by Dirk Patton
“Trust me,” she said as we headed down the off ramp.
The mall was small by mainland standards, but then Oahu doesn’t have endless acres of land to build sprawling structures. There were the usual collection of stores and shops, and it was surprisingly busy. I didn’t understand how it could be with no new goods having arrived for well more than a year, but I didn’t waste any time thinking about it.
“Got them spotted,” Martinez said as I turned into a mall entrance. “White van, two men visible. Blue SUV with two more.”
“Careful they don’t make you,” I said.
“Still wearing my dress,” she said. “I’ll make sure they notice me when the time is right. Keep their attention.”
“Copy,” I answered, then to Rachel. “The van will be muscle. Probably won’t know shit, but I’ll need to take them out first. Nice and quiet. The boss’ll be in the SUV.”
She nodded, then suddenly pointed at a store that was in one of the small strips that were built around the perimeter of the mall’s parking lot.
“Go there!”
I almost kept driving for the garage, but knew she had something up her sleeve. Whipping the car around, I pulled to a stop in front of the doors and Rachel hopped out. After a few circuits of the immediate area, I saw her step out into the sunshine and scan for me. Gunning the engine, I hurried to where she was waiting.
“Pull over there and stop!”
I did as she said, watching in curiosity as she tore open a packet of bobby pins with her teeth and began putting her hair up. Flipping down the sun visor, she peered in the mirror, made a few adjustments, then reached into the bag and brought out a long, blonde wig. A minute later, it was in place and I had to admire her forethought. At a distance, in a dark parking garage and looking through a windshield, she would easily pass for the kidnapper.
“I should drive. They’re expecting her to bring you to them.”
“You’re not going in,” I said. “Martinez has them distracted, or will when the time comes. I’ll be on foot.”
She was shaking her head before I finished speaking.
“And if I pull up in this car and they see the blonde hair, it’ll be another distraction. They’ll be watching me. Easier for you to get to them without being noticed.”
I wanted to argue, but she was right. It was absolutely critical that none of them got away or even had the chance to make a phone call warning whoever was holding Mavis.
“Alright,” I said, getting us moving toward the parking garage. “But you stay back. Park well away from them. Let them see the car and your hair, but don’t get out. You’re way taller than she was. If they know her, that’ll give it away.”
I pulled out of a traffic lane at the bottom of the ramp into the garage and got out. Rachel scooted across the seat and looked through the open window at me.
“Remember to keep your distance,” I said. “Give me two minutes to get into place, then drive on in.”
Dog shoved his head through the window and I scratched his ears then told him to lay down. Reluctantly, he did as I asked, disappearing from view. Rachel nodded that she was ready, reached out to squeeze my hand, then I turned and raced up the ramp.
“Martinez, I’m coming up,” I said into the phone.
“Van and SUV are on the east wall of the floor,” she said in a quiet voice. “Stairwell on the southeast corner by the elevators. I’ll have them looking the other way.”
I changed directions and pounded across the ground level to that corner. Pushing through the door into the stairwell, I hurried up the steps and came to a stop with my shoulder against the third level’s door.
“I’m in the stairwell, at the door,” I mumbled into the phone.
Martinez didn’t respond for a few seconds and I was starting to repeat what I’d said, then her voice came over the phone.
“Yes, I should go to the party! Everyone will be watching me!”
She sounded bright and chatty, like she was talking to a friend. But she’d also told me the men weren’t looking in my direction. Dropping the call, I shoved the phone into my pocket, cracked the door open and slipped through.
Forty yards away, Martinez was slowly walking down the middle of the parking garage, still speaking loudly into the phone. I spotted the van, then the SUV beyond. Still talking, Martinez stopped and bent at the waist to rub a spot on her calf. All four sets of eyes in the vehicles were glued to her.
Dropping into a crouch, I began working my way forward between car bumpers and the garage wall. A couple of times I had to go to my belly and crawl beneath vehicles that had pulled too close.
I couldn’t see my targets, but that meant they couldn’t see me. Martinez’s voice was still loud, echoing in the garage, and there was the sound of an approaching car. Should be Rachel.
Reaching the final vehicle between me and the van, I paused and looked down the narrow gap between two parked cars. On the opposite wall, I could see the blonde girl’s car being slowly backed into an open spot. In the poor light, Rachel’s wig stood out like a beacon and I was glad to note there was no way to tell who was actually in the vehicle. She shut the engine down and sat there like I’d told her.
Now the men had two locations drawing their full attention. The car they’d come to meet, supposedly with me inside, and Martinez who now seemed to be arguing with whoever was on the other end of the phone. Her voice was getting louder and she was doing a masterful job of acting.
Drawing the knife from my vest, I gripped it tightly in my left hand and rolled around the front edge of the last car. Adrenaline surged as I took two giant strides to the open driver’s window of the van. Blood pounded a drumbeat in my ears and I could no longer hear Martinez as I struck.
Throwing my upper body through the window, I grabbed the driver’s throat with my right hand and buried the blade into the passenger. It went into that notch in the collar bone, severing his trachea and several major blood vessels when I gave it a savage twist.
