Rodney let out a breath, pulling the blanket on him for some warmth. He fearfully glanced up the staircase to make sure no one was there. He then looked back at Hillary and told her everything up until he got kidnapped. He tells her that he just found out that he was really kidnapped because his father used to be Numbers' commanding officer in the Navy and he somehow played a role in Numbers getting dishonorably discharged. He told her about his aunt Nina and why he was in Oswego in the first place.
"Did you know Paul?" she asked, tears falling down her face. She couldn't believe he was gone.
Rodney nodded. "Yeah, we ran into each other a few times when Numbers wanted to meet up. We always came here, but I didn't know this would become a dungeon of terror and doom." He noticed Hillary was crying. "I'm sorry about what they did to Paul. I am sorry about everything."
Her eyes still glistening with tears, she wiped her face by leaning on her shoulder. Her seating position was uncomfortable and she'd be damn if she was going to sit that way for long.
"Well, since you told your story, I guess I'll tell mine," she said, settling on Rodney's eyes. She noticed for the first time how emaciated his face looked. She could tell he hadn't been eating. She pressed on, giving details about how she and Paul had come across some hackers who provided him with some information that was going to make him so rich.
"Instead of turning it over to Brennan and Numbers to sell, he sold it to another bidder. Someone else must've recorded him doing this and told Brennan. I wish I could turn back the hands of time. I would've told him that he had enough money coming in with his sport."
Rodney thought back to when he heard Brennan mumble the name C-Note. He didn't know him personally but had heard about him. Could he have been the person recording him?
"These guys are vicious. Animalistic almost. I witnessed what they're capable of. They probably killed my dad and aunt. They killed a man right in front of me. It was so callous, I'll never forget it," Rodney said with a shudder.
Hillary was silent for a few beats.
"I think I might have a plan but we will both have to wait it out for the opportunity to arise. Just stay cool, don't look in their faces when they come downstairs and let me handle it from here. We're going to get out of this alive. I didn't escape a war zone halfway across the globe just to get caught up by some two-bit sadistic thugs. Are you with me or not?" Hillary demanded.
Rodney sat up, keeping his chains clutched downward so they wouldn't make any noise.
"I most certainly am."
Chapter Forty-Seven
I paid the dogsitter her fees for keeping an eye on Moxy while I was in the hospital. Dee, a retired bus driver, was happy to see me.
"I'm sorry you're going through all of this Ms. Nina. If you need me to take Moxy off your hands for a while, just let me know, okay?" she asked with concern.
"Thank you, that's very thoughtful of you," I said to her. She got in her car and left.
Closing the door and locking it, I took a deep breath. "Okay, where do I start?"
I wobbled upstairs to Rodney's room. I wasn't all the way cleared in the health department, but I was good enough to search for what I needed.
My cell phone rang. I looked at the screen and frowned. It was the hospital again. They were concerned about my health but needed me to sign discharge papers. I wasn't thinking about signing anything. I was on a hunt.
I had Lance looking out for James. He was still not able to talk, but he was progressing. The medication they had him under would alleviate the pain. Now when he woke up, that was a different story. He would be in pain, yes, but he had to tell us what happened that night when he got shot.
I made it to Rodney's room. Opening the door, I went straight for the tablet he kept in the room in a drawer. I kept this fact hidden from the police as they did a small search in his room. I was a cop after all and knew to keep some things to myself.
Exhausted, I slumped down at his desk chair. Pulling out my phone again, I contacted my friend, Joya Hardaway in Brooklyn. She answered on the first ring.
Years ago, Joya and her best friend Tina, saved my life. Ever since then, we've always leaned on each other for our respective fields of expertise. I leaned on her more so than she did me. Like right now.
"Nina, girl it's so good to hear from you," Joya said, letting out a small breath. "What is going on?" she asked worriedly.
I gave her the short version of these past few days' events, even breaking out of the hospital to come search for more clues since my time was winding down.
