Sally Singletary's Curiosity (The Sally Singletary Book 1)

by J. M. Cataffo

  “Given the looks of this place, I’d say he’s pretty efficient. It’s pretty recent, too.” Jake pointed at the date.

  Lani eyed it suspiciously before snapping a picture with her phone. “Well, now at least we have an idea of where to find him.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  IDRIC STARED HELPLESSLY, his face pressed against the glass doors at the back of the school as the two agents took Sally down with a Taser. She’d turned back to help Yasif, but it had been no use. The agents had knocked her unconscious before she’d made it halfway. It wasn’t pleasant watching two people twitch in pain. One of the men glanced up, and Idric acted instinctively, giving a wave of his hand as he muttered, “Odwende.”

  The man’s eyes glazed over. He shrugged, dismissing whatever it was he thought he’d seen. He assisted his partner in picking up the two unconscious teens. As they approached the back door, Idric searched for a place to hide. If the agent got too close, the spell wouldn’t hold and he’d be captured, too. He took refuge behind a nearby tree and watched as the men carried Sally and Yasif to a black van. Neither were particularly gentle as they placed Sally and Yasif into the back. They bound and gagged the teens as Idric racked his brain for something he could do. He couldn’t attack them as they we’d done with the flying creature. That would only harm Yasif and Sally. He could come up with something to distract them, but then how would he carry both Sally and Yasif?

  Then a thought came to him.

  He concentrated on the trace convergence, something fleeting, but still coherent enough for him to use. He picked up a small rock and darted closer to the van.

  “Modo kente.” He drew on the fading energy, channeling it into the stone. It glowed momentarily with a faint reddish light. He then tossed it into the back of the van just before the men returned to close it up.

  The man who’d glanced at him earlier looked in Idric’s direction. He wore a puzzled look as though he’d seen something. He squinted into the trees, then shook his head and went around the side of the van.

  Idric breathed a sigh of relief as they drove away. The tracking spell would keep tabs on the van, but Idric had no way to follow them. He needed to get word to Jake or Lani. If they didn’t hurry, the energy in the stone would fade, and he worried they’d never see Sally or Yasif again.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  YASIF AWOKE TO INTENSE PAIN. Whatever the men had done, he was in no rush to repeat the experience. His mouth felt as though his tongue were twice its size; they’d shoved a rag into it. He tried to move, but found he couldn’t. Panic rose in his stomach as he realized his arms and legs were tied to a chair. Sally was next to him, unconscious and bound just as he was.

  At least he wasn’t alone.

  The room was dark, only enough light for him to see it was a hotel suite or apartment. The men were nowhere to be seen.

  Terror filled him and his body began to shake. Tears trailed his cheeks. He felt completely helpless. The ropes were tight. He struggled against them, but all he accomplished was burning his wrists. His legs were bound just as tightly. Nothing he did seemed to make any difference.

  On top that, he really had to pee.

  A stream of light cut across the floor as one of the men entered the room. Yasif couldn’t yet see the man’s face, but he knew who it was. Thompson.

  “You’re awake.”

  Thompson came over and saw Yasif’s tears. “Awww, is the little Arab boy crying?” He used the long “a” sound, drawing it out with his Southern accent, which only made it sound that much more offensive. “All ya’ll turban-heads are the same. Little pussies with big guns doing stupid shit like blowing yourselves up. You’ll be charged with terrorism. I’m sure whatever secret prison they stash you away in will be just as comfortable as home.”

  If the guy was trying to intimidate him, it had worked. Terrorism? Him? He couldn’t so much as steal candy from a vending machine. Yasif tried his best to control his fear, even though his whole body was now shaking.

  Thompson got right in Yasif’s face. “That’s right, kid. You’d better be scared. I hear they really like little boys in those places.”

  Fear drove horrible images through Yasif’s brain. The thought of some dark cold prison chilling him to the bone. He imagined angry-looking men with large arms and tattoos standing over him, eyeing him like a piece of steak.

