be a person on the other side. The right explosives would do the job well enough.

  I shuffled forward until I was within arm’s reach of the door. I heard the others follow my lead. When everyone had stopped, I turned back to them. “Jack and I will take the middle, Sadie goes right, Jav goes left.” I turned my gaze on Javier directly. “If you spot the girl, don’t stop to check her until we know the building is clear. We won’t be doing her any favors if we miss someone.”

  Javier nodded first, followed by the other two. I turned back to the door, and on a silent count of three wrenched it open, .45 up, body tensed. Dusty air billowed out. The four of us fanned out to scout the area.

  It was dead silent inside. There was no airflow on the ground. Crates were stacked in neat rows throughout the warehouse, with twisting aisles providing plenty of cover for whoever might be hiding from us.

  I nodded to the others. “Clear the room and meet at the back wall.”

  We each crept forward ready for whatever might come at us. My hands were steady despite my elevated heartbeat. The adrenaline zeroed my focus as I made my way between the stacks of crates.

  The boxes were long and thin, but dozens of them stacked together meant the piles were well over my head. I kept an eye out for any movement from above. It was unlikely anyone could bounce from stack to stack without being noticed. That didn’t mean they wouldn’t try. Having an aerial view of your enemies would be worth the risk.

  As silent as everyone was, I heard the others making their way through the room. We were like mice making our way through a maze. There’d be a pause in footsteps and a quick rustle of clothes as someone turned a corner to look down the next aisle. The room was so silent, I could even hear Jack’s breathing when our paths neared each other.

  Methodically, we swept the room. When I reached the back wall I waited until the others came into view before calling the all-clear on my end. They each parroted the sentiment. The warehouse was empty.

  “Did anyone find the girl
?” I asked.

  Javier looked pale as he stood in a thin beam of sunlight coming in from a small window near the roof.

  Jack gestured down the aisle he had emerged from. He said bluntly, “Down here.”

  The four of us followed his lead with our guns out despite the reassurance that we were alone. The center of the room had been cleared out, the boxes pushed back to make a wider opening. In the center, directly under one of the lights that hung from the ceiling, as if she were under a spotlight, was a young girl in a white dress. It had tiny flowers on it some of which matched the color of her light brown hair. Her back was to us, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her skin was ashen.

  Javier stepped forward, peering down at the girl for a moment, his breath ragged. The three of us stood still, waiting for his lead. After a moment Sadie holstered her gun and walked up to him. She placed a hand on his forearm.

  “You don’t have to be here.” Her soft voice echoed around the room.

  Javier took a step forward. He reached his hand out and faltered. His knees began to buckle. “I can’t. I can’t.”

  “You don’t have to,” Sadie said.

  Javier looked up, his gaze meeting Jack’s. No words were needed. Jack nodded his head once, and then turned the body. He squatted down and pulled at her shoulder to gently lay her on her back. The body gave no resistance. If we hadn’t already known she was dead this would have been a confirmation. Jack swept hair out of her face.

  Javier let out a strangled groan and fell to his knees. Sadie followed him, holding his shoulders. I took a step forward, unsure what I should do or say. He was rocking back and forth.

  “It’s not her,” he said. “It’s not her. It’s not her.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Javier sat back on his haunches and after a few minutes he was able to speak again. I watched the change in his demeanor as hope reentered his body. His daughter was still alive, and it provided the energy he needed to regain his composure.

  “Her name was Marianna.” His voice was low and gravely. “She was friends with my daughter. I didn’t even know she was missing.”

  “Do you think they were taken at the same time?”

  Javier got to his feet. “No. They would’ve included her in on the video.”

  “Then why take her now?” Sadie asked.

  “It’s a warning.” Javier paced back and forth. “Camila is still alive, but we can’t count on it being for long. Not after this.”

  Anger welled as I stared at the young girl. I shifted my gaze to Javier. “We’ll find her.”

  When Javier looked up at me, his eyes were wild. “We don’t have much time. Whoever has taken her wants us to back off. They know we’re working with Goddard still. They must assume we’re just biding our time.”

  Jack gripped the back of his neck. “We’re gonna have to be careful. You need to fall back.”

  Javier strode over to Jack and went toe-to-toe with him. “This is my daughter.”

  Jack held up his hands. “I know, man. I know. I can’t even imagine what you’re going through right now, but the fact of the matter is we need to play this right. One wrong move and something terrible could happen. You need to trust us to get the job done.”

  Javier deflated. “I understand.” He let out a deep sigh. “I just don’t understand who could know.”

  “What are the chances of a leak in your department?” I asked.

  Javier looked like he was going to immediately dismiss the idea, but thought better of it. This was his daughter. There was no room for pride. “It’s possible,” he said. “But unlikely. My team is close. They’ve been working together for years. We have a good system, a good rapport.”

  “It wouldn’t hurt to take a closer look, just to make sure.”

  Javier just bobbed his head up and down. He had resumed pacing.

  Sadie turned to Jack. “Do you have any idea who could’ve taken her?”

