by James Hunt
“But you can tell me, right?” Dylan asked, giving a smile.
Mary let out a sigh. “He said he was going to find you.” She returned to her coloring, and Dylan kissed her on the top of her head then flew back down the stairs.
Dylan barely slowed to a stop as Evelyn and Cooper grabbed hold of him on his way to the car. “We have to go back into the city.”
“Captain, I don’t know if that’s the best idea right now,” Cooper said. “We want to get you and your family to a safe place, and we don’t know when all of this is going to end.”
“And what is happening out there?” Peter asked, interjecting between the two of them. “We’ve been hearing all kinds of things. Mostly speculation, but it would be nice to have some facts.”
“The facts are still developing.” Cooper gave a smile that Dylan noticed had a hint of “fuck you.”
“Sean went to my place,” Dylan said.
“He’s out there?” Evelyn pointed toward the pluming smoke and chaos that had consumed Boston. The plumes had multiplied, and another explosion rumbled in the distance. It was light, like a thunderstorm growing on the horizon. Evelyn broke down and buried her face into Peter’s shoulder at the sound and sight of the city. “My baby.”
“I’ll get him back,” Dylan said, but before he could head to the car, Cooper pulled his shoulder back and spun him around. The other agents with her cut off any other path, forcing him to stay put.
“Dylan, think about this. And we don’t know what else these people are planning.” Cooper kept her voice low as the circle around Dylan thickened, causing Peter and Evelyn to move closer to hear what they were saying.
“You can either help me get back to my place, or I can go alone, but either way, you’re not stopping me.” Dylan felt his face redden. Each of the DEA squad members gripped their weapons tightly and took one step closer to Dylan in the center.
“All right, Captain,” Cooper replied, letting out a sigh. She thrust her hand into the air and circled it around. “Let’s move out.”
While the rest of the agents piled back into their cars, Dylan walked over to Evelyn, still buried in Peter’s arms. “Evelyn, I will bring our boy home. I promise you.” She moved her head out from Peter’s shirt, her face red and wet. She walked over to him and used both of her hands to hold one of his. “I know you will.”
Dylan gave her hands a light squeeze, and then he rushed back to the SUV where Cooper and her agents were already waiting. The crowds had thickened on the streets and lawns of the neighborhood at the sight of any authority that could tell them anything about what was happening. But those people were the farthest thing from Dylan’s mind. If he couldn’t bring his boy back, he wasn’t sure if he could hold back that anger he’d kept at bay for so long. He wasn’t going to lose another son.
***
Dylan’s heart dropped when he saw his son’s bike propped up against the staircase of the duplex he rented. He glanced up to the front door, which was open, and Dylan was out of the car before it came to a complete stop in the driveway. He sprinted toward the stairs, screaming his son’s name, before Cooper had a chance to stop him.
“Dylan, wait! We don’t know wha—”
Gunfire from automatic rifles shattered the windows that faced the driveway where the DEA caravan of vehicles was parked. Bullets peppered the hoods and windshields, turning the SUVs into Swiss cheese. Cooper tackled Dylan to the ground as the bullets continued then dragged him back behind the cover of the trucks while her men returned fire.
Dylan tripped over some of the shell casings rolling down the driveway and waved his arms for Cooper’s men to cease fire. Cooper stopped the gunfire, but wouldn’t relinquish her grip as Dylan tried to push her off of him but kept pulling him back behind the car door. “Let go, Cooper.”
“Dylan Turk!” The shout caused both Dylan and Cooper to quit their squabble, and Dylan jumped up from behind the car, exposing himself and refusing to let Cooper drag him back down. “We have your son! If you want him to stay alive, you will come up here, alone!”
Dylan took a step forward, and Cooper twisted his wrist and yanked him back down behind the door. “You can’t do this,” Cooper said. “It’s a trap. They want something from you, and they think they can use your son as leverage.”
“I’m going to do whatever needs to be done to get my son back. There isn’t any other option for me.” Dylan noticed the panic to his voice, and from the look on Cooper’s face, she did as well.
