“Have you managed to set up that other request?”
“Yes all sorted and ready to go. I’ve managed to gain information on Takumi, he….”
I cut him off because Takumi–or Scar Man, as I call him–is no longer alive.
“No need to worry about him any longer. What about Tyler? What information could you get on him?”
“Nothing of substantial interest. A hired mercenary, no connection to anyone other than Katsu Vang.”
Agent waits for further instructions, but I don’t have any for him at this moment so I disconnect the call.
I open the safe room and Ben’s leaning on the wall opposite the safe room door.
I step out and he follows intently.
“I think I know who has her and I think I may know where she is. I just need Agent to confirm it and then we can make a plan to go and get her.”
Ben comes to life and immediately there’s color in his face.
“Where is she, Anna?” he asks in an urgent voice.
“Let Agent confirm what I suspect and then I’ll tell you.”
For the next three hours, time seems to go backwards.
Even with the assistance of a hot shower we shared, the hands of the clock don’t move any faster. Ben is deep in concentration, and I’m hoping we’ll get to Claire quickly.
Three hours and thirteen minutes after my initial conversation with Agent, my phone rings. Ben jumps up off the couch with an edginess he hasn’t been able to settle.
“Agent,” I greet him.
“15. I’ve managed to gain access into the security feed of the premises I was researching and found only two of them who may be of interest to you. I assume you’re looking for someone?” Agent knows me very well.
“Yes I am,” I confirm.
“One of the premises has a woman held in a small dungeon-like room; the other has a young girl held in a filthy room. 15, I have to warn you though, the woman has been beaten and the girl’s used for…”
“You don’t need to tell me what they’re doing to the little girl, Agent. Have you got an address for those animals?” I run my hand over my face, but I’m sick to my stomach, about to retch and I’m trying hard to contain it.
“Yes I do.” Agent stops and awaits further instructions.
My mind doesn’t take long to decide what to do. But rage has overtaken me about what those beasts are doing to that little girl. I’m feeling my blood pressure rise and I want to go there and rip their fucking dicks off, slowly. With a blunt hunting knife, and feed it to them, in small pieces.
“Get me images of every man who’s hurt the girl, I want names to match their faces.” My tone is so low and stiff that Ben looks over at me and shrinks away with a worried look. Goose bumps form on my skin and my jaw’s so tight from pure fury that my teeth will shatter if I don’t relax.
“15, there’s…….”
“JUST FUCKING DO IT,” I yell into the phone.
Those fuckers are going to die.
“It’ll take time, but I’ll get it done.” Agent complies very easily.
“I want you to put that property on every government agency’s list. I want that place raided today, do you understand?”
“Of course, 15.”
“I want Doctor standing by to look after the girl and I want her set up to go into good foster care until her parents are found. And if they aren’t found, I want you to set up a good family to adopt her. You also need to have a psychiatrist available to her. Set it up, Agent.”
“15, I’m not sure…..”
“Think before you say another word.” My tone’s low and deadly. I know I’m pissed off and Agent knows about my hatred toward pedophiles better than anyone else. I think Ben’s starting to understand, by listening to this call, my revulsion toward such an indecent act.
“I’ll take care of it, 15.” With those simple words I know Agent will do all in his power to ensure my requests are seen to. My body starts to calm and I can think clearer.
“Send me the address of where the woman’s being held. How many security guards?”
“I’ve seen four men come and go. According to the security footage I hacked, the only one administering pain is Katsu Vang. She’s not looking too good though, 15. Katsu’s been held up in jail. I’ve hacked into their records; there’s no release date or time for him. I can’t tell you when they’ll let him go. You’ll have a small window of opportunity to get her out.” Agent’s very in tune to my demands in these situations.
“Noted. I need you to gain access to my laptop and give me a live feed of the building she’s in. I need to see from all camera angles you have available.”
“Five minutes, 15, and I’ll have that feed for you.”
The call’s disconnected. I wait for a few minutes before I set up my laptop to receive the information on where the woman, presumably Claire, is being held. I watch as Agent does what he does best. He has the live feed on my screen within minutes and I instantly recognise the building the woman’s being held in.
It’s the same building I was taken to for my polygraph.
Ben stands behind me to watch what’s happening on the screen. The screen is split in quarters and in one quarter is an image of a woman with dark hair. Her body is slumped in a chair. Her hands are out of sight behind her back, probably bound or cuffed together. Her head is lolled down toward her chest. Her clothes are tattered and torn. From the angle of her head, there’s no way Ben can confirm it’s his sister.
Then she moves her head.
Ben’s intake of breath is sharp. I turn to see the pain on his face.
That’s all the confirmation needed.
It’s Claire.
Anna
“Fuck,” Ben says in a tiny voice. “Fuck,” he repeats the word. “Fuck,” this time it comes out more like a sigh then a whisper.
I look at him and see he’s clutching his chest. But his eyes won’t leave the screen where a severely beaten Claire is slumped. Tears unashamedly streak his worried face, and short, fast, shallow breaths escape his down-turned mouth.
“Ben you’re no good to Claire in the state you’re currently in. As a matter of fact, you’re no good to anyone.” I don’t try to console Ben because he needs to have his head where it belongs. Here with me, formulating a takedown and rescue plan.
