Noah Wolf Box Set 2

by David Archer

  The next ninety minutes was taken up with paperwork and credit cards, but finally they were able to load a dozen sets of scuba gear and a cooler full of beer and sandwiches onto the thirty-six-foot cabin cruiser Noah had selected. He fired up the big Yanmar diesel engine and eased the boat out of its slip and into the bay. Once they were out of the low-speed area, he pointed the boat to the southwest and shoved the throttle forward.

  “We should have brought skis,” Jenny yelled over the wind and the roar of the engine, standing beside him. “I love skiing.”

  “You act like you’re on vacation,” Neil said. “Do you ever get serious?”

  Jim Marino clapped him on the shoulder. “You watched her interrogate those guys yesterday, and you can still ask that question? Trust me, she’ll be plenty serious when it comes time to make our move.”

  Neil glared at him, but said nothing.

  The boat made pretty good time, and they dropped anchor just to the northeast of the island less than forty minutes later. They spent half an hour just wandering back and forth from the cabin to the deck, trying to confuse any observers as to how many people were actually on the boat. Then, Noah, Marco, Randy, Jenny and Julie all donned scuba gear and fell backward into the water from the far side of the vessel. They stayed under for a bit, while Neil, Maggie, Jim and Dave made a show of sunbathing on the deck, but then the two girls climbed back aboard. They dropped their gear at the stern, and shoved the guys over so they could lay out in the sun with Maggie.

  Randy and Jim would surface occasionally, usually tossing something up onto the deck. They would call back and forth to those on board about the undersea treasures they were hoping to find, then dive again. At other times, the girls would stand up and call down to the surface on the far side of the boat, as if they were talking to the other divers.

  The act wasn’t wasted. Just inside the tree line on the shore, two men stood and watched through binoculars. After an hour of watching the divers playing around, they found themselves paying more attention to the three bikini-clad beauties than to any activity in the water.

  TWENTY-ONE

  Noah and Marco had popped up near the boat a couple of times in the first minutes after they had all dived in, but then they went down to fifteen feet and started toward the eastern side of the island. Neil had shown them a Google Earth image of the island that indicated a heliport on that side, along with areas that might be more easily accessible to people on foot. Noah was guessing that this area would be the most likely choice for the type of camp the Nay Thas would operate from.

  Fortunately, the angle of the sun to the water made it nearly impossible for anyone on the island shoreline to see below the surface. Since both of them were skilled scuba divers, they were able to maintain steady motion without a great deal of exertion. With two aluminum-80 tanks each, they had no trouble swimming just under half a kilometer to get to the area Noah had chosen for their landing.

  As soon as they were out of view from the boat, they made their way to the white sand beach. The spot Noah had selected was one of the narrowest beaches on the island, and it took them only a few seconds to jog from the water into the tree line. They stashed the scuba gear in some of the scrub, and Noah opened the waterproof bag he had towed along with him and removed his cell phone, along with the tracking sensors and tablet they had used to keep track of Sarah in the prison.

  He set the first of the sensors in the crook of a tree, high enough to be out of sight of anyone walking by, then handed one to Marco and pointed off to the west, while he took the third and started south. Fifteen minutes later, he turned on the tablet as he returned to their starting point, and showed it to Marco.

  The red dot that indicated Sarah was nearby was blinking steadily. “She’s here,” he said. “From the map Neil made on this thing, I’d say she’s about three hundred yards in that direction.” He pointed to the southwest. He shut down the tablet and hid it with the other gear, and then he and Marco began moving quietly toward the lower areas of the island.

  They’d gone only a few hundred feet when they saw the first armed man. He was leaning against a tree, smoking a cigarette and paying no attention to his surroundings. Noah froze and watched as the man finished his smoke, then stretched and walked further into the woods to the south. Marco, behind him, waited until the man was out of sight before moving carefully up beside his boss.

  “Definitely something going on here,” he whispered.

  “Something that seems to require guards with assault rifles,” Noah replied. “Let’s try to get closer to where he was headed.”

  Still moving stealthily, the two of them slowly advanced in the same direction the armed man had gone. He seemed to have been on patrol, making a circuit around the area and watching for possible intruders, but he seemed rather lax in his attention to detail. Moving parallel to the path he had taken, Noah spotted a number of cigarette butts that indicated the fellow came this way often.

  The circuitous route they had taken covered nearly half a mile by the time they saw the simple, rugged huts of the main compound. There were only six of them, and two of them were considerably larger than the others. Noah and Marco moved carefully around the area, and Noah snapped several photos with his phone. The zoom feature let him look closely at the dozen or so women in the compound, and he was disappointed that he didn’t see Sarah or Sharon Ingersoll.

  He also saw numerous men with weapons, estimating there were at least a couple dozen of them. Only one or two had sidearms, while the rest carried Kalashnikov AK-74s, a later version of the famous AK-47 that had been the foundation of so many assault rifles developed over the last sixty-five years.

  Keeping a careful watch, they slowly made their way around the opposite side, and that was when Marco caught a glimpse of the isolation boxes. There were ten of them, cubes about four feet on a side. Two of them were closed, and each of those had a pin in the hasp to keep the lid secure.