Cooper shook her head. “It’s the wrong move, Captain.” But her words had the defeated tone of knowing that he was going to go in no matter what. “I’m calling for backup, and when they get here, I won’t be the one in command, and the person that will be won’t care about you, or your son. They’ll want to nail those bastards at any cost. You won’t have much time.”
“I understand.” Dylan kept his hands in the air when he rose from behind the car. The DEA agents kept their rifles aimed on the house, looking for any signs of movement. Dylan walked briskly yet carefully as he ascended the staircase. The wood creaked with each step, and when he made it to the front door, the front living room was cast in darkness, as the blinds had been drawn throughout the rest of the house.
The moment he stepped inside and blinked his eyes to adjust to the light, he counted six men, all wearing masks, all armed, and in the middle of them, with his sandy-blond hair and watery eyes, was his son. “Sean.” Dylan made a move toward him, but the butt of a rifle smacked into his head, knocking him to the carpet before he even got close.
A sharp ringing pierced his ears, and the back of Dylan’s head felt like it had been cracked open, but when his fingers touched the side of his head at the point of contact, they didn’t even draw blood. For a moment he saw two of his son, and both were crying. “It’s okay, Sean. It’s okay.”
One of the pirates yanked Dylan up by his collar and forced him to stand on his wobbling legs. The pirate next to Sean had his hand over his son’s shoulder. “You let my son go.”
“You would be wise to speak with respect, Captain.” Kasaika pulled off his mask while the others kept theirs on. “You’ve been foolish enough with us already.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a phone that had a piece of paper folded on it then tossed it on the carpet by Dylan’s feet. “You will take that phone and keep it private. Show it to no one. When you leave here and go back to your DEA agents, you will tell them the following: We want five hundred million dollars delivered to that account on the paper. In addition to that, we demand that any and all American military presence in and around the country of Egypt will be sent home, and our regime will be placed into power and backed by the US government and the United Nations.”
Dylan kicked the phone, and it skidded back to Kasaika’s feet. “Give me my boy. Now.” But Kasaika simply nodded to two of his men, who restrained Dylan’s hands behind his back and kicked the back of his legs, sending him to his knees.
Kasaika stepped forward once Dylan had been subdued, and crouched down to meet him at eye-level. “You will do these things, and when we contact you and give you instructions of what else we need, you will do those as well. If you choose not to do these things, or tell the authorities about the phone or any other orders we give you, I will kill your son in front of you.”
Dylan spasmed against the two men, every fiber in his being enraged, struggling to be set free. All he could envision was wrapping his hands around the pirate’s neck and choking the life out of him one breath at a time.
“And then after I’ve killed your son, I will kill your daughter, Mary. And then your ex-wife, Evelyn. And I will work my way down the list of every person you care about, and when I am done, I will tear you apart piece by piece, keeping you alive long enough for you to feel every ounce of pain I inflict on you.”
Kasaika glanced back at Sean, and Dylan saw his son’s eyes. It was that that broke him. His son’s life was above anything else in the world. All that rage, all those fe
elings of pain and vengeance melted away. Dylan reached for the phone he’d kicked and slid it into his pocket. He clutched the paper in his hands and then looked Kasaika dead in the eye. “I will get my son back.”
“Only if you do as you’re told,” Kasaika answered. “I will keep him with me until we are done with you. As long as you do as we say, no harm will befall your son.”
“You’ll never get out of here,” Dylan said. “There are twenty men downstairs, and they will kill all of you, me included, just to make sure my boy is safe.”
“Captain,” Kasaika said, shaking his head, “you and I both know that it’s me they want. It’s you and your son who are dispensable.” Kasaika stood straight and pointed to the door. “Go. Tell your agents what we want, and if they try and chase us, we will kill the boy.”
The two men holding Dylan down released their grip, and Dylan pushed himself off the carpet. Sean had stemmed back the tears from earlier, but the boy’s mouth was twisted in a downturn of a smile. He was afraid and not understanding why his father couldn’t help him. “I’ll be back soon, Sean.”