  Tears welled up in his eyes once more despite his efforts to hold them back. He didn’t want this guy to see him so weak, but he couldn’t help it. He wasn’t strong like Sally. He wished she were awake to protect him.

  Yasif sensed movement beside him.

  “The feisty one awakens!” Thompkins said, more excitedly than he’d probably meant.

  He’d barely managed to remove the gag when Sally began yelling at him. “What the hell are you doing? Let me go! I demand to speak to my lawyer!”

  Thompkins laughed. “You’re in no position to make demands.”

  Sally eyed him. “Let me go—now!”

  Yasif couldn’t help a faint smile.

  “Cooperate, and there may be a chance that you won’t rot in a prison for the rest of your adult life.” He moved closer. “Continue your defiance and you’ll be lucky if you make it to a cell.”

  “Prison?” Sally asked. “What for?”

  “Interferin’ in a federal investigation involving national security. That should earn you a nice stay in a federal prison.” Yasif suddenly found the man in his face again. “And as for you, you little terrorist, you’re not even an American citizen. Oh, the things we’ve got in store for you. If you think water-boarding was torture…”

  Terror filled Yasif once more. Was he serious? Yasif had seen plenty of shows on TV where men were tortured for information, but things like that weren’t real. Were they? Surely there were laws to protect him.

  Yasif’s stomach clenched. He felt like throwing up. His entire midsection was as hard as a rock. Desperately, he tried to convince himself this was all a scare tactic, that none of what the man had said could really happen. But the hatred in Thompson’s eyes was clear. He looked as if he’d make damn sure he carried through on his threats.

  This wasn’t happening. He had to be trapped in some horrible nightmare. He’d never been so terrified in his life. He swallowed hard, pushing past the baseball-sized lump in his throat. His entire body was shaking. Tears streamed down his cheeks, dripping off his jaw. It wasn’t until the wetness began to cool on his jeans that he even realized he’d lost control of his bladder.

  The man laughed a deep belly laugh.

  Yasif’s fear became embarrassment. Heat rose in his neck and cheeks. What would Sally think? Thompson was right; he was a wuss. Sally would never talk to him again. He’d give anything for her to be anywhere else but there. He couldn’t even turn to look at her.

  While Thompson continued to joke at his expense, Yasif went to a very remote place in his mind where his fears were darkened anger. He hated this man, hated him with every fiber of his being. Vengeance pushed aside his despair, giving back him a bit of control. Yasif eyed Thompson through tear-soaked eyes. Never before had Yasif wanted to hurt someone, but given the opportunity he’d have beat this man with everything he had. Thompson continued to laugh, taunting Yasif into an angered frenzy. If he could only reach out, grab the man’s throat and—

  “Cut it out, Thompson!” Dawkins entered.

  Thompson frowned, and the two men became embroiled in a heated discussion. Yasif didn’t care. His gaze remained locked on the blond man.

  “Are you okay, Yaz?” Sally called to him.

  He’d only barely registered what she’d said, but it was enough to bring him away from his morbid thoughts. But he couldn’t answer her; he was still embarrassed about having wet himself. He didn’t want her to see him like this.

  “Yaz? Please tell me you’re okay.”

  “Take the girl first,” Dawkins said.

  Thompson passed in front of Yasif, blocking his view of Sally. “Pa
nsy,” he whispered quietly enough his partner couldn’t hear and then went over and untied Sally.

  Sally, of course, didn’t go quietly. She let out a few grunts of protest as he led her still bound from the room.

  Yasif couldn’t bring himself to look up as she passed, staring instead at the carpet, too mortified to face her.

  The door closed, plunging the room back into darkness. All the anger, frustration, embarrassment, and humiliation came bubbling out of him in violent sobs that rocked his body. Tears dripped off his face as he sat in the cold wetness of his urine-soaked pants. Gone were all thoughts of the disappearances, shape-shifters, and flying creatures, replaced with white-hot anger and resentment. Thompson would pay for making him feel this way. For the first time in his life, he wanted revenge.

