by Mel LeBrun
“Hi, Ben. What's up?”
“Jessica! I'm so glad you called. I'm really having trouble. I need you to look something over. Can we meet?”
Jessica rubbed her eyes and yawned. She didn't really feel like it, but decided maybe the distraction would be good. “I guess. I just need some coffee.”
“I can come over. I'll bring coffee,” Ben suggested.
“Umm.” She thought back on her promise to Michael. “How about we meet at a coffee shop?”
“That's fine. The one by your house?” he asked.
“Sure. I'll meet you there in a half hour,” she said.
“Alright, you're a lifesaver. I'll see you there.” Ben hung up.
Jessica went to find Helen. She found her sitting in the kitchen with a cup of tea staring at the table. She looked up at Jessica and smiled.
“Are you hungry?” Helen asked.
“I'm going to be meeting with a client,” Jessica said. “How are you doing?”
“Numb.”
Jessica frowned. “I can come back after my meeting,” she offered.
Helen nodded. “Sure.”
Jessica smiled gently. She stepped over to her and gave her a hug.
After a brief stop at the bathroom to freshen up as best she could, she left to meet Ben. She arrived at the coffee shop a few minutes early and went in to get her coffee. She was sitting at a table blissfully sipping her beverage when she heard a voice behind her.
“Mmm. Nectar of the gods.”
She looked back to see Ben grinning at her.
“Anyone who disagrees is clinically insane,” she joked back.
He laughed and took the seat next to her. He whipped out his laptop. “I've been working on this program. It's not working right and I don't know what I'm doing wrong,” he complained.
Jessica looked over his work and found his mistake in under twenty minutes. It was such a simple mistake he figured it was why it got overlooked. He had been looking for something big.
“I can't thank you enough, Jessica. This was so driving me nuts.”
“It's nothing, Ben. Glad I could help.”
“Let me buy you breakfast to make up for dragging you out of the house so early.”
“No, it's all right really. I should get going. There's kind of a family crisis going on and I should get back.”
“Is everything all right?” Ben asked.
“I don't really want to get into it. I just need to be with family.” Jessica didn't have any real family. Josh and Martin were like brothers to her and she considered them and their families as her own.
“I understand. If you need to talk, you have my number.” He smiled warmly at her.
“Thanks.” She smiled back. “I'll catch you later.”
Ben stood and shook her hand goodbye. She walked out to her car, but to her dismay it wouldn't start. She kept trying but it just wouldn't catch. She growled in frustration and got back out of the car. She was calling for roadside assistance when Ben came out of the cafe carrying his laptop. He spotted her outside her car and walked over.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“My car won't start.”
“Oh no. Do you need a lift somewhere?”
She was wading through a menu of options on an automated system. She looked at her phone and hung up. She wasn't in the mood to deal with any of it. “You don't mind?”
“Of course not. Hop in.” He gestured for her to come with him.
She followed him to his car and got in.
“Where to?” he asked.
“Can you just bring me home? I can use Michael's truck.”
“Sure. He's not working today?”
“Umm.” She thought for a minute how to answer. “He won't be using it today.”
“I see. Do you mind if I stop by my mother's first? I just remembered I have a bag of food in the backseat for her. I keep forgetting it's there.”
Jessica glanced in the back and saw a grocery bag with some canned food, pasta and sauce. “Yeah, sure. I guess.”
Ben started peppering Jessica with questions about hacking and security threats. She was so engrossed in the conversation she hadn't paid attention to where they were driving. She suddenly realized they had been on the road for some time.
“Where are we?” she asked as she looked around. They were driving uphill on a winding road in the middle of the woods.
Ben looked at her and smiled. He didn't answer and he stopped talking. She suddenly felt uneasy.
“Ben. What's going on?”
He grinned again but this time he spoke. “You know ... You're a lot prettier than I thought you would be.”
Her heart started racing. “My husband tends to be very protective of me.”
“Yeah?” He glanced at her. “I can see why.”
“Okay, Ben. This isn't funny. What are you doing?”
He didn't say anything he just kept driving. She was starting to panic. Her heart raced and her hands shook. She didn't know what his intentions were, but she knew they were not good. Another couple minutes went by before he pulled off the road. He stopped the car right next to a tree, blocking her from opening her door. He turned the car off and stuffed the keys in his pants pocket. Her heart was pounding in her chest and at that moment it felt like it might jump out of her ribcage and run away without her.
He turned in his seat and gazed at her. He could see her whole body shaking but she didn't look at him with fear. It was anger.
“My husband has killed people. He will kill you.” She hoped to intimidate him.
He grinned smugly. “He won't ever know what happened to you.”
“You'll be the first one he goes after.”
Ben suddenly grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked her head towards him. “I hope he does.” He pressed his lips to hers and tried to kiss her. She clawed at his face and neck and he had no choice but to make a tactical retreat. He unbuckled her belt and held onto her hair as he dragged her from the car.