  The clearing around the boxes made it impossible to approach them without being seen from the path that led to the compound, so Noah continued moving through the trees behind them. When he was confident that one of the closed boxes was between him and the opening of the path, he picked up a small pebble and threw it at the box.

  There was no reaction at first, so he picked up a second and threw it. A second later, he could hear motion inside the box.

  Very carefully, Noah moved forward until his face was just outside of the shadow of the trees above. A gasp from inside the box make him draw back quickly, but there was no further sound. He and Marco froze and watched for a moment, and his caution was rewarded.

  “Sharon? You awake?” Sarah’s voice came softly to Noah’s ears.

  “Yeah,” said another voice from the other box. “And thirsty and miserable and I wish to God I’d never even heard of Thailand.”

  “Well, I can’t help you with that,” Sarah said, “but you might try having a little faith in my guys. I’m pretty sure they’re getting close, and probably planning what to do about us even now.”

  “That’s what you keep saying,” Sharon said, “but I sure wish they’d come pretty soon. I’m not sure I can hold out a lot longer.”

  Noah flicked another pebble at the box Sarah was in. “Hang in there, kiddo,” she said. “I promise you, it won’t be a lot longer. Noah will probably be here by tonight. We can last that long, right?”

  Something in Sarah’s voice seemed to reach the other girl. “You really think so?” she asked. “God, I hope you’re right.”

  Sarah chuckled. “Yep. Pretty sure I am. Just hang in there with me, okay?”

  Noah moved further back into the denser brush, and then he and Marco started moving on around the site. Forty minutes later, they arrived back at their gear and slipped into their tank harnesses. A careful scan of the beach revealed no obvious surveillance, so they hurried into the water and slipped under the waves again.

  The return trip took even less time than the one from the boat, sim
ply because an underwater current seemed to move them along in the right direction. They swam in under the boat and caught sight of Neil, Randy, Jenny and the other two girls swimming and splashing on the surface, while Jim and Dave were still leisurely diving along the coral reef. Noah and Marco joined them for a few minutes, and then Noah signaled Marco to go aboard while he and the others stayed below.

  Ten minutes later, Noah climbed onto the boat and dropped his tanks with other discarded ones at the stern, and then went below into the cabin. He lay down on one of the couches and closed his eyes, taking the opportunity to get a little rest while he could.

  A part of his mind was planning the attack he would lead on the island later that night, but another part was just thinking of Sarah. Without even realizing it, Noah was clenching the fist he planned to use on whoever had put her into that box. He let himself remember their last hour alone at home, when she had accepted his proposal, and the barest hint of a smile turned up the edges of his mouth as he drifted off to sleep.

  An hour later, after everyone else had climbed aboard, Neil gently shook him awake. “Hey, Boss? It’s almost two o’clock. Think we ought to be heading back?”

  Noah came awake instantly. “Yes. We’re going to need another boat for tonight, though. Something less flashy and a lot quieter. I want to make landfall as silently as possible tonight, but it’s got to be big enough to take us all. Any ideas?”

  Neil grinned at him. “Just let me get online, and I’ll find something. I take it you found her? Them, I mean?”

  Noah nodded. “Yes,” he said. “They’re alive, going through the breaking process. Sarah’s holding up, and keeping the other girl from giving up.”

  “Good,” Neil said, and Noah noticed the moisture in his eyes. “Then we’re going in tonight, to get them out, right?”

  “Yes. I’ll take Jenny and the others, while you—”

  “Don’t leave me out, Noah,” Neil said suddenly, and there was a pleading sound in his voice. “I can handle it, just give me my Uzi. This is Sarah we’re talking about, don’t leave me behind, please?”

  Noah looked him in the eye. “I was about to say that I’d take the others in with me, while you stand guard at the boat. If anyone comes near you without signaling that it’s one of us, you fire. Got it?”

  The tall, skinny kid looked down at Noah and smiled his widest. “I got it,” he said, and then he dragged an arm across his eyes quickly. “I won’t let you down.”

  Noah put a hand on his shoulder. “I know,” he said, then went topside and started the engine. The rest of the group continued to put on the party act until they were well away from the island once again, and then Jenny sidled up to Noah.

  “Marco says they’re there?” she asked.

  Noah nodded. “Yes. I counted about two dozen armed guards. We’re going in tonight, after dark. Neil thinks he can find us a quiet boat, so we’ll hit them hard and fast. I want to be in and out before they get a chance to call for help.”

  “Good,” Jenny said with a grin. “Kill ’em all and let God sort ’em out?”

  Noah stared out over the water as he nodded once again. “Exactly,” he said.

  * * * * *

  He’s here! Sarah thought. He’s found us! Oh, if only there was a way I could tell Sharon without giving him away.

  She’d known he would come, of course. The one thing she was absolutely certain of was that Noah would never abandon her to her fate. As long as she was alive, he would do whatever it took to get her back. That was why she had told Sharon over and over that all they had to do was survive.

