by P Nelson
Calla’s chest heaving as she breathed in big gulps of air by the time she reached Nick’s door. She shoved the items underneath right away, not wanting to be alone any longer. Her primitive hindbrain warning her of time passing.
“Did you forget to count?” Nicks angry voice came through the door. She could hear him grabbing the items she offered with relief.
“Men came, and I had to hide.” Calla whispered back. Her voice steadier than her hands. She was light headed as Nick used a tool to work at the door handle.
“Good girl.” Nick sounded distracted. But Calla heard a faint click come next. “Fuck yes.” Calla discovered the men’s voices again, and she slid her gaze to the far end of the hall.
“More men are coming Nick. They’ll learn I got out of my room.” The door pushed open and warm hands grabbed her own and yanked her inside. The pressure on her wrist was enough to have her yelping in pain. Nick closed the door and stared at her with a frown.
“What were you thinking?” He mouthed as Calla cradled her wrist. She held it up and his eyes widened in the bad light. “Fuck.” He mouthed. Outside the door, several sets of footsteps rushed by the door. Calla held her breath and Nick reached out to take her good hand. His thumb brushed against the thumping pulse in her wrist and Calla realised it wasn’t by accident. Nick was monitoring her.
“She’s fucking escaped.” They both heard one man shout. Calla grew still; her heart beating in her lungs. Nick moved to place her behind the door.
“If they check.” He breathed into her ear. “They’ll open the door, scan the room. Leave. They won’t suspect you are in here.” He nodded. The door handle rattled and Nick jumped back to the centre of the room. He crossed his legs and Calla thought he looked like he might relaxing on a beach at sunset. The door flew open and Calla crouched into a ball hoping it wouldn’t smack into her.
“What’s going on, dipshit?” Nick asked.
“Not your problem, ass wipe.” The guy didn’t even consider Nick; instead he did just as Nick said, scanned the room and slammed the door shut. Neither of them moved until the hallway outside was silent.
“What does it look like out there? What did you see?” Nick asked her taking Calla’s hurt hand in his own. The hand swollen and already turning some nasty shades. Nick shrugged out of his T-shirt and she saw the evidence of the attack he had already survived. She felt terrible about putting him into danger again.
“Out the door and to the left at the end of the hall is an outer wall.” Calla did her best to speak as Nick made a bandage for her hand and wrist. “Turn left and we’ll find the desk again. That’s all I know.” She held her breath when he squeezed the bandage tight.
“This will hold your broken bones in place and make sure if you bang it on something it’ll dull the pain.” Nick let go of her wrist. “We have a choice. We go after Flynn and Linkin or we leave and get help.”
“What would you do if I wasn’t here?” Calla asked.
“You know what I’d do.” Nick answered without answering.
“Then we get them back.” Calla lifted her chin. “Where he goes, I go.” She repeated the same words she used earlier in the elevator at the Banroch Building. Nick studied her face.
“Linkin will kill me and Flynn will hide the body. But I think you’re up for it.” Nick grinned at her. “Let’s create a little chaos."
&
All the lights went out at once. Flynn blinked several times to make sure he hadn’t gone blind from whatever cocktail of shit they had put in the tranquilizer. Nope. He couldn’t see. And neither could the two soldiers holding him.
He ripped out of the plastic ties. Linkin had taught him how to get out of almost anything that could bind people’s wrists. It was the first part of the training program he had put together.
Flynn shot an elbow out with all his strength and came into contact with the bulletproof vest on the soldier on his right. It was enough to have the man loosen his grip. That’s all Flynn needed. He came around with a haymaker to the guy on his left. Pain exploded through his hand, but he had connected with the guys face. A steady stream of swearing ensued from his captors as they tried to get him under control while putting their night vision goggles into place.
A flash lit up the warehouse. Followed by subsequent flashes. The guards whom he’s been wrestling with must have gotten their night vision goggles on, because they staggered back for a second. It was all the time Flynn needed. He ran towards what he hoped was the northwest corner of the warehouse. This plan was prearranged. If Linkin’s men were here to rescue them, the plan would be to meet any free hostages at the northwest corner then convene and scout for the rest.