Ben turns his back to me and walks away, his hands furiously tugging at his hair. He’s muttering angrily, nothing audible except the odd ‘fuck’.
After a few moments of mental anguish and talking to himself, he stands perfectly still. Ben straightens his back, squares his shoulders and becomes the police officer I’ve seen in him in the past.
“What do we do, Anna?” All the fear has left his body. He comes to stand within a foot of me and looks me directly in the eye. ”You need to lead me here. I know I don’t have the calm needed to do this on my own. This is what you do and I’ll do exactly as you say. But I’ll kill that mother fucker. Not you.” He clenches his jaw and I know he’s talking about Katsu. Fury and anger has displaced the worry and fear evident just moments earlier.
“I’m sorry Ben, but I owe Katsu an intimate rendezvous with my babies.” A chill runs down my spine from the sheer excitement of knowing I will destroy that beast.
Ben cocks his head to the side and his eyes slightly narrow for a split second until he realizes I’m talking about my Glocks. A small smile finds its way to his delicious lips.
“Okay, baby girl. I understand.” He gave that one up pretty quickly. I’m going to have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid. “Just please, get her out alive.”
I’ll need to find my targets and execute this with precision. There isn’t any room for error. This hit is personal.
This is a hit for freedom.
Claire’s.
I leave Ben in my family room and walk over to the safe room. I enter the code and get a disposable phone. When I come out, I can see Ben has his own façade in place. During the f
ew minutes I was in there, he obviously decided he’ll follow my orders.
“Tell me what to do, Anna,” Ben says just as my phone rings and I see it’s Agent.
“Agent.”
“15, I’m keeping an eye on Katsu’s progress with the FBI and it appears he’ll be held there for another 30 hours. I’ve tapped in and I’m listening to the conversations happening at the station. His lawyers are trying to secure bail, but the District Attorney’s saying he’s a flight risk so they’re trying to revoke his passport before he’s allowed bail, which is set at 25 million.”
I let his words circulate around in my head. It doesn’t matter if Katsu has his passport revoked. He’s a man of greater means and would be able to flee the country quite easily. I’m sure the 25 million would only be pocket change to him.
“15, there’s more you should be aware of.” I roll my eyes and look over at Ben, who has his eyes glued to the computer screen with the image of his sister.
“What else could there be, Agent?” A dry, humorless, cynical laugh escapes my throat. I shake my head and ponder how much more shit can actually be thrown at Ben and me.
“Well the good news is the other house is about to be raided, Doctor’s on standby, and I’ve located a temporary foster family to help the little girl. I’ll do what I can do to track down her family. I’ve gone over all the security tapes and I’ve only identified three men. No one else has brought harm to her.”
I start to contemplate who these animals are and what exactly I’m going to do to them. I’ll take great pleasure in surgically removing their balls while they’re strapped to a table top and wide awake. I’ll make small slits all on their bodies and leave them for the rats to feast on.
I’ll have to make sure I have enough adrenalin available to keep them awake while I try my hand at the very intricate operation I intend on performing on them. I’ll have to get Agent to secure me a dirty, abandoned, rat-infested building for these three men. Even that’s too good for those animals.
“15…” I hear Agent calling me and I didn’t even realize that my planning of the demise of these three had overtaken my thoughts.
“15, there’s still more.” Come on Anna, head back in the game.
Breathe.
“Keep going, Agent.”
“I managed to hack into and listen to the conversation Katsu had with his lawyer when he spoke to him via phone. He told his lawyer to make contact with the leak in the St. Cloud PD and find out everything there’s to know about Ben. Katsu said he already has some information that’s related to Claire, but he wanted to find out more.” Ben? He has information on Ben? I turn to look at him and he’s still staring at the image on the laptop screen.
“Did he say what information he has?” I keep my side of the conversation non-specific so Ben doesn’t realize I’m asking questions about him. I also move further away from him, just in case he over-hears.
“No but he did mention the name of the insider.”
“It has to be one of the lower ranked female officers.” I’m waiting for the name.
“It’s not an officer. It’s the police desk clerk, Grace Campbell.”
“WHAT?” my voice is too loud, I’ve actually yelled that.
“Grace Campbell,” Agent repeats himself. Sweet, happy Grace who’s pregnant?
“How is that possible?” I feel Ben’s presence before I see him. His hand snakes around my waist and he pulls me into a hug, his chest to my back. He doesn’t say anything, he just holds me.
“It seems Katsu killed her husband and now is threatening to kill her and her unborn child.”
“Have you got anything else for me?” Please say no.
“No I don’t.” The call’s disconnected.
I stay in Ben’s embrace for a few moments thinking about Grace.
Her unborn child’s in danger from Katsu Vang.
That man is toxic and must die.
I detangle from Ben’s arms and give him one of the disposable phones I took from the safe room. “Call Emily and make sure she’s okay. Get her and her husband to leave wherever they are and go to a safe location. Make sure they use cash and absolutely no cards. Tell them to leave their phones at home and get them to buy disposables. Give them the number to this phone. Do the same with Claire’s husband. Tell them to call when they’re in a safe location and only call once. I’ll have further instructions for them then. Make no other calls.”