The driver was already flailing, fighting back against the iron grip that had cut off his air supply. He tore at his waistband with one hand while pounding my head with the other, but his efforts were completely ineffective. Ripping the knife free from his buddy’s corpse, I pressed the tip to his neck and held it there. He immediately went as still as a stone.
“Where’s my daughter?” I hissed in his ear.
His eyes were wide and wild with fear. I eased the pressure with my right hand and he took a ragged breath.
“I don’t know,” he said hoarsely.
I clamped the pressure back on.
“Then you’re no good to me.”
I pushed the blade up into his skull, giving it several vigorous wiggles. Pulling it free, I pushed the body aside so it didn’t fall forward and inadvertently sound the van’s horn.
All of this had taken less than ten seconds and Martinez was still arguing into her phone. A quick peek and I could see she’d positioned herself directly in front of the SUV. She looked around in mock surprise when its engine came to life, then began gesturing and cursing at the occupants in Spanish. She was keeping them in place for me, and I didn’t waste the opportunity.
Stepping around the nose of the van, my pistol was already in my hand. It wasn’t suppressed, but I was willing to risk up to two shots. Any more and someone would realize what the sound was and call the police.
Moving quickly with the weapon in both hands, I fired the instant I had a clean shot on the driver’s head. I knew from the way it snapped to the side then flopped over that a follow up round wasn’t needed. Running forward, I came to a stop at the SUV’s front bumper with the pistol leveled at the passenger’s head.
“Out!” I shouted.
Martinez, no longer putting on a performance, ran to the man’s door and yanked it open. She may have been considerably smaller than he was, but she still jerked him out of his seat onto the garage floor. I moved to keep him covered as she quickly checked for weapons, removing a
pistol from the small of his back.
When she had moved out of his reach and was aiming his own pistol at him, I turned and motioned for Rachel to come forward. The car started, then the engine roared as she shot forward and screeched to a halt next to us.
“Pop the trunk,” I called as I put my weapon away and stepped over the man.
“You are making a big...”
I hit him hard in the back of the head. I wasn’t sure if he lost consciousness or was just stunned, but I didn’t care. This wasn’t the place for a conversation.
Ripping his belt free, I used it to secure his hands behind his back, then dragged him to the car. Lifting his limp form, I dumped him into the waiting trunk. Holding my phone out, I snapped a pic of his face, then slammed the lid.
“Where?” Rachel asked as we piled into the car.
“Just drive,” I said. “There’ll be someplace we can stop for a private chat with our guest.”
20
“How’d you know which one to keep alive?” Rachel asked as she drove.
“Boss isn’t going to be in the van, and he’ll have a driver. Turn here.”
She glanced at me in the mirror then did as I asked. We left a busy main thoroughfare and transitioned into a slightly shabby residential neighborhood.
“What are we looking for?” Martinez asked.
“Empty house.”
“Aaaand, you’ll know it’s empty by using your psychic powers?”
I didn’t answer. Was hoping for something obvious but wasn’t seeing it. I’d grown accustomed to the ghost towns of the mainland and apparently wasn’t thinking clearly.
“This isn’t working,” I said after several minutes of driving around. “Anyone with a better idea?”
“Why don’t we go back to the base?” Rachel asked.
“The chances of this guy walking away alive are slim and none. Not going to put the Admiral in that position.”
“Then what about that place we went when we got back from Australia?”
I thought for a few seconds.
“Martinez, got enough fuel left in the helo to get us there?”
“Sure, but I don’t know how to find it. Got an idea of the rough area, but remember all that camouflage netting? We’d never spot it if he wasn’t expecting us.”
“Head for the beach,” I said, leaning sideways and pulling my phone out.
“Did you find her, sir?” Jessica asked when she answered.
“Getting closer. I hope. Need a number for that Colonel up in the hills. Chapman. Can you find it?”
“You’re talking about where we were taken when we got back from Australia?”
“Yep. Work some magic for me?”
“Stand by.”
I listened to her clack away on her keyboard and watched Martinez directing Rachel to where she’d left the Sea Hawk.
“Texting it to you now, sir. Anything else I can help with?”
“Yeah,” I said, remembering. “Sending you a photo. Run it through facial recognition and get me everything you can.”
“This one of the people that has Mavis?”
“Knows where she is. He and I are going to have a talk.”
“Good luck, sir. I’ll call you as soon as I have something.”
I ended the call, sent the photo to her then dialed the number she’d sent me. It was picked up on the first ring.
“Yes?”
“This is Colonel Chase. I need to talk to the Colonel.”
“Hold one.”
It wasn’t a long wait, Chapman coming on the line as we passed the mall on our way to the beach.
“What can I do for you, Colonel?”
“It’s a big ask,” I said. “My little girl was taken. Russians have her. I’ve got one of them and need a secure location to have a chat with him.”
He was quiet for a beat, probably deciding if he wanted to get involved.
“Know how to get here?”
I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
“We’re coming by air. Got enough space to accommodate a Sea Hawk?”
