Mistake Me Not

by Scarlett Finn

  ‘If he’s clean then it’s nothing and he never has to know. But, if he’s not...’

  ‘He’s my oldest friend. I can’t believe that he—‘

  ‘Yes, you do,’ Shep said. ‘Because you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. Check the tracker, what harm can it do? It’s already on the truck; you’ve got an opportunity here to find out the truth either way.’

  Ryder considered his options but knew Shep was right. The thing was there now it would be a waste if he didn’t check, and he’d kick himself for not checking later.

  Reluctantly he went back to his truck for the laptop and brought it into Shep’s desk. That bubble in his gut returned and he realised he wasn’t reluctant to check because doubting Jamie was a betrayal of his friend, it was because somehow he feared his own betrayal was justified.

  Ryder went through security and opened the software that would triangulate the tracker. He expected the thing to be moving, and he steeled himself to be patient, there would be no instant results.

  But as the map zoomed in Ryder realised it wasn’t moving, it had stopped somewhere a dozen miles south of the StoneWall compound.

  ‘Do you recognise the street? Does he have family in town?’

  ‘No,’ Ryder said. ‘He doesn’t have family. He isn’t seeing anyone, and Eric’s with him so he’s not exactly going to have stopped in on a woman friend. Anyway, he said he was late.’

  ‘It looks like a residential street. Not a great area but the houses are detached, spaced apart.’

  Ryder heard what Shep was saying but his mind was buzzing in confusion about what was worse, that Jamie could be involved, or that Lacie could have been this close the whole time.

  ‘She can’t be in there,’ Ryder said.

  ‘Why not?’ Shep asked. ‘Not all kidnap victims are kept in secluded mountain retreats.’

  ‘If she was that close to a public street she could get away. She would have gotten away.’

  ‘Maybe that’s the sicko’s deal. By keeping her close to civilisation and managing to keep her on a leash must give him a kick. He gets his high from knowing you’re this close to her but you can’t find her.’

  ‘Sicko,’ Ryder said looking at the roofs of the surrounding buildings displayed on Google Earth and wondering which one might house her.

  ‘Do you think Wallace is being coerced?’

  ‘We don’t know it’s him yet,’ Ryder snapped.

  ‘Call him,’ Shep said. ‘Find out where he is. If he’s lying we’ll know.’

  Ryder knew that the suggestion was valid but it didn’t speed him taking his phone from his pocket, the possibility of what the call could reveal slowed him down considerably. He got his phone from his pocket, scrolled through the call list, and gave Shep another glance before he pressed send.

  It rang half a dozen times then Jamie answered. ‘Hey. What’s up? We just left.’

  ‘Sorry man, I’m waiting around for this meeting and it occurred to me that I’ve got no clue where you’re headed.’

  ‘You really are out of it, aren’t you? Jamie laughed. ‘Maine, risk assessment.’

  ‘Right, did you tell me that?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Jamie laughed again.

  ‘How long will it take you to get up there?’

  ‘Eric’s driving so I don’t care.’

  ‘You’re a terrible passenger,’ Ryder said. ‘Hasn’t he driven off the road to throttle you yet?’

  ‘Just started, there’s a lot of road ahead.’

  ‘You going straight there?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Jamie said. ‘Nothing but road up ahead... are you ok?’

  ‘Yeah,’ Ryder said. ‘Sorry, it’s just... a lot going on you know.’

  ‘Sure, take it easy; let me know of any developments.’

  Ryder signed off and lowered the phone to his lap. Nothing was said until. ‘You’re closer to her.’

  ‘Hmm?’ Ryder asked.

  ‘It’s a kick in the sack but you will get to slug it out with him. Don’t focus on him. Focus on the girl you practically pissed on to stake a claim.’

  Shep jolted Ryder’s thoughts into full reverse – Lacie. He leapt from the chair. ‘We’ve got her.’

  ‘Wait a minute,’ Shep said chasing Ryder who was already halfway from the room. ‘You can’t go charging in there.’

  ‘Like hell I can’t.’