I go to the kitchen, find some paper, and write the number of the disposable phone down. I push the piece of paper over to Ben and he takes it and lets out a huge sigh.
He nods his head in understanding of my strict instructions.
“I’ll make the calls outside if that’s okay, Anna, I just need some air.” Ben lolls his head to the side and he looks tired.
“Okay. I know it’s still early, but when you’re done we need to eat and rest. We’re no good to anyone if we can’t function.”
“Alright, baby girl.” Ben goes to the sliding door and steps outside to the patio while he starts pushing numbers into the phone I gave him.
I can’t hear his conversation. Instead I’m concentrating on the floor plan of the building Claire’s being held in. Agent emailed me images of the floor plan and the surrounding area. There isn’t a lot of cover, so I’ll have to take the guards out in rapid succession without drawing additional attention.
The one thing I don’t want is for them to have any time to call for extra guards who could ultimately endanger all of us. Ben comes back in only moments after he went outside. He looks flustered and angry.
“What’s going on, Ben?” I ask hoping he tells me the others have listened to him and gone into hiding.
“They want to fight, but I won’t let them.” He shudders like a cold shiver runs down his spine and he shakes his head from side to side.
“I won’t let them. They aren’t trained. You and I have to take care of this. And once we get your sister back, then I’ve got something else I need to do.” My shoulders start to tense up again thinking about those despicable men who hurt the girl.
Ben puts the phone on the counter and moves to stand right in front of me. He forms a protective cage around my body with his arms and pulls me close, so our bodies are touching from the top of my head to the tip of my shoes. My body’s feeling a contentment it hasn’t felt in a long time, and I instantly relax into his hold.
My arms find their own way around his waist and I pull him to me, closing the paper-thin distance between us. The weather outside is turning very cold, but the heat radiating from our bodies is keeping us warm. Ben kisses my forehead and I close my eyes and lean into his gentle touch.
He’s caressing my back with his hands, just lightly running them up and down. His hands feel pleasant and warm, and his touch makes love to the nerves in my back, like a pianist stroking the ivory keys to make music. I let out a small moan while my entire body bursts into flames.
I want Ben to make love to me, but I also know now’s not the time for that. It takes every single ounce of strength to break away from him, especially seeing as my heart’s racing and my entire body feels flushed. But I manage to place that damn awful mask on and step away from his warm, inviting touch.
“I’m hungry, Ben. See if you can make us something to eat with what I have in the freezer. I need to take a shower.” I turn to leave him but his hand runs down the length of my arm as he entwines our extremities together. He pulls me back toward him, he leans his forehead onto mine and our lips are merely a breath apart. He closes his eyes, and I do the same thing just letting the sensation of his mouth ghost over mine, Ben’s distinct cinnamon flavor enticing my senses.
He doesn’t kiss me; he barely touches me. Ben’s breathing becomes more rapid and I can feel the strain of his chest rising and falling. His mouth so close I can feel the warmth of his breath. I only need to lean in and we’d be kissing.
“Don’t run, baby. I need you here with me. I need to feel you. I need you,” th
e last three words he lets out in a breathless sigh.
“I love you, Ben.”
He lets go of all his stress he’s been holding in his body and relaxes into the hold, melding our bodies into one tight unit.
“I love you, too.” His mouth is next to my ear; he barely whispered. “Come away with me. When this is all done, come away with me. Let’s just leave everything behind and find an island we can live on where no one knows us.” He pushes me away and my eyes fly open with shock.
“What?” What’s Ben asking me? My mind’s travelling to a place I’ve only ever let myself drift to once, the day we were in Ben’s safe room on the morning he was shot.
A future.
A future where Ben and I are together.
A future with no evil and no danger.
“Come away with me, baby girl. Let’s leave all this behind us. Once we get Claire back, let’s just disappear. I want you and I love you, let us just…go.” Ben’s eyes are desperate for me to say ‘yes’. His breath is ragged and his mouth has fallen open. Ben’s searching for an immediate positive response from me.
Is this an attainable destiny for me?
Anna
“Please.” I’m not sure if he’s pleading to try to convince me or himself.
“Ben, what I do…it’s just…I can’t…fuck!” I’m pissed off he’s put me in this position. His shoulders slump and he backs away from me.
“I understand.” Ben’s body’s defies his words. He looks crushed by my outburst.
“How do you expect it to work? Can you leave your family behind? Can you leave your work behind? I mean, have you actually thought about what you’re asking? Do you realize what this would mean for us?” I stand in front of him, blocking his escape, wanting to read his body language. He’s very agitated at this moment.
“I’ve thought of nothing more than getting away from…” He gasps, his eyes widen and he stops mid-sentence, like he’s just about to tell me a secret he doesn’t want me to know.
Suspicion creeps into my mind. What’s Ben hiding? He takes a deep breath and composes himself. “I’ve thought of nothing more than taking you and leaving everything behind. I want you to leave this life and start a new one with me. Just me, no bullshit, no 15, just you and I…and nothing else.”
The HiT Series Page 39