Once free from the confines of the vehicle he wrestled her arms behind her and pinned her against the car. He tried again to kiss her. She kicked his shin as hard as she could. He didn't release his hold, but he stopped kissing her. He gritted his teeth and pulled his head away to look at her.
“Don't make this harder than it has to be,” he said angrily.
She headbutted him in response, stunning him. His grip on her arms loosened enough for her to break free. Her next move was to punch him in the throat as hard as she could. As he was gagging and choking from that, she took the opportunity to kick him in the groin with all her might. He fell to his knees coughing, choking and gagging. Her final blow was a kick into his head, knocking him to the ground.
He lay half dazed on the ground writhing in pain and struggling to breath. She reached down and tried to get the car keys from his pocket. He grabbed her wrist and pulled on her. She kicked him and he grabbed her leg. He was starting to recover so she decided to abandon that plan and yanked her leg free. Fearing she might not subdue him a second time, she ran down the road away from him.
Crying and scared, she didn't know what to do next. All she wanted right then was Michael. Pulling her phone from her pocket she dialed his number in desperation.
MICHAEL MANAGED to get away from the farmhouse and steal a nearby car. He called Josh and got the address of the hotel they were at. When he arrived at the room, he noticed not all the girls were there.
“Where are the other girls?” he asked.
“Some of them wanted to leave,” Josh answered. “I wasn't going to force them to stay.”
“No, of course not,” Michael agreed. “At least they're free. What do they want to do?” He motioned toward the remaining women.
“We offered to escort them to their consulates and embassies,” Martin answered. He was sitting on one of the beds holding Katie, who was curled up in his arms.
Michael nodded. He held up the passports. “Look what I found,” he grinned. He toss
ed them on the bed, but handed Katie hers.
One of the women stood up with tears in her eyes. She took Michael's hand and thanked him for not leaving them there. He smiled softly and squeezed her hand. He felt guilty for even considering it. He shook the feeling away and settled in a corner of the room to rest a little. He dozed off for a bit but was awoken by his phone ringing. He saw it was Jessica and answered.
“Michael!” she shouted and cried.
“Jess, what's wrong?” he asked alarmed as he shot up. Martin and Josh looked over at him.
“Ben,” she cried. “He just attacked me. I don't know what to do.”
“Call the police,” he quickly responded.
“I don't know where I am,” she cried as she kept running down the road.
“What do you mean? What happened?”
“He drove me to someplace. I'm in the woods somewhere, I don't know.” She started crying again. She was out of breath from running and it was difficult to talk.
“Where is he now?”
“I don't know. I got away, but he has a car.”
“Are you on a road?”
“Yes.”
“Get off the road, go into the woods.”
“What if someone drives by who can help me?”
“No. He took you there for a reason. No one will be driving by.”
She started sobbing.
“Jess. Do as I say. Run into the woods. What are you wearing?”
She turned and started running into the woods. “I'm wearing the same clothes I had on last night.”
“Red shirt and black pants?”
“Yes,” she sobbed.
“Take your shirt off. Do it now.”
“What?! Why?”
“It's red,” he answered. “It makes you too visible."
She stopped just long enough to pull off her shirt then started running again. “Okay.”
“Is the road far away?”
“Yes.”
“All right, drop to the ground. Then pull leaves, branches, whatever is around you and cover yourself with it. Make sure your shirt isn't visible. Let me know when you're done.”
She couldn't stop crying, but she did what he said. She threw her shirt on the ground and lay down on top of it. Then she covered herself in leaves. She put the phone back to her ear. “I'm done,” she sobbed.
“Now listen to me, Jess. You need to calm down. Take deep breaths and just try to calm down. If you're loud, he'll hear you.” Michael was pacing the room anxiously rubbing the back of his head. His heart was pounding. He couldn't believe he was an ocean away. “Jess, you're okay,” he tried to comfort her. Her breathing was calming and she wasn't sobbing loudly anymore, much to his relief.
“He's coming,” she started breathing faster.
“Stay calm Jess. Is he driving?”
“Yes. He going slow... He just stopped ... He's getting out.” She was becoming more and more frightened.
“Stay still, Jess. Don't move.”
She could see Ben in the distance looking down the road and into the woods. He started walking into the woods and her anxiety level continued to rise.
“Jessica!” he shouted. “Don't make this harder than it has to be!” He walked further into the woods. “I know where you are. I can see you. Don't make me come and get you.”
“He says he can see me,” Jessica whispered to Michael, trying not to panic. Every bone in her body was telling her to run.
“Stay put, he's trying to flush you out, make you panic and start running.”
“Michael, I'm scared.”
“I know baby, just trust me. Put your head down and close your eyes.”
“I won't see him if he's coming at me.”
“You'll hear him. Just do it.”