  ‘Where?’ Shep asked smacking Ryder’s chest to halt him. ‘You don’t know what house she’s in. You don’t know the set-up. You don’t know how many guys there are, or what weapons they’re packing. You don’t know where Lacie is, there could be a centre of operations. She could be at a different location.’

  ‘You’re the one that told me to call him, told me to confirm where they are.’

  ‘Yeah, and you did,’ Shep said. ‘But you need your head on. We don’t know what this is. We don’t know what his motives are. If all he wants to do is piss you off he’s done it, and if you go racing in you’re giving him what he wants. If this is about money, we know he’s already broken the law with Booth and I doubt he wants to go to jail. The possibility also exists that this is about something else entirely.’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Shep said. ‘You know I’ve never been one for hard work and perseverance but you are... There’s a reason you’ve been raking in the dough for years while I’m happy with my shitty shop front. You live for this. You know how to do it.’

  ‘Surveillance,’ Ryder said. ‘Patience.’

  ‘Two things I don’t have time for.’

  ‘I can’t leave her in there. We don’t know what she’s going through.’

  Shep softened a little. ‘She’s been in there almost six weeks now. Whatever they’re doing to her... they’ve done it already.’

  ‘Is that meant to make me feel better?’ Ryder asked sick at the very thought.

  ‘No,’ Shep said. ‘It’s meant to remind you of your role. You do this properly because racing in and getting yourself shot and killed won’t help her.’

  ‘A stake out,’ Ryder said. ‘To sit and watch that house for activity, learn their routine, try to find out where she is and what’s going on.’

  ‘Sounds like you’re forming a plan,’ Shep said.

  ‘A car on the street wouldn’t work, it’s too visible, and both Jamie and Eric would know my vehicles.’

  ‘What are you thinking?’

  ‘We’ll take a pass; find a spot, a roof, or an abandoned building.’

  ‘Set up camp?’

  ‘Camera or two,’ Ryder said. ‘Then watch from a street nearby. We’ll set up camp tonight.’

  ‘We?’

  ‘It’s never a good idea to watch alone. You don’t have to come in with me. We watch tonight find out what we can.’

  ‘Tonight?’

  ‘I won’t leave her in there,’ Ryder said. ‘She’s been through enough.’

  ‘You could do more harm than good if you rush in there, and if she’s not there you could drive them so far underground—‘

  ‘I know my opponent,’ Ryder said. ‘Wallace doesn’t play well with others and he revolts entirely to authority, why do you think his name is above my door when he didn’t have two pennies to rub together?’

  ‘Wallace,’ Shep said. ‘You turned on him quick.’

  ‘He’s holding my woman captive,’ Ryder snarled.

  ‘You sure about that now?’

  ‘You don’t know him like I do.’

  ‘Couldn’t the same be said for you, he knows you?’

  ‘We have the element of surprise now, and he doesn’t know me like this.’

  ‘He never saw you and Lacie together, maybe he doesn’t realise how you feel about her.’

  ‘Why hold her?’ Ryder asked. ‘I can’t see any reason why—‘

  ‘Are you going to tell Sorcha? Or the police?’

  ‘I’ll call Deacon before I go in,’ Ryder said. ‘You stay on the outside, and if I don’t come out you get the cops
in to Lacie. Don’t let Wallace move because if he does we’ll never see him or Lacie again.’

  ‘What happened to patience and procedure?’

  ‘I’ll be patient enough to find out where she is and how many there are. I won’t let the police in first because I don’t want Lacie caught in the crossfire. I’m going back to HQ to get some equipment. I’ll meet you back here in two hours.’

  ‘Not here,’ Shep said. ‘We can’t be sure it’s him, and we can’t be sure you’re not being watched. I’ll pick you up at the north park entrance; it’s open but not covered by any cameras.’

  Ryder nodded. ‘Two hours.’

  Equipment from the car was discreetly set up in an abandoned house at the top of the block. After two hours of watching, they’d seen Eric and three other men enter the house.

  By five hours they’d watched various lights go on and off then five men entered only for eight including Eric and Jamie to leave again. Ryder sat up watching them pile into cars and leave.