"Yes, I tried to call you when the news came through our communications. I tried calling, but now I see why you weren't able to return my calls. Damn, do you think it's the perp who did this?" she asked in a rushed tone.
"Yes, it has to be. I can see me and Ms. Lily getting ran off the road, but my brother? He has nothing to do with what goes on out here. Something's up and that's why I need your help Joya," I finished.
"I got your back. Explain to me what you need."
"For starters, can you look into old Internet searches from my nephew's tablet?" I asked, my voice shaking. I was getting cold. I pulled up Rodney's blanket and put it around my neck.
"Yes, you can. But you'll need to forward the tablet to me. I can try to do that remotely, but will need some time to do so."
"You know what, it might not even be worth it though. This kid was very slick with hiding his stuff. He's a hacker after all," I snorted. I came home for nothing.
"Hmm, I tell you what. Let me have one of my guys look into this for you. Just hang tight. We're also going to look into criminal-minded hackers here in the US and I will narrow them down to New York. It sounds like he could've owed some money. You said they're asking for three mil? Believe it or not, that's small change in our world," she said matter-of-factly.
"Thanks, Joya, I appreciate that. Get back at me, will you?"
"No doubt, you know I got you," Joya said confidently. We hung up.
I got up and began pacing back and forth. I was feeling relentless but still tried my best to keep it altogether. I went downstairs to feed Moxy, came back up to take a shower, changed my clothes and made a cup of tea. It took me a while being that I was still banged up, but I managed to do so in an hour. I thought about calling my parents to let them know I left the hospital, but I didn't want to alarm them. Besides, they were already worried about the enormous ransom request. I told them to not even think about trying to scrape up that kind of money and if need be, we would get the FBI involved.
"C'mon Nina, think, think, think. What are you missing?" I asked myself out loud. Moxy looked at me with sad eyes. She must have sensed something was wrong especially since Rodney wasn't here. He always walked her.
Sitting at my counter I watched the video again. And again. Finally, a bell went off in my head.
All this time I thought Rodney was giving me code words in the video about his tablet. He was really referring to something else. How did I miss that?
Hobbling my way to the garage, I retrieved Rodney's guitar. It was leaning against the wall, the same place I left it. This was his acoustic guitar that he loved so much. I actually noticed it the day he was taken but had no idea it could possibly play a key role in rescuing Rodney.
I was relieved that the local police didn't take it for evidence. Picking it up, I reached inside of the hollow hole and felt around. At first, I felt nothing. I almost gave up. Then, I reached at the very bottom of it and that's when I felt it.
A flash drive taped to the side. Peeling it off the base, I took it out and held it up as if it were first prize at a talent show.
Taking the flash drive to my computer, I opened it and came across several files. One of them stuck out at me.
It was titled, "I know what I saw 1".
I opened the file to see some sort of journal entry Rodney typed up.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Rodney's Journal Entry:
Miguel Ortega is a dude I m
et behind a liquor store. I know I wasn't supposed to be there, but I wanted in on what he was doing. He met Brennan Hill on a chance encounter when he came out of school and went to the store to get some groceries on his bicycle. He noticed this man being parked near our school every day for the past few weeks. Hill told him he overheard Miguel talking to his friends about a hacking competition and if he would be interested in putting those skills to use to make some serious money. Miguel said yes immediately because his family could surely use the money. Eventually, he told me about it and I've been saving my money to help my girlfriend Jessica ever since. Most of the money is still in a savings account we are required to open up. It's an offshore account. I told my good friend Davion about it, but he opted out. Said he wanted to stay clean. I stayed in it though and would regret it later on.
What Hill didn't know was that Miguel had a drug habit, popping pills all the time. He even snorted them as a crushed up substance. After months of bringing in some serious cash from credit card numbers he had swiped, Miguel began to up his drug habit. He was able to put food on the table, pay off his mother's high gas bill and purchase toys for his siblings. They also caught up on their mortgage.