  Jack rubbed the back of his neck again. “Who would benefit from keeping Goddard alive?”

  I laughed. “Goddard?”

  “If he knew who I was, would he bring me in even closer? Why not take me out when he had the chance? He practically ran that restaurant. Or even in the car earlier today?”

  “Could be wondering who you work for.”

  “He took Javier’s daughter. Whoever it is already assumes I’m working for him.”

  “Or with him,” Sadie offered. “There’s a difference. He might want to know who you report to.”

  I watched as Javier walked a couple steps away and pulled out his phone, presumably to call his men in to take away the body. My gaze returned to Sadie. “Have you heard anything?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing. I know Goddard called Vasquez to confirm your identity, but he hadn’t told me anything he found. I assume it all checked out with them.”

  “Unless Vasquez has some serious contacts, he wouldn’t find anything on me but the basics. Good dossier for an assassin. Goddard would be intrigued by that. Sounds like he already is.”

  “Goddard isn’t accustomed to taking risks that wouldn’t guarantee at least some sort of profit.” I looked up as Javier’s men walked down the stacks. They carried a body bag with them.

  “It’d be safer for him to take me out. So who wants Goddard alive and still wants me in the picture?”

  Sadie stepped out of the way as the men picked up the body and placed her within the bag, zipping it shut with a resounding finality. “Someone who isn’t sure how much longer Goddard can be useful to them.”

  “Let’s move out,” Javier said. “We can’t stay here for much longer without drawing unwanted attention.”

  The four of us followed Javier’s men out of the warehouse and watched as they placed Marianna in the back of one of the cars. She deserved better than this, but it was as good as it was going to get.

  I turned to Javier. “Do you know her family?”

  He rubbed a hand over his tired face. “She lived with her mother and grandmother. Her father died when she was an infant. They were good people, always kind to Camila. She always had a home with them.”

  “They’ll have to be informed,” Sadie said.

  Javier sounded like he was slipping inside himself. He pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll do it.”

  Sadie placed a gentle hand over the top of his. “In person. They’ll appreciate it.”

  Javier nodded absentmindedly and moved toward his car. I didn’t envy the task he had ahead of him. I couldn’t imagine the thoughts that would pervade his mind the remainder of the day.

  Jack followed the man’s movements. “Someone should go with him.”

  Sadie followed him. “I’ll talk to one of his men and meet you at the car in a minute.”

  Jack and I broke off from the crowd and headed back to the Land Rover. The murmur of voices behind us faded as Javier’s team dispersed. I kept an eye on the surrounding woods in case someone appeared. I couldn’t put it past these bastards to keep someone nearby to gather intelligence on all of the players involved.

  “What do you think, big man?”

  I ran a hand across the top of my head. “How did everything get so screwed up? It was supposed to be an easy op. Point and shoot.”

  “That should’ve been our first warning. They’re never that easy.”

  “Ain’t that the truth.”

  “If we were still in that pizza parlor in Miami, I’d slap ourselves upside the head.”

  Jack pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his breast pocket and pushed them onto his face. “I’d still steal these from Thorne.”

  I chuckled, but the humor didn’t last long. “Think Frank could be wrapped up in all this?”

  Jack took a moment before he answered. “I honestly don’t know, man. It wouldn’t make much sense to send us on a mission and then pull it out from underneath us without giving a heads up.”

  “Things change. The CIA is involved now.”

  Jack checked over his sh
oulder. Sadie was still chatting with Javier’s men. “You know I don’t trust Frank, but I don’t think he’d waste our time like this. He wants Goddard dead. If he didn’t, the CIA would be all over this and the good senator would end up in a cell instead of a grave.”

  “Back to square one, then.” We’d arrived at the Rover. I leaned against the driver’s side door and watched as Sadie shook one of the soldier’s hands and then jogged back over to us.

  “Javier is heading over to Marianna’s house now,” she said. “A couple of his guys are going with him.”

  I followed his car as they pulled away and roared off down the road. “He didn’t look too good in there.”

  “It’s a rollercoaster,” Sadie said. “Worry that Marianna was actually Camila, and then relieved when she wasn’t. Devastated his daughter lost a friend and another girl had to pay the price for the life he leads. Then back to worrying over whether Camila is alive.”

  Jack walked around to the passenger side door. “She doesn’t have much time left. We can’t afford for you to back off Goddard and risk him thinking something’s up. We have to find the girl before we can take care of him.”

  Sadie didn’t offer any hope. She opened the rear driver’s side door and climbed in. Jack and I followed. I turned the key and listened for the now-familiar roar of the engine. The vehicle was reliable, if not completely inconspicuous. For now it was all we had.

  “Son of a bitch.” Jack slapped the dash, bringing me out of my reverie.

  “What’s wrong?” I glanced at Sadie in the rearview, but she looked just as surprised as I felt. Both of us were on high alert. I reached for my Springfield.

  Jack backhanded my shoulder and I relaxed. There was a manic grin spread across his face.

  “I know who took Camila.”