  ‘They’re gone,’ Ryder said.

  ‘There’s at least one guy in there,’ Shep said.

  ‘One guy is easy. We don’t have the time to sit here for weeks. This could be our only chance, how often do they leave the place empty?’

  ‘So you want to go rushing in there?’

  Ryder reached into the hold all at his feet. They were sitting on an old, worn couch that had been left in a neighbouring room and they’d dragged it through here. It wasn’t very comfortable but it was better than the bare floorboards. Ryder pulled out a small plastic box from the bottom of the bag and held it up.

  ‘I’ll get these in. That way if she’s somewhere else we might find out where.’

  ‘The tracker’s still active,’ Shep said. ‘We can keep an eye on that.’

  ‘You do that,’ Ryder said pulling up the hood of his sweatshirt and sticking the box in his pocket. ‘I’ll be in and out within ten minutes.’

  ‘I thought you were going to phone Deacon before you went in.’

  ‘I’m not going in. I mean I’m not going in after Lace. I’ll get the listening devices in and we’ll be in a better position to find out what’s going on.’

  ‘Are you telling me you’re not going to look for her?’

  Ryder didn’t answer because although he was being honest his gut was desperate to know. If he thought about her in that place and him sitting out here doing nothing it made him sick.

  ‘We’re on a clock,’ Ryder said. ‘Sit tight.’

  Ryder didn’t wait for a response, he was down the stairs, and out the house then he was cutting across the yard to the parallel street. He walked around the block carrying on to the back of Jamie’s property.

  The sensors on the back fence were a giveaway that more was going on in this house than plain habitation. If he hadn’t known what he was looking for he’d have missed them but this was a classic StoneWall signature. Ryder had given Jamie and Eric training on how to use, and set up their security systems. Never did he imagine it would be used against him.

  Observing the house, he took his time circumventing the security system. He crept over the yard looking out for further security measures, or for movement in the house but he saw none. A ground floor window was open but he’d have to boost himself up to reach it and he couldn’t be sure there was no one in the room it led to.

  One of the basement windows was just visible through a broken wooden lattice that must have been part of a garden feature at some point in the past. Ryder moved the lattice aside as silently as he could and saw the alarm sensor on the basement window. The window itself was about a foot and a half tall, and maybe four across. He disabled the alarm and gradually lifted the window while on the lookout for more security features – there were none – which only made him think that there was nothing to protect, or that the men weren’t going to be away long, or maybe they were arrogant enough to believe they were at no risk of being discovered.

  Sliding himself to the ground, he slithered through the window and landed on the exposed dirt floor without a sound while at the same time closing the window again. There was no light down here and the sky outside was dark, with the window in such an obscure place only one slice of street light broke the abyss. Not being able to see was disconcerting but he took his time adjusting to the illumination before he would move.

  ‘You’re early.’

  The voice was so small and unexpected that he whipped around expecting to see a spectre, or proof that he’d imagined it. Shrouded in a shadow against the far wall was an outline certainly darker than the rest of the gloom.

  ‘Lacie,’ he whispered more in disbelief than relief.

  ‘You’re early.’

  ‘God Baby, tell me it’s you. Is it—?’

  ‘You’re early,’ she said again in that same spaced, vacant voice that made him worry she might have been drugged.

  ‘What am I early for Baby? Tell me.’

  ‘There’s no time,’ she muttered.

  ‘Time for what Baby?’ he asked moving toward her but the rattle of chains stopped him dead.

  ‘Stay,’ she said in the strongest voice he’d heard from her yet. ‘It hurts, the bars, they hurt.’

  Narrowing his eyes, he leaned closer and saw the bars from floor to ceiling across the alcove under the stairs leaving her a space of around seven foot square with a doorway – minus the door – to a toilet and sink against the opposite wall. She was literally a prisoner; he’d heard the chains, which made him wonder how tethered she was.

  ‘Leave,’ she whispered and the chain rattled again. ‘Leave.’

  ‘I won’t leave you here,’ he said forgetting about the bugs in his pocket. ‘Talk to me. Tell me how to get you out.’