  Yasif twisted his wrists, feeling the rope cutting into his arms. He ignored the pain, allowing it to fuel the anger. After a while, his skin was chaffed to the point of nearly bleeding, but the ropes had begun to loosen, almost enough for him to slip through.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  “LOOK, DAN, I’m following a lead on a story. I may be out of town for a couple days.” Lani’s voice echoed in the abandoned station. Lani sat on the couch they’d procured, talking to her boss, explaining why she hadn’t shown up for work. She paused, glancing at Jake, then returned to the conversation. “No. But this may have something to do with the kidnappings and I need to follow up on it fast.”

  Jake hadn’t even bothered. It wouldn’t be the first time he hadn’t shown up to work. If it weren’t for the fact his father owned the company, he would’ve been fired long ago.

  He glanced around the switching station, recalling the times he’d been there as a kid, back when the equipment was new. What was now covered with strings of cobwebs and layers of dust had once been a child’s fascination. There was a time before the pain and hurt, when he’d actually enjoyed working with his father.

  He glanced at a panel on the wall, remembering the hundreds of crisscrossing wires behind the metal cover, each one carefully placed there by him and his dad. It had been fun to come and spend the night, but all that ended the evening he and Daniel had spent together.

  The memories overwhelmed him. He gazed at the ceiling, taking a deep breath, fighting against the sudden spring of emotion. For too long he’d repressed these feelings.

  He needed a distraction.

  He went into the small room where the TESSA server was humming away, the drives making faint clicking noises as her program chewed away at the incoming data. He tried not to think that this was all possible because of Daniel. Instead, he took to examining the incoming information.

  He noticed something odd, a post from a user named Ash.

  JD S&Y=(null) < D51 @HLS #911

  Smart kid.

  Lani entered. “Everything okay?”

  “Not so much.” Jake waved her over. “Check this out.”

  She stared at the screen, but clearly didn’t understand the post.

  “It’s from Idric.” Jake explained. “Sally and Yasif were taken by Division 51. He’s stuck at the school and needs help.”

  “You got all that from that?” She pointed at the screen.

  Jake shrugged. “It’s actually pretty easy. The null means empty set, missing. D51 stands for Department 51—”

  “Ah, I get it,” she said. “It’s good you noticed that. I’d have just deleted it, thinking it was a junk post or something.”

  Jake noticed the bags underneath her eyes were beginning to show.

  She continued. “I guess we’d better get back over to the school and pick up Idric.”

  “Then go rescue Sally and Yasif?” Jake posed.

  “Rescue?” Lani looked surprised. “They’re with government agents, not some teenage hoodlums. How do you propose we rescue them?”

  “We’ll think of something, but we can’t just leave them there.”

  “Jake, I don’t know what you’re thinking, but stop right there. It’s one thing to break into a guy’s apartment for info. It’s another entirely when we’re talking about taking on federal agents. I don’t know about you, but I don’t plan on spending the rest of my life in a federal prison.” Lani crossed her arms.

  “Even with everything that’s going on? What if these guys are involved? What if they’re torturing them for information or something?” Jake was beginning to feel a bit frantic.

  “You certainly have quite the imagination. I’ll give you that,” Lani replied. “Look, I’m just here to get to the bottom of the story. I’m not about to play vigilante against a couple federal agents. It’s just not worth it. I realize there’s some strange stuff going on, but we’ve got to keep our heads, okay?”

  Jake sighed. She clearly wasn’t getting the big picture. “Don’t you get it? With everything we’ve seen? What if those agents are more shape-shifters? What if these things have already invaded the government? Who else knows about this stuff but us? Who else is going to do anything about it?”

  “If you want to go up against these things, fine,” Lani said. “Just leave me out of it. I’ll get you to the school to get Idric. Beyond that, you’re on your own.”

  Jake stared, dumbfounded. He couldn’t believe she’d rejected his proposal so easily. He felt a sense of responsibility he was sure Lani would share. He’d thought her loyal, especially since she’d already done so much. Maybe he really was thinking too much into it.