When Miguel failed to deliver some credit card numbers that were to yield Numbers and Hill a huge sum of money, Numbers, the actual leader of the hacking ring, loses it. Numbers explained that this would cost the entire team money as the broker wanted his payment returned. It was in the high millions.
In front of myself and Hill, Numbers tortured Miguel for an hour by beating him viciously with a cable cord. I will never forget the piercing screams. "Help me, Rodney, save me!" I tried to stop Numbers, but Brennan held my arms behind my back, holding my face, forcing me to watch my friend die a slow death. Just the open cuts all over his body were enough to kill him. But no, Numbers took it a step further and made Miguel plop several pills in his mouth. Ecstasy, Percocets, Xanax, you name it, they all went down Miguel's throat. Perhaps the high helped him not feel the pain. Numbers then gave Miguel a dose of fentanyl, causing him to OD on both. Miguel, my friend who introduced me to this illegal hacking ring, died on the spot.
Brennan:s camera recorded his death and Numbers being the sick sadistic prick he is, saved a file. He called it a "souvenir". Miguel was buried on Numbers' property (which was really his father's but he is buried there, too). I overheard him and Brennan talking about how they both killed their parents when they were younger.
When I went to hack Numbers' system, I stole the file with Miguel's murder on it. I was going to go to the police with it but for one, I was scared and two I got so caught up trying to retrieve the same credit card numbers Miguel was supposed to get. In fact, they made me do that task. I'm a good hacker, but not that good. At least not yet. That's why I went to meet some guys in New York to show me how to do this.
I am so afraid to tell anyone this, especially my aunt Nina because she's a cop. If she finds out what I'm really into, I know for sure my dad will send me away.
***
I read that journal entry over and over and over again. It was very revealing that all of this my nephew was doing under my nose and yes, I am a cop. I was vexed. He must have found all this out a few days before he was kidnapped. I realized now that they are the ones who have Rodney.
"Sick creeps!" I yelled out loud.
I clicked on the second file labeled "I know what I saw 2" and sure enough, it was the video file of Numbers killing Miguel while Brennan recorded it. Rodney was seen in the clip standing next to Miguel looking traumatized with blood splattered on his coat with each whip the one they called Numbers delivered.
Perspiration formed on my forehead as I thought about how I'd like to get my hands on Numbers and Brennan for all the terror they've caused.
Chapter Forty-Nine
After dinner, Brennan realized they were out of the steel cut oats that he liked so much.
"I need to make a store run, too," Numbers said grinning slyly. Brennan knew what that grin meant. It was one of those smiles he wore whenever he was about to meet up with a female. He wore black denims, with a black YSL shirt and black combat boots. His cologne of choice was Giorgio Armani. His hair was pulled back. He donned his parka and turned to Brennan saying, "Don't wait up for me."
"Alright man, don't worry, I'll be holding everything down," Brennan said with a chuckle.
Numbers nodded then left out. Sitting in the truck, he thought about the young lady he was going to meet. Polly. After a few calls and texts, Numbers had convinced her to go out with him. She liked his bad boy style although he almost killed that old man in the parking lot.
Brennan sat in the kitchen thinking about everything that had gone down. They had two captives downstairs like it was the normal thing to do. They almost killed three people and Numbers still hadn't decided what to do about that. He was sure he had something up his sleeve though.
Luckily, Brennan was able to get his bike on that same night he rammed into the bartender and Rodney's aunt Nina. The snow helped with that.
They had a few loose ends to tie up, but for the most part, they were almost done. He could've easily let Rodney and Hillary go, but at this point, they were both high-risk.
Nah, they need to stay put until Numbers decides what to do. If he wants them dead, he knows I'm the man to do it. I could care less, either way, Brennan thought out loud.
Brennan was about to go to his bedroom when his phone chimed. It was a text from C-Note telling Brennan he should come to collect on the deal they made. Brennan sighed. He wasn't thinking about any of that. Another chime went off. A second text from C-Note came through saying he would like to collect on the tip he gave them about Paul.