  ‘He’s angry,’ she whispered still spaced out. ‘He’s so angry.’

  ‘Wallace,’ Ryder said. ‘You’re talking about Jamie Wallace.’

  A pause made him wonder if she’d passed out. But his heart burst when she spoke, that glittering, gut-wrenching smile tickled her tone. ‘You found out.’

  ‘Yeah, he’s been playing me, and you got pulled into it. I’m so sorry Baby, I had no idea he would go this far to hurt me. I can’t—‘

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘No, it’s more than that.’

  ‘What Baby, tell me.’

  ‘You’re early.’

  Whatever they had her on, or whatever they had done to her, was interfering with her mind, keeping her on the same page would be tough. Getting her out became more urgent because he needed to get her away from here, and free her from the torture she had been living in... because of him.

  ‘I’m going to get you out, ok?’

  ‘No,’ she said. ‘No, no.’

  ‘Calm down, its ok.’

  ‘He’s coming back. He’ll be back. He’ll—‘

  With one click the game changed, light flooded the space and Ryder stepped back to see the large space was clear of everything but her cage in the corner. The light dazzled so he couldn’t pick out specifics but she hissed and clambered to the corner like a scared animal. At the same time heavy footfalls started down the stairs. He didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know whom those boots were attached to.

  ‘Man, you’re good,’ Jamie said pausing halfway down the stairs with one hand on the exposed wood bannister, and a grin on his face. ‘I told you to call me with any updates.’

  ‘I thought this would be quicker.’

  ‘You got through security and everything.’

  ‘It’s our security,’ Ryder said.

  ‘You do insist on sharing everything.’

  ‘Now I know what you did with all that kit you’ve been taking on your jobs.’

  ‘Are you going to tell me?’ Jamie asked still smiling, and he carried on down the stairs to their level.

  When he got to the bottom four other men appeared at the top of the stairs. It was a not so subtle show that rushing Jamie would do Ryder no good.

  ‘Tell you what?’ Ryder asked.r />
  ‘How you found us, has our guest been telling stories? She doesn’t say much, perfect woman really, but I suppose you know that.’

  Jamie hit Ryder’s shoulder and looked to Lacie, which gave Ryder leave to look at her. Her knees were pulled to her chest, her head turned down but he could see the blindfold over her eyes. Her clothes were the same he’d seen her in the day he lost her, though they were dirty and torn. Her hair was limp, and greasy, matted around the blindfold. But, it was her figure, the weight that had gone from her bones. She’s been slight before but now her skin hung on her bones. Pale and gaunt, she was caged, she’d been neglected, and he stood next to the man who had orchestrated the whole thing. Her physical appearance slugged him a sucker punch but it was the non-visible signs that scared him the most.

  Balling a hand into a fist, he lashed out on impulse smacking Jamie’s jaw, knocking him to the floor. The men began to descend the stairs but Jamie held up a hand.

  ‘I’ll give you that,’ Jamie said. ‘I probably deserved that.’

  ‘Probably? You fucking little bastard, what the hell—‘

  ‘This isn’t my fault! You! You and your little girlfriend fucked up my operation! You want someone to blame? Blame yourself!’

  ‘What the hell have you done to her? How the fuck—?’

  ‘Not like you to swear in front of a female,’ Jamie said. ‘See how easy it is to forget about her?’

  ‘What is wrong with you? How can you look at yourself? How could you look me in the eye? It’s you! You stayed ahead of me because I trusted you!’

  ‘You did me a favour, I appreciate that,’ Jamie sneered.

  ‘You’re going to rot in hell. Let her out of there.’

  ‘Why would I do that?’ Jamie asked. ‘I didn’t want her fucking up my operation. But now you’re here you could do it too. She’s not allowed to leave, and neither are you.’

  ‘Do you think the guys aren’t going to come looking for me?’

  ‘None of them know where you are. I spoke to Gabe. They think you’re chasing ghosts. No one knows where you are, and you’ve been acting crazy enough for these last few weeks it won’t take much to convince anyone that you couldn’t live with yourself after what happened with Lacie.’