  With a sigh, he said, “Okay. Let’s just go get Idric.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  “MISS SINGLETARY, we’re not unreasonable men.”

  Sally eyed Dawkins. They’d sat her at a table next to a window with the shades drawn, presumably so she wouldn’t know exactly where they were. On the inside it could have been any hotel chain. There was nothing to identify it. She searched the room for something that might come in handy to help her escape.

  “All we want,” Dawkins continued, “is just a bit of information.”

  Sally scoffed defiantly. “I’ve told you everything I know. Daniel was a friend. He helped us with our online school newsletter. We hung out from time to time, and Billy was his roommate. I didn’t even know Shayne other than he was on the football team.”

  Thompson wore a condescending smile. “Don’t play dumb, little girl. You were the ones listening in to our conversation.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “I get you’re trying to protect your friends, but we’re trying to protect people, too. Don’t you understand that?”

  Through his dark glasses, Sally could see his eyes shifting and knew he was receiving a fresh batch of information. What did he expect? Her to just trust him after being kidnapped and taunted? “I’ve already told you! I don’t know anything more.”

  “We know you were listening in on that speaker,” Thompson said angrily.

  “Prove it,” Sally challenged.

  Anger flashed over Thompson’s face. “Let’s play this a different way. If you don’t cooperate, your little piss-pants friend in there is going to be deported to an offshore federal prison.”

  Sally crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes.

  Dawkins sighed, looking down at the floor. “Make the call.”

  Thompson reached into his pocket and produced a phone. He’d begun dialing when the thought of Yasif bound to the chair in the other room flashed in her mind. Would they really do this? She was convinced they were bluffing, but wasn’t sure she was willing to take the chance. “Okay, wait… Please don’t do that. Yasif’s a good guy. I’m the one who made him listen in, okay?” she lied.

  Both men watched expectantly.

  “This is all that I know. I saw the boys disappear from the school.” Sally sighed.

  “When you say disappeared, what exactly do you mean?” Dawkins asked.

  “Poof! Gone! Vanished! Disappeared out of thin air. How many more ways do I need to say it?”

  The men eyed her, gauging her tru
thfulness. She thought it odd how easily they accepted what she’d said. Any other person would have given her a look of surprise or disbelief, but these guys looked as though she’d answered some questions.

  A noise from behind drew their attention. The door burst open. Yasif appeared, his eyes bloodshot, his face red with anger, his jeans still darkened from where he’d wet himself. He let out a scream that sounded more like an animal than the friend she knew.

  Yasif tore through the living room, pushing over a side table. As it fell, he grabbed the lamp off the top and threw it directly at Thompson. The man tried to block, but it crashed against him, sending shards of glass in all directions.

  Sally gasped.

  Yasif grabbed a large vase, not bothering to remove the fake flowers, and heaved it at him as well. Neither had the effect he apparently desired. His gaze searched the room until settling on something to his right. Sally, still in shock, glanced over and saw the fireplace. In front was a set of rod iron tools.

  “Yaz?”

  But he ignored her, grabbing the poker and moving toward the two men.

  “Yasif!” Sally screamed in shock as he advanced.

  Thompson frantically searched his pockets, but there wasn’t time for him to find whatever he was looking for. Yasif swung the metal poker. Thompson tried to block, but screamed in pain as the rod collided with his forearm.

  Thompson scowled, cradling his arm, but then moved into a fighting stance.

  Yasif wasted no time. He struck him twice more on either side, ducking under the man’s retaliatory swings. Then Yasif got a lucky break. The man misstepped in an attempt to gain leverage, and Yasif clocked him on the side of the head.

  Sally let out a cry of dismay and looked away as the man’s body crumpled to the floor. Tears filled her eyes. She’d never witnessed anything quite so disturbing. It was one thing to see people getting hit on TV, but entirely another in real life. There were no Foley tracks to make the impact dramatic. The real sound of the man being struck sickened her.