Brennan paused on the stairwell. He wanted to rest up so bad, but he needed to get this handled. It was still early in the evening, so he could make it back before Numbers got back. He knew that Rodney was not going anywhere. He was too weak and could barely use the can. Hillary was another story. He could tell she was very feisty. He went downstairs to check on them.
He walked over to Hillary who was squeezing her legs together. He looked at her, scrunching his face up. "What's wrong with you?"
"I have my monthly coming on, please, I need some lady products! Oh, these cramps they hurt!" she squealed.
Brennan wanted to leave her right there. He didn't care about that. But he knew if he left her here, she would leave a foul smell in the room. He couldn't take that, so he took her with him, leaving Rodney alone. After he unraveled the cord from around Hillary, he pulled out his gun and pointed it right at her nose.
"Try anything and I'll blow your face off," he growled. Hillary held her hands up in front of her, nodding her head. Brennan kept his gun on her while he poured a liquid from a bottle in a cloth. Before he put it up to Rodney's face, Hillary stole a quick glance at Rodney, winking her eye. She was letting him know she would try to get help. Brennan missed the entire transaction as he was placing the cloth under Rodney's nose, knocking him out with the chloroform. Rodney fell asleep within minutes.
He turned to Hillary who put on the dramatic act of coming on her period. He looked her up and down in disgust. "Let's go."
***
Hillary was in the back seat of the car, listening to Brennan's annoying off-key loud singing to Nickleback. She tried not to show too much disdain on her face. She was out of that dungeon, now what? She would do whatever it took to escape. For now, she pretended to be in pain.
Brennan didn't tie Hillary up for fear someone would see them and arrest him for sex trafficking. He hoped he didn't make a mistake by not cuffing her. He stole a glance at her. She really did look sick, doubling over.
When they pulled up to a gas station, he looked at her through the rearview mirror. He realizes that maybe he should've left her at the house and let her use paper towels or cloth for that matter. He didn't know what women used these days being that he was hardly around any.
"Stay here and don't try anything stupid," he sai
d, pointing a finger at the mirror. He was about to step out of the car when she called out to him.
"No, wait! I would like to use the bathroom. You can stand watch over me if you need to. Please," she pleaded.
Brenna cursed and let her out. "Let me remind you I still have my piece on me. Don't do anything stupid, I promise your brains will be splattered if you try." He walked with his hand in hers, squeezing her tight. Inside the brightly lit store, there weren't many customers there. Looking around, Brennan went to choose some pads for Hillary. She nodded her head at them in approval. This was her chance.
"Baby, I really have to go, please!" she exclaimed. Another customer, a female with some pads of her own, turned to look at Hillary first then Brennan. She turned back around after receiving a daring glare from Brennan. Before Brennan could answer Hillary, she took off to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.
Hillary turned on the sink' faucet, running the water to make some noise. She didn't want anyone to hear her opening the door. Her fingers trembled when she opened the door and sees him paying for the items. His greedy ass even purchased a lottery ticket. The store clerk was playing the news on the TV behind him with a reporter named Lance Steele reporting on Paul's and Rodney's disappearances. Brennan watched it for a few seconds, holding up the line then paid for his items.
This is her chance to run and that she does. She grabbed a bottle of beer from the freezer, stashing it in her coat pocket before powerwalking toward the door.
She bolted out of the door and Brennan doesn't notice her at all since the store started getting crowded. With the bag in his hand, he went back to the bathroom calling for Hillary.
"Here you go babe, I hope I have the right ones," he sang, trying to play it off. Underneath, he really didn't like Hillary because of her relations with Paul. He stepped to the door and waited, but didn't hear anything except water running. He looked under the door and saw the lights were off. Snatching the door open, he sees that she is not there. Frantically looking around, he searched everywhere in the store and couldn't find her.
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