by Ruff, K. S.
Michael nuzzled my neck. “Soon, ma chérie. It is as you said. We both need time to be together and adjust. I’d like to take you out to see Paris tomorrow if you are feeling up to it and if the weather permits. Perhaps we can eat dinner out?”
I stared at Michael in shock. “Aren’t you worried about taking me out in public?”
It was Michael’s turn to look surprised. “Pourquoi?”
I was hesitant to respond, given that some degree of freedom was on the line, but I was truly baffled by his willingness to take me out in public. “Surely the fact that I’m missing will be in the news, especially if they connect it to what happened at the Pentagon. People will be looking for me.”
Michael shook his head. “Your disappearance is not likely to make the news here. Your soldier friend will make sure of that.”
I was surprised by his assessment of Kadyn. “Why do you say that?”
Michael shrugged. “Because he knows what could happen.”
“And what is that?” I asked hesitantly.
Michael’s eyes met mine. “I would take you some place where you would never be found. I told you, mon coeur, I own six different properties, all in different names, and I could easily purchase more. I can work from any place in the world, so I do not need to be here. If he comes close to finding us, we will leave.”
Michael took the wine glass from my hand and set it aside. He stood and pulled me to my feet. He cupped my face in his hands and kissed me gently on the lips. “Come, ma chérie. It is time for bed.”
Michael went downstairs to speak to the security staff while I got ready for bed. I was so exhausted by the time I crawled under the sheets that I fell asleep within a matter of minutes.
I woke briefly when Michael joined me. He wrapped his arms around me as he tucked me into his warm chest. He kissed my neck before whispering in my ear. “Bonne nuit, mon amour.”
I tensed at first. He didn’t feel, sound, or even smell like Kadyn. His presence in that bed felt all wrong. Eventually, I relaxed enough to fall back to sleep. When I did, I was still wrapped tightly in his arms.
Chapter 8 – Broken
Kadyn’s arms ached to hold Kri. His arms ached… his heart ached… even his head ached; but none of that really mattered. He still had to return to work. The Secretary of Defense was planning a trip to Israel, and he was responsible for ensuring his travel communications were secure. Kadyn set his concerns for Kri aside long enough to review the travel plans, identify the equipment and protocols needed, and brief the SecDef’s security team. Once they were square, he called Phil to invite him to lunch.
They met at Panda Express in the Pentagon’s underground mall. Kadyn waited to ask Phil about his efforts to find Kri until they were seated at a table with their food. He unwrapped his chopsticks and snapped them apart. “Any news?”
Phil scowled as he dug into his Kung Pao Chicken. “No. I’ve run his name through a number of Interpol’s criminal databases, but I haven’t been able to identify a Michael Garcia connected to an Eastern European terrorist organization. I’ve had plenty of hits on a Michael Garcia who’s connected to a drug cartel in Mexico. There’s another Michael Garcia in Colombia who’s linked to FARC. There’s a Michael Garcia who’s linked to money laundering in Panama, and there are a number of men named Michael Garcia in South America who are linked to gun trafficking. I’m sure you can see the problem. This guy’s name is too common. There are over a hundred thousand men named Michael Garcia in North America alone. It’s like searching for a needle in a haystack.”
Kadyn nodded as he processed the news. He took a few bites of shrimp fried rice while he worked through strategies for narrowing the search.
Phil continued. “I’m running into the same problem with the passenger lists on all of the major airlines. There were a number of men with the name Michael Garcia who flew out of Reagan National, BWI, and Dulles Airport yesterday. I’m operating under the assumption that he didn’t drive somewhere else, like Pennsylvania or New York, and fly out of there; although, that is a possibility we should consider. I have just over seventy people I need to look into from the passenger lists on commercial flights out of Virginia and Maryland alone, and I haven’t even looked into any private or corporate jets. We need a passport number, or a driver’s license, and some idea where he might have gone. We need to narrow the search.”