Since he had come to the warehouse incapacitated, he hadn’t seen it in the light. Flynn did not understand where he could even search for Calla, Nick and Linkin. A spattering of yelling came from all around him. But there was still no light. He did his best to slow his breathing and he thought of Calla. It would terrify her in the dark. It had shocked Flynn to find her having a panic attack at the train station. He understood Calla had never healed from the trauma of the attack on Nick and the Reverend. Now there was a great chance she was suffering PTSD locked in one of these prefab rooms.
Shouts from his left had Flynn pressing his back against the wall. They died off and he realised Linkin’s team must have infiltrated the building. There was no way to contact them without giving himself away. Instead, he counted to ten. When he heard nothing over his own breathing, Flynn jogged towards the northwest corner of the warehouse.
Fear for Calla choked him. But he couldn’t let it overwhelm him. Now that he wasn’t sparring with Mr Asshole and Melanie, all Flynn could think about Calla. And how much he loved her. Yes, if he faced charges of treason, Flynn would have to stash her away to keep her safe for her own good.
He had realised Mr Asshole did not understand about Chamberlain and his investigation. It was true Linkin believed the detective was dead, but Flynn wasn’t so sure. He was a damned good detective, and he had years of experience being undercover in tricky situations. As he had told Linkin earlier today, he would not give up hope Chamberlain was alive until he saw the man’s body.
Flynn guessed he had made it to the northwest corner. It was so dark he had to touch his way around everything. How long was he supposed to wait? And if Linkin’s team was causing the chaos all around them, wouldn’t they have left a person here to meet anyone who had escaped? He patted the floor hoping to find something they might have left, a weapon, a phone. Anything.
“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.” Nick’s voice whispered, scaring the shit out of Flynn. He was man enough to admit he might’ve screamed like a girl in similar circumstances.
“Fuck.” Flynn shook his head and stared into the gloom where Nick’s disembodied voice had come from.
“Here.” Nick whispered. A pair of goggles touched his hands. He took a full minute to disentangle them before putting them on his head. Once the goggles were over his eyes, Nick reached out and flicked them on. He could see. In a matter of speaking. It was like watching night videos on TV, but it was better than nothing. He spotted Calla. She grinned at him. The sight was so unexpected it stunned him. Only for a minute. She threw herself into his arms and he clasped her.
“Where is the team?” Flynn tried to keep his voice barely-audible.
“No team.” Nick shook his head. He pointed to him and Calla then all around.
“You did this?” Flynn questioned as he pulled back to look down into Calla’s face. She winced in pain. That was when he realised her wrist was bandaged with a T-shirt. He lifted both her hands up to his face to inspect the broken, cracked nails. The skin scraped from her knuckles She was doing her best not to cry out in pain, Flynn realised her wrist was broken. “Who did this?” Right now he had only one job to do. It wasn’t escape or save his company. It was rip the individual who had hurt Calla limb from fucking limb.
“Long story.” Calla removed her hands from
Flynn’s grasp and did her best to smile. “So happy to see you. I thought.” She choked. The need to comfort her overrode everything, and he wrapped his arms around her again. He stared at Nick over the top of her head.
“She’s been great. A real soldier.” Nick’s smile was affectionate. He turned serious a minute later. “We think Linkin must be in a room around here somewhere in the warehouse. I took down a few guards. Got us these.” He pointed at the goggles and a gun he was carrying. “But there’s no sign of a strike team.”
&
Calla looked up so she could see Flynn’s face. “We turned off all the lights.” She felt like a little kid playing cops and robbers. “And don’t touch the metal walls.” Calla pointed down and Flynn followed her gaze. They’d somehow found a live electrical wire, and it pressed against the metal sheeting. Anyone who touched it would get a nasty surprise.
“I see you’ve both been busy.” Flynn wasn’t sure how he felt about the love of his life handling live electric wires, but he didn’t have a choice at this point.
