by A. L Long
As we pulled up to the gate, I could tell just by the way the guard looked, he wasn’t a genius. Matter of fact, if I had to guess, he was probably raised in a small town and the only way he made it through high school was by playing left tackle for the high school football team.
Watching him struggle to put his Billy club in its holster, he walked up to the van and asked, “You boys in the right place?”
“Pretty sure. We got notification from headquarters that you had issues with your security gate. It looks more like someone was trying to get out without opening it,” Sly responded.
Things couldn’t have fallen into place more perfectly. Even though the gate was secured, it did look as though someone was trying to escape this place and might not have succeeded.
“Yeah. We had a little mishap with one of the residents, but it still works. I just opened and closed it a bit ago.” the guard confessed.
“You might want to check it out.” Sly was quite the people person. No sooner than he advised the guard to check out the gate, the guard was headed back to his little booth.
While the guard was focusing his efforts on getting the gate open, I was out of the van jamming the signal to the gate. There was no way that this gate was going to open.
When the guard finally gave up, he approached the van scratching his head. “I just don’t understand. It was just working.”
“Well, we will have it going in no time. I think we are going to need to check out the security equipment as well. There may be something faulty with the wiring,” Sly smiled, giving the guard a look you give someone to gain their trust.
Getting close to the Gateway facility was a lot easier than we had initially thought. It was like giving candy to a baby. Leaving Gainer by the gate to do his part, the rest of us headed inside the building to do ours. Never had I felt so much tension in my years working for Jagged Edge as I had now. I was certain it was because the life of someone I was falling for was hanging in the balance.
Approaching the reception desk, I looked at the young woman seated in front of a computer with her focus on the screen. Grabbing her attention, I cleared my throat and asked in my most masculine voice, “Excuse me, gorgeous. Can you tell me where the security room is?”
When her eyes met mine, I knew that I had roped her in with my charm. Her mouth fell open and her eyes glazed over with a look of a woman in need. She stuttered for a moment before pointing in the direction where I assumed the security room was. Giving her a wink, I responded, “Thanks, sugar,” as I headed in the direction of her pointed finger.
I didn’t have to look back to know that she was watching every step I took. Shaking my head, I was amazed at how a little sex appeal could woo a woman into giving a man anything he wanted. Turning my focus on where I was going, I came to a door that was clearly marked ‘Security.’ Entering the room, without knocking first, I found that the room was empty. This seemed odd, especially since this place housed the most wanted criminals around. Taking a seat in front of one of the monitors, I studied the picture before moving on to the next one. There were four monitors total, and each of them were displaying four different surveillance shots of the facility. Toggling back and forth between the screens, I centered my attention on the only one that mattered. As plain as day, lying on a hospital bed was Gabrielle.
Zooming in on her body, and adjusting the picture, I could see that she was asleep or drugged. I also noticed that she had a pretty nasty cut above her right eye. My blood began to boil knowing that she had been hurt. Whoever the SOB was that did this to her was going to pay.
While I kept my eyes focused on her, two men walked up to her bed. One was a doctor and the other I wasn’t sure about. His face was away from the camera and the only thing I could see was his back. “Come on, you son-of-a-bitch, turn around,” I knew he couldn’t hear me when I said the words.
As I was cursing in the empty security room, the second man in the room turned, giving me a perfect view of his face. It was Elliott Crawford. I didn’t know why I was surprised, given the fact that we had tracked the plate number that Gabrielle had written down to his address. If I could have, I would have jumped through the monitor and choked him until he couldn’t take one more breath. Zooming in a little bit more, I could see that the two men were talking to one another. Damn, how I wished this system had audio.
When the two men headed back to the door, the room number where Gabrielle was being held came into view. I couldn’t waste any more time in here. I needed to get to her now. Dismantling the security system so that all of the monitors were black, I headed out of the room with a little satisfaction that it would take them months to figure out what I had done. Not even their shit firewall codes would work. Setting my own code, it was ironic how ‘Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall. Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,’ fit this situation to a tee. Soon Elliott Crawford’s world would be crumbling to the ground, taking everyone involved with him.
~****~
“God, this woman is beautiful,” I thought to myself as I stared down at her peaceful body. I could have watched her all day, but I knew I didn’t have much time if I wanted to get her out of here safely. Peter and the guys would be waiting for my signal to move in along with the rest of the FBI team that were on standby awaiting further instructions.
Adjusting the doctor’s coat that I swiped from a cart just outside the supply closet, I took one last look at the vitals monitor that was hooked up to Gabrielle. Carefully unplugging it, I looked down at her arm, contemplating on whether or not to pull out the IV that was stuck in her. There was that chance that something else was being pumped inside her besides sugar water. Going with my gut, I carefully pulled out the needle, leaving the plastic catheter in place.