Kadyn rubbed the heel of his hand across his forehead. He had been fighting a headache all morning. “Let’s narrow the search by focusing on the men who are tied to money laundering or other white collar crimes. We can’t be certain that Garcia is tied to a terrorist organization. That could be pure speculation. You know how the media gets. Still, what are the odds there would be car bombs at the Pentagon the same day he took her?”
Phil nodded thoughtfully. “I don’t know. It’s possible the two incidents are connected, but you said this guy has been stalking her for some time. Maybe he heard the news break on the Pentagon and saw an opportunity to force her hand. Any number of terrorist organizations could have pulled this off; although I do find it odd that no one is claiming responsibility. Terrorist acts are typically pursued to make a point or to further a political agenda. The explosive devices were rudimentary, and none of them appeared capable of detonation. Aside from the fact that Kri disappeared the same day, I’d say a connection is questionable at best.”
Kadyn shook his head. “I still think it’s connected. Do you remember Kri’s Vietnam vet friend from Montana, the one who helped us find her in Trout Lake?”
Phil nodded. “Dan.”
Kadyn continued. “He was trying to track down Garcia before we discovered that Morris was the one who kidnapped Kri. Maybe he has something we can use… possible destinations or the last place he was seen. I’ll call him after work to see if he can help us narrow the search.”
“Didn’t he work as a skip tracer when he came back from Vietnam?” Phil asked.
Kadyn nodded. “Yes, and he’s one of Kri’s best friends. He’s going to want in on this, and there’s a good chance he can help. I’ll give him a call after work. I’m also going to track down the name of the reporter who published the news story in Portugal speculating on Garcia’s connection to a terrorist network. If I can locate him, maybe I can obtain some additional information that will help us narrow our search.”
Phil narrowed his eyes at Kadyn. “You don’t speak Portuguese, and your Spanish sucks. You need to pull Cenia in, so she can talk to that reporter. Besides, he’s more likely to cooperate with a woman than he is a man.”
A small smile played on Kadyn’s face. “I plan to pull Cenia in, but just for the record, my Spanish is a lot better than yours.”
Phil chuckled as he and Kadyn disposed of their trash and returned the trays. He patted Kadyn on the back. “It’s good to know I can still bait you.”
Kadyn just shook his head. The two men fell into a companionable silence as they walked through the miles of winding corridors that formed the Pentagon. Kadyn and Phil parted ways just before Kadyn reached the art display from the children of the 9/11 victims. An overwhelming sense of sadness fell over him as he stood staring at the artwork. “Terrorists,” he grumbled as he turned away. Was Kri already in their hands?
* * * * * *
Kadyn drove straight home after work. He changed out of his uniform before walking over to Kri’s apartment. Her apartment was where they spent most of their evenings together, so the walk was instinctive.
He unlocked the door and tossed his keys on the counter. He didn’t bother sitting down. Kadyn knew there would be hell to pay when he called Dan. He scrolled through the list of contacts on his cell phone and tapped on Dan’s name.
Dan answered on the first ring. “Hey, Kadyn. I heard about what happened at the Pentagon. What the hell’s going on over there? You sleeping on the job?” Dan chuckled as he ribbed his friend.
“Evidently,” Kadyn gritted out.
The phone line went quiet. Then Dan’s voice c
ame across low and menacingly. “What is it?”
“It’s Kri. She’s been kidnapped again.” Kadyn moved the phone a few feet from his ear in anticipation of Dan’s reaction.
“What the FUCK!” Dan exploded. “How the hell did you let that happen… again?”
Kadyn exhaled loudly. “I didn’t let anything happen, Dan. I was on lockdown at the Pentagon when she was taken.”
“This happened yesterday, when the bombs were found at the Pentagon? Why am I just now hearing about this?” Dan asked sharply. “Wait. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
Kadyn leaned against Kri’s breakfast bar and stared out over the living room. His eyes lingered on the place where he had found Mickey. “Yes. She was taken by Michael Garcia. He left the lease officer from our apartment complex tied up in Kri’s apartment with a message for me. She recognized him from that photo you had Kri distribute last year.”
Dan sucked in a breath. “What was the message?”