“Dad, no!” Sean tried running to him, but Kasaika caught him before the two could touch. “Dad! Dad!” Sean kept his arms outstretched as Dylan slowly backed toward the door. Each piercing scream from his son wrenched his heart.
“I will come back. I promise.”
“Remember your words, Captain. Or I will slit your son’s throat,” Kasaika said, holding Sean still.
One of the terrorists gave a forceful shove to Dylan’s chest and pushed him out the door and then slammed it in his face. Dylan crumpled the piece of paper with their list of demands in his fist, and when he turned around, the DEA agents still had their guns aimed up at the second story, and Dylan made his way back down the stairs. A cold emptiness engulfed him.
Cooper grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back behind the cover of the trucks. “What the hell happened? Are you hurt?”
Dylan shook his head then handed her the crumpled paper in his hands. He listened to the sound of her voice, reading the demands as he looked back up at his apartment. He couldn’t imagine what was running through his son’s mind at that moment. He wasn’t sure if Sean would ever forgive him, but if Dylan could keep him alive, that was all that mattered.
“This is ludicrous,” Cooper replied, tossing the paper to her comrades. “There isn’t anything in here that the government would agree to, even if they hadn’t tried to blow up half of Boston.”
“They said they’d only let my son go if you did those things,” Dylan replied, turning back to Cooper. “If your men try and go in, they’ll kill him.”
Before Cooper answered, her voice was cut short by the wailing sirens and the flashing lights of police vehicles arriving on scene. Two men, dressed in suits and ties, exited of the front vehicle while SWAT poured out of vans, fully dressed in Kevlar and loaded down with rifles and ammo.
The closer the two men moved, Dylan recognized the agent who’d let him go at the hospital. “Agent Cooper, I’m taking command of this operation.” It was Perry.
“Well, that just makes me feel real good inside,” Cooper replied.
Perry had helped him before, and Dylan believed he could do it again. Dylan rushed over to Perry, gripping him by the collar. “They have my son. They’re armed. You need to tell your men to let them go.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Mr. Turk.” Perry turned to the men behind him. “Set up a perimeter. We don’t want them trying to sneak around the back.”
Dylan grabbed Perry by the shoulders. He watched the man wince from the pressure of his fingers digging into the suit, squeezing hard enough to feel the bone underneath. “Call them off!” Perry tried to wiggle free, but Dylan had too good of a hold on him, and for a moment Dylan thought he saw a smile creep up Perry’s face. Cooper and one of her men had to peel Dylan off of him, and even then Dylan took the jacket Perry was wearing with him.
“Get him out of here!” Perry said, his face flushed red. He pulled the radio off his side and put it to his mouth. “We are a go. I want those bastards dead.”
“No!” But Dylan’s screams fell on deaf ears. The SWAT team raided the building, marching up the staircase, and even stormed the first floor. Dylan waited for the gunshots, his eyes glued to his apartment, Cooper and her man still holding him back. But as the seconds ticked by, all Dylan heard were the shouts from the SWAT members instead of bullets.
“House is clear, sir.”
Perry kicked the dirt and cursed. Cooper let Dylan go, and he collapsed to his knees. Mixed emotions of relief and fear gripped him. His hand found the outline of the phone Kasaika had given him in his pocket. As long as he did what they told him to, Sean would live.
“Dylan.” Cooper’s voice startled him, and he spun around quickly. “We’ll help get him back. I promise.” She offered a smile, which did nothing to calm him.
“No, you won’t.” Perry marched over like a bulldozer, jamming his bony finger into Cooper’s shoulder. “You’re the reason those bastards got away in the first place. And you let a civilian go up there to speak with those animals?”
Cooper maintained her composure. “His son was held hostage. They wouldn’t speak with anyone else. It was my call. Mr. Turk and my team had nothing to do with it.”