“We’ll wait another ten minutes.” Nick said. “Linkin knows if we’re free we’ll be waiting here for him. If he doesn’t show, it means he’s found something. And we are to leave without him.”
“What about leave no man behind?” Flynn whispered.
“That’s only for the clients. Besides, if you haven’t noticed Linkin is one bad ass son of a bitch.” Nick grinned.
“What about the lights?” Flynn pointed up. Nick was shaking his head before Flynn even finished his sentence.
“Fucked. We fried the electrical system for everything.” He pointed down at the live wire. “This is the only electrical feed into the building. We were lucky to tap into it.”
“This isn’t a great holding centre.” Flynn observed.
“It’s not.” Calla wrapped her good arm around Flynn not wanting to let go of him. “It’s just a warehouse. We found boxes of those gold lucky cats with the moving paws in one room. We don’t even think it’s Enbridge.”
“It’s not. We’re being treated to the Canadian Secret Service hospitality.” Flynn announced. Nick swore. Calla’s stomach dropped.
“Our own government?” She questioned. The look on Flynn’s face confirmed her worst fears. “Chamberlain.”
“In the wind.” Flynn assured her and some hope came back. “An agent along with my ex wife, who is an ex Russian spy, spent the last however many minutes trying to blackmail me.”
“Son of a bitch.” Calla swore.
“You do not get to swear just because you were kidnapped.” Flynn instructed. “Twenty smacks.” Calla wanted to laugh. Instead she lifted onto her tiptoes and kissed his chin.
“OK, Master.” She agreed.
“Times almost up.” Nick said two minutes later. The relief she had laying hands on Flynn, knowing he was alive had worn off. There would not be a rescue. They had to get out of this warehouse and make their escape without outside help. Terror caused her limbs to feel like dead weights and she had to force herself to calmness. Look how far she had come.
What would Linkin do?
“OK. What’s the plan?” Calla asked taking a deep breath. When she made her escape out of her cell, even when she had plunged into the unknown and walked down the halls, Calla had decided. Now she stood by her choice.
“We walk right the fuck out of here.” Nick grinned at her again. It was the same one he wore when they planned their little trail of espionage. “Calla and I spotted a small service door to the outside along the north-eastern wall. We make our way over there. Once outside we must come up with another plan. I have an idea we’re on the waterfront. But where is another question."
“Let’s do this.” Flynn tucked her under his arm and she leaned into his warmth for a second grateful. His presence calmed her and knowing they would be together for whatever happened next was a relief.
Nick used hand signals to direct them after they left their little hiding spot. They encountered no one along their route. The warehouse had fallen silent. Calla convinced herself it was because the soldiers were hiding, waiting for them to make a mistake to pounce. The other part of her brain hoped Linkin had incapacitated them all. She never thought of herself as a bloodthirsty person, but when it came down to them or us? Calla had made her choice. Nick held a fist up in the air and pointed forward.
Flynn halted and crouched down, emulating Nick. Calla stared at the two soldiers waiting by the door. Both wore night vision goggles and were carrying semi-automatic weapons. She did not understand what kind, but it didn’t matter. A bullet was a bullet when it went through human skin. It was lucky the two of them hadn’t spotted them as they approached the door.
They covered the entrance well. There would be no way to slip past them and into the night. Calla stared at the two men and willed them away from the door. Nick was pointing and making hand signals at Flynn. She did her best to follow but wasn’t sure how they were having a full conversation without her. Nick stared at her and pointed to the ground. Calla had a good idea of what that meant and she wasn’t having any of it.
She shook her head hard and pointed at the men. Calla had helped Nick with the three guards before. Just because Flynn was here, meant nothing had changed. Flynn shook his head, but Calla ignored him and held her hands palm up to Nick as if to ask him why.
He pointed at the door. Made a motion of running with two fingers before pretending to steer a car with both hands. They wanted to distract the guards for long enough for her to get out and steal a car? She didn’t know how to hot wire a car. What the fuck? She mouthed back.