“He said he’ll destroy everything and everyone I love if I try to find Kri.”
Dan swore softly this time. “Son-of-a-bitch.”
Kadyn pushed off the counter and walked into the living room. “I had to involve the Department of Homeland Security because of the possible connection to the bombs at the Pentagon. They have far more resources at their disposal than I do. Still, I don’t trust them to keep me in the loop. Phil and I are doing what we can, but we’re having a really tough time getting a lead on this guy. His name is too common.”
“I know. Why do you think I had so much trouble tracking him down when Morris took Kri last November?” Dan responded irritably.
Kadyn opened the blinds on the sliding glass doors. He stared unseeingly through the glass. “Dan, there has got to be some way to narrow this down. Do you have any idea where the guy was last seen?”
Dan sighed. “The last location I could place Garcia was Boca Raton, Florida. His trail disappears after that.”
Kadyn stilled when he heard something shatter on the other end of the phone line.
“I can’t believe she’s gone again. How much shit can one woman get into?” Dan gritted angrily.
Kadyn turned away from the sliding glass doors. He began pacing across Kri’s living room as he sought ways to narrow the search. “We’re assuming the guy speaks Portuguese, since he lived in Portugal for some period of time. We know he’s fluent in French. Do you know if he speaks any other languages?”
“I don’t know of any other languages, aside from English. It is possible, though. Kimme told me that Garcia grew up in a French boarding school. He prefers to speak French, so he clearly identifies with that culture. Maybe he prefers living there. Maybe he took her to France.”
Kadyn stopped pacing. “I was thinking the same thing. Still, if the guy is smart enough to pull off what he did at the Pentagon without leaving a trail, then he’s smart enough to know that France is the first place we’d look.”
Dan quietly considered Kadyn’s argument. Finally, he spoke. “You make a good point. This guy is far from stupid. Still, he just might be arrogant enough to hide her in the most obvious place, assuming that we would immediately rule it out.”
Kadyn walked down the hallway toward Kri’s bedroom. He leaned against the doorway as he peered inside the room. “He could be in any English, French, or Portuguese speaking country. Portuguese isn’t all that far off from Spanish, so I would add Spanish speaking countries to the list.”
“Agreed,” Dan responded reluctantly.
Kadyn sighed in frustration. “I don’t have a lot of leave time left, between the time I took off to find Kri in Trout Lake and our trip to the Bahamas in April. How am I supposed to manage this large of an investigation when I have to work?”
“I don’t know, Kadyn. This is going to be a lot more difficult than the last time. This guy has far more resources at his disposal than Morris did, and that gives him the ability to broaden the playing field across the entire globe. I think you did the right thing by pulling the feds in on this one. Still, this is Krissy we’re talking about. We can’t just sit on our asses in the hopes that the feds will do their job. I’ll keep digging and see what I can find.”
Kadyn pushed off the door frame and walked back toward the living room. “Thanks, Dan. Listen, I need you to keep this quiet. We have got to keep this out of the news for as long as we can. I don’t want to give him an excuse to bury her someplace where we’ll never find her.”
“Consider it done,” Dan replied before abruptly ending the call.
Kadyn slipped the phone inside his pocket. He reached for the front door, then paused. He slowly turned around. His eyes took in the apartment. He could still see her here in every possible space… the kitchen, the breakfast bar, the chair, the couch, even sitting on the floor. He could still see her cooking, reading, laughing, and crying. He could feel her everywhere and nowhere at once. Kadyn gave Kri’s living room one last longing look as he gathered the strength to walk away. Silently, he stepped over the threshold and locked the door.
“Kadyn?”
Kadyn turned just as Mickey reached out to touch his arm. “Hi, Mickey. How are you?”
Mickey shrugged. “I’m okay. Any news on Kri?”
Kadyn shook his head. “Sadly, no.”
Her eyes pooled with tears. “I’m so sorry, Kadyn. I never should have let him inside Kri’s apartment.”
Kadyn shoved his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the side of the building. He felt conflicted about Mickey’s decision to let Michael into Kri’s apartment, but no good could come of telling Mickey that. “Your life was being threatened. It’s not like you had a choice, Mickey.”