Unlocking the wheels, I began pushing the bed towards the door. All I needed was to get the bed inside the elevator so I could carry Gabrielle out of here. I didn’t want to chance having a staff member question me about why I was carrying a patient to the elevator. Waiting until the door closed, I picked her up and held her close to me. They must have really drugged her. She didn’t even twitch when I lifted her off the bed.
I wasn’t sure what would be waiting for me once I reached the lower level. I could only hope that Peter got my message and would be waiting for me with reinforcements. Kissing Gabrielle gently on the head, I looked at the elevator panel and watched as the floors decreased. Reaching the ground floor, the door opened with a ding. I could have hugged Peter the minute I saw him, but holding Gabrielle in my arms was one thing I wasn’t about to let go.
Walking up to him, he handed me the key fob to my 4-Runner and gave be a pat on the back. “No sight of Elliott, but at least Gabrielle is safe.” When he hesitated before he continued, I knew it couldn’t be good. “There’s something you need to know, bro.”
The only thing on my mind was getting Gabrielle out of here, and looked at by a real doctor. “Can it wait, Peter?” I asked as I adjusted Gabrielle so I could lay her down on the back seat.
“It can, but this is something that I know you would want to know. We got Graham. He confessed that the sketch of Elliott Crawford and the facial recognition of Gabrielle’s father were dummied. Elliott Crawford isn’t her father. We aren’t even sure that he’s Kataryna’s father.”
Chuckling under my breath, I replied, “It doesn’t fucking surprise me. This whole thing is getting shittier by the minute. I knew that all of this was too coincidental. Why the hell would Elliott Crawford, or whatever his name is, have Graham lie for him, and what the hell is Kataryna’s part in this?” My head was running in circles. This whole thing was so messed up. Nothing was making any sense.
“I don’t know, but we need to have a little talk with Kataryna. I think she knows a lot more than what she is letting on,” Peter advised.
Making sure that Gabrielle was as comfortable as possible I drove out of the covered parking garage and towards the entrance. When I got to the gate, it was pushed wide open and three FBI cars were lined up
with red and blue lights visible. It looked to me like they had everything under control and there was no way I was stopping. Even though there was no sign of Elliott Crawford, he was the least of my worries. Looking back over my shoulder, Gabrielle was still out. I felt lost not knowing what was going on with her. What I did know was that she was safe and in my possession, and as far as I was concerned, I was never going to let her out of my sight.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Gabrielle
The last thing I could remember was ramming that Bug into the fence at Gateway. The minute I opened my eyes, I knew was no longer at Gateway. So, the question was: where the hell was I? Trying to focus on my surroundings, I could see that I was in some sort of medical facility. Based on the sterile smell and the sliding glass door to the room, I guessed that I was in a hospital.
My logic was confirmed when a nurse walked in the room wearing a stethoscope around her neck. Smiling brightly at me, she said in a sweet calming voice, “You’re awake. How are you feeling?”
“Other than a slight headache, I feel fine,” I responded as I placed my hand on my head, feeling a small bandage over my right eye.
“That’s understandable. You have a pretty nasty cut above your eye. Do you remember how you got it?” she asked.
“Yeah. I had a small battle with a steel gate. I guess I lost,” I said, trying to keep my wits about me.
“I would say so,” she commented as she wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my upper arm.
No sooner than she removed the cuff, Chavez was standing in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed on his chest and one leg crossed over the other. If there hadn’t been a beautiful smile on his face, I would have thought he was going to give me the third degree about taking chances and not letting him know where I was going.
As soon as the nurse left the room, he approached the bed. There was something somber about the way he looked at me, almost like he had lost his best friend. When he bent over and kissed me gently on the forehead, there was something else. He was concerned about me and it was written all over his face.
Pulling a hospital seat closer to the bed, he took a seat. Taking my hand closest to him, he held it in his and began softly rubbing the backside with his thumb. I knew there was something on his mind and it probably had to do with what happened. Breaking the ice, I jumped in and confessed, “I was stupid. I should have let you know where I was. I’m sorry, Chavez.”
When he looked down on me, I could tell that my apology wasn’t what he was after. There was something else going on with him. Pulling my hand from his, I scooted up in the bed and looked at him from a better angle. Not wasting any time, I questioned, “What’s going on, Chavez?”
Standing to his feet, he lowered the railing to the bed and took a seat beside me. I knew that serious look on his face. I was trying to decide whether or not it was going to be a good serious or a bad serious. Clearing his throat, he lowered his head. “There’s no easy way to say this, so I am just going to come out with it. Elliott Crawford isn’t your father. Graham staged the whole thing to make you and everyone else think that he was. We just don’t know why.”
“I can’t believe this, but it does make sense. When I was being held at Gateway, Elliott said that he was going to give me a new life. I didn’t know what it meant until I found out the new life he was going to give me was a new identity. I knew I needed to escape, but I didn’t make it,” I confessed
“And the cut on your head, how did you get that?” he asked with worry.