Nick pantomimed searching for keys, look for open vehicles. He mouthed at her. She huffed back and nodded. Flynn kissed her on the mouth as a reward. She sniffed, letting him now he didn’t fool her.
I love you. Flynn mouthed at her. She reached out with her good hand and placed it over the stubble on his cheek.
I love you too. She mouthed back. It was Nick’s turn to sniff. He nodded towards the guards. Flynn nodded back. And they were off.
Chapter Twenty One
Flynn waited for Nick’s signal. He wouldn’t take direction from anyone. But this wasn’t just his and Calla’s life. It was Nick and Linkin’s too. He needed to step up and use every resource he had. Nick was an amazing resource. The man had seen combat, unlike Flynn. He could negotiate the shit out of these guys or spank them into submission.
Nick watched the two guards carefully, it felt like Flynn was crouching for ages. His hand holding Calla’s beside him. He held his breath and a scant second later Nick gave his signal to attack. Flynn didn’t think. The training Linkin had pounded into his brain, muscle memory of the way he needed to move became automatic. He sure as hell wasn’t as graceful as Nick, but Flynn held his own coming up behind the unsuspecting soldier and pressing a nerve in his neck. Paralyses followed. He laid the man on the guard as well possible.
He watched as Nick just missed the element of surprise with his mark and the man attacked him. The man yelling punctuated a scuffle. Fuck.
“Go, Calla. Run.” He motioned for her to get to the door. He reached for the handle, remembered it might be live and held his breath for second, reaching a finger out to touch the metal knob. Not live, thank Christ. He turned the handle. Locked. “Fuck.” Flynn stepped away from the door, took a breath and aimed a kick at the offending handle. It took a couple of tries, but it fell to the ground. He kicked the door open and whirled around. Calla was staring at him. “Come on. Follow the plan. I can’t help Nick, if I’m worried about you.”
She nodded back. “I love you.” And ran out the door into the night. He listened for a second and heard her footsteps disappear into the night. Calla had proven resourceful. She would find something to drive for their escape. A shout brought Flynn back to the fight inside. Another soldier had joined the fight. Flynn ran in to take one of Nick’s opponents, but he need not bother. In a swift one-two practiced move Nick had both men on the ground.
&nb
sp; “Let’s go.” Nick nodded to the door, he was limping and the cut above his eye and the on his lips bled again.
“We’ve found you. Good.” Mr Asshole commented from the gloom of the warehouse. “I thought this would take much longer. Where’s Dr Jones?”
“You tell us.” Flynn’s synopsis was firing. There was no way he and Nick would give anything about Calla away.
“Aren’t you supposed to be keeping track of us?” Nick added.
“Well, you can see how well that’s gone.” Mr Asshole’s sour expression appeared out of the gloom of the warehouse. He held a gun pointed at Nick and Flynn. He was a trained agent. Flynn needed to believe the man could hit a decent target. “And your Mr Pearce is missing.”
“You have done a shit job.” Nick stated.
“Get on your knees. Hands behind your head.” Mr Asshole instructed. “One of you should be used to these instructions.”
“Fuck you.” Flynn at the same time as Nick. Neither of them moved an inch.
“I have to hand it to Mr Pearce. He does a fine job selecting his employees and training his clients.” Mr Asshole remarked. “But I will reveal a piece of classified information to you tonight.” Flynn waited, not interested in what the man had to say. His focus was on any opening he could take advantage of and get to Calla. He did not understand what she might face out there.
“I’m the one who took out the Reverend.” Mr Asshole smiled. “Yes. My shot was that fucking good. Which is why you’re going to get on your fucking knees and tell me where the other two are? Because from where I’m standing. I hold all the cards.”
Nick raised his hands and placed them behind his head. He dropped down on his knees. Flynn followed with reluctance. They hadn’t given up, this only provided them with more time.
“Sounds like you’re modest too.” Nick joked.
“Too bad he set a serial killer loose in Vancouver for fucking with me.” Flynn’s anger over the governments blunder would never abate. Nick twisted his head to stare at Flynn.