“Thanks,” she whispered. “If there’s anything I can do to help or if you just want to talk, please know that I’m here for you.” As Mickey began to walk away, she turned back around to look at Kadyn. His strong physique looked broken as he stood staring down at his shoes. “I hope you find her, Kadyn.”
“Me too,” he responded softly. He pushed away from the wall and quietly walked away.
When Kadyn entered his apartment, his roommate, Mason, was pulling a frozen pizza out of the oven. He looked up from the oven in surprise. “I haven’t seen you for days. I thought maybe you decided to move in with Kri.”
Kadyn didn’t answer. He just kept walking straight to his room.
Mason’s jaw dropped as he watched Kadyn walk dejectedly across the room. He set the pizza on top of the stove and followed Kadyn to his room. He stood in the doorway and studied his friend.
Kadyn was sitting on the edge of his bed with his head buried in his hands. His elbows were braced against his thighs. His shoulders shook softly, but he didn’t look up, and he didn’t make a sound.
Mason was reluctant to enter the room. “Talk to me, Kadyn. What’s wrong? Did somebody die?”
Kadyn looked up. His eyes were vacant, his face streaked with tears. “She’s gone,” he whispered. “Kri’s gone.”
Mason crossed the room and kneeled in front of his friend. “Kadyn, what do you mean by gone? Where did she go?”
Kadyn’s eyes met Mason’s. “Michael Garcia took her when we were on lockdown at the Pentagon. I can’t find her. I’ll never find her. She’s gone.”
Mason shot to his feet. “You mean she’s been kidnapped? Again? What is it with this woman? Why does every fucking man on the planet want to kidnap her?” Mason began pacing across Kadyn’s room. “Garcia is the guy you thought took her last November, the guy from Portugal who’s suspected of having some terrorist connections?”
“Yes,” Kadyn responded as he watched his friend pace across the room. Like Kadyn, Mason was an Air Force Captain. Both worked at the Pentagon but in different departments. Mason was one of six friends who had gone to Trout Lake to help Kadyn rescue Kri. They were a tight circle of friends, and the experience of nearly losing one of their own had bonded them even more.
Mason stopped pacing. He looked like he’d just been hit b
y a wrecking ball. “Shit. She could be in the hands of terrorists for all we know. I assume the explosive devices found at the Pentagon are connected?”
“I believe the two crimes are connected,” Kadyn confirmed.
Mason’s eyes narrowed. “You pulled DHS in?”
Kadyn sighed. “Yes. I had to.”
Mason raked his hand through his hair. “Okay. DHS will approach the Portuguese government for more information on Garcia. The Portuguese government will cooperate if they think this is connected to some terrorist plot. Stay friendly with the investigating officers. See if you can get one of them to share information with you. We should start with Portugal too. We need to dig up everything we can on this guy… where he worked, where he lived, names of family members, coworkers, other women he’s dated, anyone who might know where he lives.”
Kadyn nodded. “Phil’s searching Interpol’s criminal databases. I’m going to see if I can track down the name of the reporter who broke the story on Garcia’s criminal activities and his terrorist connections. He may have some information on Garcia that will help us track him down.”
A determined look settled over Mason’s face as he turned to walk out of the room. “Good. I’ll help you. Call Cenia and get her over here. We may need her help translating stuff. If we can track down the reporter, she’d be the best person to speak to him.”
Kadyn rose from the bed. “Mason, I want to keep this quiet as long as we can. I know it’s bound to get leaked out at some point, especially with the media nosing around for a story on the car bombs. Let’s just keep this between you, me, Phil, Cenia, and Dan for now, okay?”
Mason met Kadyn’s gaze. “Sure thing, buddy. I’m going to get my laptop. You want some pizza?”
Kadyn shook his head. “I’m not hungry. I’ll call Cenia. I’ll meet you in the living room with my laptop in a few minutes.” Kadyn scrolled through the list of contacts on his cell phone until he found Cenia’s name.