She closed her eyes and put her head down trying to imagine she was somewhere else. It felt like an eternity passed when, in reality, it was probably only a few minutes. She heard his footsteps again. They were moving away. She looked up just in time to see him getting into his car. He drove down the road and out of sight.
“He left,” she said, feeling only mildly relieved.
Michael took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Stay put. He might come back.”
“Okay.”
“Tell me what happened.”
She sniffled and wiped her eyes. “He called me this morning. Said he had a problem with a program he was working on. He wanted to come to the house but I said I would meet him at a coffee shop. So we met and I figured out what was wrong. When I went to leave, my car wouldn't start and he offered to give me a ride home. After I was in his car he asked if he could stop by his mother's first and I said okay. Next thing I know I'm in the middle of nowhere and he ...” She started crying again.
“Did he say anything to you?”
“I don't know. Like what?”
“Anything.”
She thought for a minute. “He said I was prettier than he thought I would be.”
“Were those his exact words?”
“Yeah. He said 'You know, you're a lot prettier than I thought you would be.' He also said you would never know what happened to me and that he hopes you go after him.” She broke down once more.
“It's okay. Nothing's going to happen to you.”
“He has my purse, Michael. My wallet, credit cards, the house keys ...”
“Don't worry about that. He'll ditch it the first chance he gets, if he hasn't already.”
“How do you know that?”
“It's physical evidence tying him to you. He won't want it anywhere near him,” Michael assured her.
That made sense to her. “I'm scared, Michael.”
“I know baby.”
Martin and Josh were anxiously and nervously watching Michael pace the room wondering what was happening.
“How am I going to get away from him?” she asked.
“You're going to call the police. You should be able to see from your phone's GPS where you are but if not they can track your phone's signal to find you and you'll be safe.”
“What if he finds me first?”
“He won't find you. You're like a needle in a haystack. He will eventually give up and before you know it the police will be there and you'll be safe. Do you want to call them now?”
“No, I want to stay with you.”
“Okay sweetheart. I'm right here.” He could hear her quietly weeping. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Michael. So much.”
Michael closed his eyes again and ran his fingers through his hair. Josh and Martin were ready to come out of their skin. He could see their concern and pulled the phone away from his mouth giving them a rundown of what happened. They were both stunned.
“Who arrived at the cafe first?” Martin asked.
Michael passed the question along to Jessica. “She did,” he answered Martin.
“He sabotaged her car, Michael,” said Martin. “She was set up. I bet the problem he needed help with was really simple too.”
“What was wrong with the program?” Michael asked her.
“He used the wrong punctuation in a line of coding,” she answered.
Michael nodded at Martin. He wasn't sure what was happening or why, but there were too many things happening at once to be purely coincidence. “Josh, is Jinx working today?”
Jinx was Josh's girlfriend and Jessica's best friend. Her real name was Jasmine Flores, but her friends called her by her screen name, Jinx. She was a hacker, like Jessica, and had recently gotten a job, with Michael's help, using her skills for the FBI.
“Yeah, she is,” Josh replied.
“Jess, what's Ben's last name?” Michael asked.
“Tucker.”
He turned back to Josh. “Call Jinx and see what she can find out about a Benjamin Tucker who works at Gen Tech.”
“I'm on it.” Josh pulled his phone from his pocket and started dialing.
“What are you doing?” Jessica asked.
“I'm
gonna find out who this guy is,” Michael said. “You should call the police now so they can find you. Call me back after you do.”
“Okay.” She wiped tears from her eyes. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She hung up the phone and dialed 911.
While she was calling the police, Jinx called Josh back. He listened to her for a minute then took a deep breath and looked at Michael.
“You should hear this.” He handed Michael the phone.
Michael put it to his ear. “What do you have?”
“Hi, Michael. I did some digging into this guy. At first glance everything seems legit. There are even tax records going back seven years. But when I compare employment records with the companies he's supposedly worked for, they don't match. With the exception of Gen Tech, there is no record of a Benjamin Tucker working at any of them. I checked his prior residences and according to his record, he lived in a two-bedroom apartment the same time as a family of four.”
“His record is forged,” Michael stated the obvious.
“Yes. I have no idea who this guy really is. And there's something else.”
“What is it?”
“He's only been working at Gen Tech for the past three months. The man who had his position prior to him disappeared four months ago. No one knows what happened to him.”
Michael was starting to get a horrible feeling about what was happening. “I need a favor, Jinx.”
“Whatever you need, Michael.”
“I need you to send someone to pick up Jessica from the police station. I'll find out which one and call you back. I don't want her in the hands of local PD.”
“I'll have someone ready.”
“Thanks.” Michael hung up the phone and looked at Josh and Martin. His stress level was at an all-time high.
Chapter 5
Jessica related everything that happened to the 911 operator. The woman was at first dubious of her story but soon realized it was no hoax. Two cars were dispatched to the area to search for her. The operator told Jessica to let her know the minute she spotted one of the cars. She anxiously watched the road hoping to see a police car.