“You’re done, Agent Cooper,” Perry snapped. “After I speak with your supervisor for this arrogant display of negligence, you won’t be able to work security at a mall.”
“I look forward to hearing from you,” Cooper said. And before Perry could spit any more threats, Cooper left, with her team in tow.
Perry grabbed Dylan by the arm and waved his own men away. He pulled the two of them to the side, where the others couldn’t hear. “Mr. Turk, I am truly sorry about your son, but you do understand that we have protocols. We can’t negotiate with terrorists.”
Dylan remained silent, almost all of his attention focused on the weight of the phone hidden in his pocket. Perry leaned in closer. “If there is anything else they told you, anything else that they asked of you that you didn’t tell Agent Cooper, you could tell me, and I promise you I will do everything within my power to get your boy back to you safely.”
“No,” Dylan answered. “The demands on the paper were all they wanted.”
“I see.” Perry squinted his eyes, and Dylan could smell the coffee on his breath and the stink of his cologne mixed with the sweat from the summer heat. “Well, we’ll need to bring you in, have you give an official statement. My men will escort you.”
Dylan was tossed into the back of a cop car. He watched the image of his son’s bike grow smaller and smaller out of the back of the windshield. His mind raced back to when Sean first learned to ride. He was all decked out in pads. Evelyn wouldn’t let him ride without them. It took him a few hours before he was able to get the hang of it, but when he did, Dylan never felt so proud. The memory was fleeting, and when the bike was finally out of sight, he turned around to face the driver. All that mattered now was getting Sean back. At any cost.
Chapter 10 – Saturday 12:45 p.m.
Perry waited until most of the staff in the building had gone home before he left. He gave his customary goodbyes to those coming in for the afternoon shift and then drove off the Homeland Security premises. He stopped for a coffee before he left DC and then started the long drive to East Massachusetts.
It was nightfall by the time he arrived at the warehouse. He’d taken the long route to ensure that no one would be following and he was away from the prying eyes of any security cameras. Once he made it into the rural areas, he was safe.
A few of Sefkh’s and Kasaika’s men acknowledged him with a nod as he drove through the front gates and parked outside the rusted building. He locked his car and tucked the keys into his pocket and downed the rest of his coffee. He crumpled the Styrofoam cup and tossed it into the dirt.
Sefkh greeted him at the door, while Kasaika continued his sulking in the corner. “It seems your
brother doesn’t like the way I plan things.”
“Give him time,” Sefkh replied. “Once he sees the results of what we’re able to accomplish, he’ll come around.”
Kasaika had been adamant about not wanting to take the boy, but Sefkh and Perry were able to convince him that it was necessary. Not everything could be tied up in a neat little bow the way Kasaika imagined his revenge to be. The man had yet to get his hands truly dirty. “I want to see him.”
Sefkh unlocked the door to the steel transport carton where Sean was being held, and Perry entered alone. The inside of the cargo transport was rusty and smelled of wet metal. It was dark, and the ground felt rough beneath his feet. The moment Perry entered, the boy recoiled.
“I know you’re afraid, Sean,” Perry said, continuing his slow walk to the boy, who’d tucked himself away in the corner. “But I can tell you that you have nothing to fear from me.” Once he was towering over the boy, he crouched to his level. “It’s your father you should be afraid of.”
“My dad is coming to get me!” Sean spit his words out defiantly.
“He will try.” Perry nodded. “But each time he does, I’m going to hurt you.” Perry pulled a blade from his ankle and pressed the flat side to the boy’s exposed forearm. “And every time he fails at the missions we give him, I’m going to hurt you. You will associate you father’s name with pain. And by the time your father is done”—Perry brushed the hair off the boy’s forehead with the blade’s spine—“all that will be left of you is scars.”
***
The police station Dylan, Evelyn, Peter, and Mary were brought to was a considerable improvement from the last station Dylan had been in, and twice as busy. They were shuffled past officers and criminals, looters and thieves who’d taken advantage of the chaos that was now Boston, and put into a small conference room, where members from Perry’s team took their statements.