  From the shadows she had been able to see through the crack in the boards, it had been close to noon when he had appeared in the woods behind her. The first time the pebble had hit the box she had been dozing off, but then it had come again. Without even suspecting that Noah might have been behind it, she had twisted around and peeked through a crack to see what might be back there causing things to hit the box, and that was the precise moment when he had leaned forward and let the sunlight hit his face.

  Her heart had leapt into her throat, just from the sight of him. She understood perfectly why he didn’t make a move to rescue her at that time, but she knew he’d be back. He would have been doing reconnaissance this time, getting the lay of the land and finding out how many guards there might be. If she knew him—and she did—he’d be back for her when the sun went down.

  She had encouraged Sharon the best she could, but she didn’t dare say out loud that she had seen him. If one of the guards overheard, they would be on the watch for him, and it suddenly dawned on her that she had already said far too much. She had openly talked about her hope of rescue, and that he would be coming for them. She can only pray now that the guards had not overheard, or at least had not understood her words.

  Suddenly, the sound of a helicopter rattled overhead, and she hoped and prayed that Noah was off the island and far enough away to avoid its notice. Could it be that he had been spotted, and that reinforcements had been called in as she had feared?

  No, she didn’t think so. This would probably be about the same time they had heard the helicopter the day before, so it was more likely that it was a daily supply run of some sort. She continued to tell herself that, because the possibility that Noah had been captured was simply unbearable.

  That thought only strengthened her resolve not to risk exposing him in the future. She tried to think of a way to warn Sharon not to mention him anymore, but even that could give him away. From that moment on, she told herself, any conversation between the two of them would leave Noah completely out of it. The most she could do would be to simply encourage the other girl not to give up.

  Even as these thoughts went through her mind, she heard the crunching of brush and twigs that meant one of the guards was coming their way. She leaned forward and peeked through a crack and saw that it was Cho, the one who had put them in the boxes the day before. It had been more than twenty-four hours since that time, and she had wondered when someone would come to see if it was long enough.

  The pin was removed from her hasp, and bright sunlight blinded her for a moment when the lid was thrown open. Rough hands reached in and grabbed her by one arm and her hair, and she struggled to get to her feet before she was yanked bald.

  “Hey!” she yelled. “Take it easy!”

  One of those rough hands slapped her across the face, and she felt as if her head had been knocked loose. A wave of dizziness and nausea swept over her, but she clamped her mouth shut and managed not to throw up.

  The hand holding her hair let go, and slid between her legs to lift her over the side of the box. The indignity of the contact struck her, but she was more concerned with what might be coming next.

  Cho set her on her feet and shook her a couple of times, apparently trying to make her stand on her own. She managed to open her eyes and saw two other men approaching her. One of them was Pak, still dressed in something like combat fatigues as he had been the day before, but the other man wore a business suit.

  TWENTY-TWO

  “Stop your struggling, little flower,” Pak said. “Mr. Lom has come to see you. Stand straight, so that he may see your virtues.”

  “Screw you,” Sarah said. “The least you could do is let a girl take a shower and clean up before you try to show her off.”

  Pak smiled at her. “Cleanliness, or the lack of it, is not a factor. Mr. Lom is seeking a western girl who might entertain some of his clientele. His tastes, and theirs, demand the girl be full of spirit, but not that she be washed and perfumed.”

  The business suit said something in Thai, and Pak responded in the same language. He twirled his finger in the air, and Cho spun her around so that she could be seen from the back. A moment later, she was turned round again, and this time Cho reached up and ripped the prison shirt down its front with one hand.

  Her bra had been taken at the prison, so she instinctively tried to cover herself. Her hands were roughly yanked away,
and a warning slap conveyed the message that she should not try it again. She forced herself to stand straight despite having her breasts on display, and looked a morning challenge into the eye of the business suit.

  Lom spoke again, and then reached inside his jacket. His hand reappeared holding a large sheaf of money, which he passed to Pak.

  “I was correct,” Pak said. “You are precisely what he was looking for. It is a pity that his purchases do not last long. But of course, that is why your price is greater than you would bring in ten years as a bar girl.”

  Sarah turned and stared at him, and her eyes grew wide. “You think you can sell me?” she demanded. “Are you insane?”

  Pak burst out laughing. “I assure you, little flower, I am quite sane. As I told you before, I am a man who enjoys wealth and power. I achieve both by providing such men with the entertainments they desire.”

  Inside, Sarah was panicking. How could this be happening now? She had seen Noah, she knew that he was coming to get her, but this monster wanted to take her away? How would he ever find her again?

  Cho took hold of the back of her neck, as Lom turned and started walking back down the path. With him pushing her along, Sarah had no choice but to follow, but she was determined not to make it easy. Before they had gone five steps, she managed to twist her left leg around and kick her captor in his groin.

  Cho instantly let go of her, and she turned toward the man who had just bought her. His eyes were wide, but there was a strange smile on his face as she spun a roundhouse kick that caught him squarely on his left ear. The smile vanished and was replaced with a look of utter surprise as he fell, but then something struck the back of her head.

  She managed not to fall and spun to see what had happened, and saw that Pak had attacked her while she was distracted. His stance indicated training in the martial arts, but Sarah had been through some pretty intense training of her own. She snapped into position and waited for his next attack, which came almost instantly.