“Me and a fence had a run-in, so to speak. It won.” Pausing for a moment, I tried to put the pieces together and figure out what Elliott wanted with me. “Chavez, do you think changing my identity had to do with some big plan he had?” I questioned, hoping he would have the answer I was looking for.
“I don’t know, but it seems odd that Graham was involved in this. One thing I do know, Kataryna had some part in this. I would bet my life on it.”
I had to agree with him. I didn’t trust her from day one. Everything about her was a lie, even down to her fake boobs and her fake performance. The only way that I was going to be able to find out for sure what her game was, was to get out of this bed and back to headquarters where I knew I would have the resources to do just that. Swinging my legs on the opposite side of the bed, I tried getting off the bed, but was stopped by the strong arms of Chavez.
Looking over to him, I pleaded, “Chavez, I need to get out of here. I can’t do anything lying in this bed.”
“I know how much you want to get out of here, but we need to make sure you are good to leave. That cut on your head is pretty nasty. Let me talk with the nurse and find out when they will be releasing you.” Chavez was in for a surprise as I watched him exit the room. There was no way I was going to stay in this hospital a minute longer.
The second he was out of sight I pulled out my IV and headed to the closet across the room to see if I was lucky enough to find anything to wear. Standing to my feet, I rose too quickly, which sent me back on the bed. Shaking my head, I rose again, only this time I took my time until I got my bearings. Nearing the closet with slow, even steps, my fuzzy head began to clear as I opened the door. Just my luck, it was empty aside from a couple of blankets and a pillow. I needed to find something else to wear.
Heading towards the door, I looked down the hallway to the nurse’s station to find that there was no one there. Chavez must have gone hunting for the nurse when he found no one at the desk. Walking in the opposite direction, I came upon a woman who was asleep in her room who was just about my size. Quietly entering her room, I got to the closet without waking her. Hanging inside was a silky blouse and a black skirt. Taking the clothes from the hanger, I lowered my eyes to find a pair of heels neatly place on a shelf. Grabbing them too, I hurried out of the room to change into them. I spotted the woman’s restroom at the end of the hallway and headed towards it.
~****~
After taking an hour to convince the cab driver that I was an FBI agent and not some low-life free loader, he finally agreed to let me out of the car while he waited until I returned with the thirty-dollar cab fare I owed him. Did I really have a dishonest face? Maybe it was the fact that the clothes I swiped weren’t my size after all. Since they were a little on the small side, the girls were practically hanging out and the skirt was too short.
Returning the key I borrowed to gain entry to my apartment, I got on the elevator and headed back to my place to get this hospital stink off me. Before I even had the door closed, I was stripping off the clothes. Reaching the bedroom, my land line began to ring. I thought it was a little odd since most of my business was done on my cell. Picking up the receiver, the angry voice on the other end didn’t give me a chance to say hello.
“You need to learn how to listen, Gabrielle,” Chavez said, accentuating every word.
“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t wait.” Certainly, he had to know how I felt about the information he shared with me. “You were taking too long.”
“I’m on my way over. Stay put, Gabby. I mean it.”
I knew by his tone he was more than a little pissed. He never used ‘Gabby’ to address me unless he was extremely mad. Ending the call, I couldn’t worry about what would happen when he got here. The only thing I wanted was to shower and get into some clean comfortable clothes. Pulling the tight skirt off my body, I tried to do it as carefully as possible without ripping it. I had no idea how I got it on in the first place.
I had barely finished drying off when I heard the doorbell ring. Grabbing my robe, I cinched it around my waist and headed to the door. I knew Chavez would be waiting on the other side and he wasn’t going to be a happy camper. Putting on my girly charm, I was going to get him to understand. Taking a deep breath, I slowly opened the door and keep my head low. Focusing on his black boots, I walked up to him without looking up at his six-foot frame and placed my head against his chest. In a soft voice, I said, “I’m sorry.”
It was so out of character for me to act so juvenile, but for the moment, I was willing to try anything in order to keep us from fighting. When his arms wrapped around my body and he lifted me from the floor, I knew that it worked. One thing I learned from my mom, the best way to a man’s heart is through the power of compassion, and a little bit of sucking up doesn’t hurt either.
Locking his lips to mine, it didn’t bother me that we were in the hallway displaying our feelings for each other. It was only when an older couple passed by and the older lady said with sass, “You never do that with me,” that we realized where we were.
Even though our lips were still locked together, there was a smile on my face at her remark. I’m not sure her companion would be able to lift her in his arms anyway. She was a little bit on the plump side and he looked like most of his meals went to her. Chavez got wind of her comment and held me tight as he walked inside my apartment. Kicking the door closed with his foot, he continued to kiss me in such a way I thought I would soon be dripping. Somehow, he managed to untie the sash around my waist, exposing my nipples that were hard with desire. Not only was he the sexiest man alive, he knew exactly what I wanted. His mouth left mine and he resumed kissing the taut peak of my nipple. The more he sucked and lapped his tongue around the tip, the more the tingling sensation grew between my legs.