“Open field two hundred meters north. I’ll send coordinates and let security know you’re coming.”
“Thanks, Colonel,” I said, but he’d already hung up.
The phone beeped a moment later and I glanced at the information before handing it to Martinez.
“That what you need?”
“Perfect,” she said.
We reached a parking lot at the end of a street, the beach and ocean visible beyond a braided steel cable that prevented vehicles from driving onto the sand. I could see the big gray helicopter and there were two beach patrol vehicles parked next to it. Four men wearing shorts, polo shirts and holstered pistols were looking it over.
“How are we going to get past them?” Rachel asked.
Martinez lifted my phone and dialed 9-1-1.
“Help!” she cried with a panicked voice when the call was answered. “There’s a man dragging a woman into the ocean. I think he’s trying to drown her! It’s about a mile south of Waiʻalae Beach Park. Oh my God! Hurry!”
She ended the call and looked up at the four beach cops.
“How did you know where to tell them?” Rachel asked.
Martinez pointed out the side window at a large sign that named our location.
“Oh.”
Twenty seconds later, the beach patrol received a call on their radios. All four raced to the vehicles and took off toward the south with sirens blaring.
“Let’s go,” I said, jumping out.
Rachel popped the trunk and Martinez ran for the helicopter. The Russian was awake when I looked in, a mix of anger and fear darkening his features. I grabbed the front of his shirt and hauled him out, helping him get on his feet.
“Walk or I’ll beat you unconscious and drag you.”
I took his arm in an iron grip and headed for the beach. He dragged his feet at first and I elbowed him in the stomach hard enough to whoosh all the breath out of his lungs. After that, he kept up.
“Taking me isn’t going to get her back,” he gasped.
Martinez had the helo started and the rotor blades were already starting to spin. Finer grains of sand were being picked up, stinging skin and eyes where they hit.
“You’d better hope it does,” I said, coming to a stop and turning to face him. “You’re going to tell me where she is. The only question is whether or not you’re still a man when you do. Tell me now and save yourself a lot of pain.”
He stared into my eyes, taking my measure. Then he made a clumsy attempt at kneeing me in the balls, which I easily deflected and slapped him hard enough to knock him to the sand. Reaching down, I grabbed his arm and jerked him back to his feet. Turning, I began pulling him toward the waiting helo.
“Wait!” he cried, but I ignored him.
“Wait, goddamn it!” he shouted as we reached the open side door.
“Where is she?” I asked when I turned and looked into his eyes.
He rattled off an address.
“They’re waiting... waiting for call... my call that we’ve got you,” he said, speaking so fast his tongue tripped over the words.
“What happens then?”
“They let her go.”
He’d given the right answer, but his eyes had slid to the side an instant before he’d spoken. The fucker was lying.
“Get in,” I said, shoving him up and through the open door.
“I told you what you wanted!”
“If it’s true, I’ll let you go,” I said.
He watched me for a couple of beats before deciding he believed me. Or wanted to believe me. Either one. Didn’t matter to me.
“Go!” I shouted and Martinez got us into the air in a maelstrom of blowing sand.
Dog moved to a spot near my prisoner, skinning his lips back to show his teeth. The man squirmed as far away as he could.
Grabbing a set of headphones, I moved to a comm panel and plugged into a system that would acces
s the civilian cell network.
“Still no hits from facial recog,” Jessica said.
“Not calling about that. Got an address. Spot it and go back a couple of hours. See if Mavis is really there.”
I recited the address the man had given me and she told me she’d call me back.
With nothing to do other than be a passenger, I looked at the man huddling in the rear of the troop compartment. Moving closer, I squatted down and took off the headset.
“You don’t look or sound Russian.”
“That’s cause I’m not, Einstein. Fuckin’ American, just like you.”
“Nothing like me,” I growled. “I don’t kidnap little girls.”
“Look, dude. Nothing personal. It was just a job. And I never even touched her. All I was supposed to do was deliver you.”
“To that address you gave me?”
He nodded in resignation. Now that he’d spilled information it was much easier to keep him talking.
“You work for the Russians often?
“I didn’t know they were Russian until you told me! Honest, man! I wouldn’t work for those bastards after what they done to us!”
Once again, the eyes gave him away. For some sort of bad guy, he really was a poor liar.
“How many at the house with her?”
“Don’t know, dude. I haven’t been there!”
I hit him hard enough to rock his head back against the steel bulkhead. Blood began pouring from a broken nose and split lip.
“You’re lying. Let’s try this again. How many?”
He looked at me through tears of pain for several seconds before nodding.
“Seven. That’s how many I saw.”
“All shooters?”
“Six are. There’s a nanny to watch the girl.”
I looked around when Rachel grabbed my shoulder. She was gesturing at the headset I was holding. Slipping it on, I could hear Martinez talking to Jessica.
“I’m here, Chief.”
“Found her, sir!”
An indescribable wave of relief flooded through me.
“Tell me,” I said, trading smiles with Rachel who was listening in.
“Got her on video from a neighbor’s security cam when they took her inside. She hasn’t come back out.”