Little Girl Gone (A Logan Harper Thriller)

by Brett Battles

  “Keep going past,” Logan said.

  A couple of hundred feet on, they made a U-turn, then stopped on the shoulder in front of a roadside restaurant. They watched for several minutes to see if the car reappeared, but it didn’t.

  “At the far front corner,” Daeng said. “You see him?”

  Logan looked. Just visible above the top of the wall was the head of a man. He seemed to be watching the road.

  “Yeah,” he said.

  “We should go into the restaurant. He may have spotted us when we turned, and he’ll be more curious if we don’t get out.”

  The place wasn’t much more than a glorified food cart with a permanent roof over the eating area. They took a table near the front so they could keep an eye across the street, then, for appearance sake, Daeng ordered them some food.

  “What do you think?” he asked Logan.

  “Aaron said the hand over was going to happen today.”

  “You think that’s where it’s supposed to take place?”

  Logan looked over at the wall. It encircled a large property with a couple of commercial-type buildings in the center. “Figure the guys from the train must have reported that Aaron was missing before we even got to Chiang Mai. If I were in charge, I would want to talk to them in person as soon as possible. What I wouldn’t want, though, was have them brought someplace where I had another meeting set up. So either the hand off’s happening right now somewhere else, and these guys are just sitting there waiting, or it’s happening later, and they’re having their debrief right now.” He looked at Daeng. “I’m going to assume it’s the latter.”

  “If that’s the case,” Daeng said, “there’s a pretty good chance the girl is—”

  “—right over there,” Logan finished for him, his eyes firmly fixed on the cinderblock wall. “Which means I need to get inside.”

  “Do I need to point out again that it’s guarded?”

  “I know. But so far they’ve shown a lack of interest in using local help. If they’ve only got the people they came with, then they’ll be spread pretty thin guarding that place.”

  “We don’t know that for sure.”

  “Again, true.” Logan paused for a second. “At the very least, we know that they have someone up front.” He put a napkin in the middle of the table. “This is the walled in property. And this is us.” He set a soupspoon in their approximate position relative to the napkin. Using his finger, he traced a route across the tabletop. “If I’m careful, I should be able to work my way around and come at them from here.” He tapped the back corner of the napkin. “To your point about not knowing for sure, I’ll have staged goals. One, assess their security. And two, depending on the results of number one, enter the property, and see what I can find out. What I need you to do is create a diversion up front.” He put another spoon where the front gate would be. “Doable?”

  “In my sleep,” Daeng said, but then frowned. “But I’m not completely comfortable with this, though.”

  Logan sat back. “All right. What do you suggest?”

  “That I come with you.”

  “What about the diversion?”

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “It’ll be handled.”

  37

  Within thirty minutes Logan and Daeng were on the move.

  Their driver stayed at the restaurant to act as spotter in case anyone left the compound. If they did, his job was to follow them, and report back.

  Logan had no idea who was going to be doing the actual diversion. Daeng dealt with them on the phone, checking in every few minutes as he and Logan worked their way through the neighborhood, and around to the back corner of the target lot.

  When they got there, they found enough junk lying around to create a step that would make getting over the wall a little bit easier.

  “Let me know when you’re ready,” Daeng said. His diversion team was standing by on the other end of the line.

  Staying in a crouch so that his head would remain below the top of the wall, Logan climbed up on the step. “I’m ready.”

  “Okay,” Daeng said into the phone.

  At first it seemed like nothing happened. Logan gave it a few seconds, then looked back at Daeng. “Anytime now.”

  “Patience,” Daeng said.

  There was another minute of nothing, then just before Logan was going to ask if something was wrong, he heard a loud voice coming from the direction of the front gate. It was soon joined by others. None of them sounded angry, though. In fact, their tones were just the opposite. Logan thought he even heard laughter.

  This time when he looked at Daeng, he raised an eyebrow.

  Daeng smiled. “Diversion. Burmese style.”

  “Burmese?”

  “Refugees. They sneak out of the camps to find work here in Chiang Mai. When I’m able, I send whatever I can their way. So they’re happy to help.”

  Logan raised his head above the wall just high enough so he could peek over. Standing just beyond the gate was a crowd of maybe a dozen people. They were smiling and laughing. A few were even carrying musical instruments of some kind. There were a several children, too, running around the adults, and sometimes ducking under the gate for a moment before returning to the other side.

  A Caucasian man stood just inside the gate, facing them. His hands were empty, but Logan had no doubt he had a weapon hidden somewhere. Two others, the two who’d been on the train, Logan realized, were walking toward the gate from the main building. Suddenly, the refugee group broke into song.

  “How long can they keep it up?” Logan asked.

  “They can go all day if we want,” Daeng said. “It’s not like the farang are going to call the police.”

  Logan nodded. “I’m going over.”

  “Are you sure it’s safe?”

  Logan took a quick look around. There was no one in the back area. In fact the only thing he could see that probably hadn’t been there for a long time was a large, gray cargo van parked by the side of the building.

  “I’ll know soon enough.”

  If he had it figured correctly, and Bell had limited his group to the men he’d come to Thailand with, then there should have only been two people left in the building, not counting the possibility of Elyse.

  As soon as Logan pulled himself over the wall, Daeng followed. Logan almost told him to stay where he was, but he knew Daeng wouldn’t listen. So together they made their way across the junk-strewn lot to the back of the central building.

  Like the rest of the property, it was rundown, with several windows broken out and many of its bricks missing. Logan quickly figured out that they could use this to their advantage.

  He whispered his idea to Daeng, then started up the side of the building, using the holes where bricks had been as a makeshift ladder. Soon he came up beside one of the broken second-floor windows, and peeked in. The room beyond looked like it hadn’t been used in years.

  He slipped his hand through the break, and undid the latch. A few seconds later, he was standing inside.

  Except for several chairs piled up against one wall, the room was empty. The only exit was a closed door directly across from the window.

  Stepping lightly, he made his way over to it, and inched it open. As he did, Daeng enter the room, and came up behind him. Logan took a peek through the slit in the doorway. On the other side was a wide room that took up much of the rest of the floor. It, too, appeared empty.

  The others had probably contained their activity to the ground floor, having no use for anything more. Logan led the way in, intending to find a staircase that could take them down.

  “Wait,” Daeng whispered. “What are those?”

  Logan wasn’t sure what he meant at first, but then he saw the holes. There were dozens of them, each about the size of a soda can, cut into the floor about every six feet. He guessed that the place had once been used for manufacturing of some kind, and the holes, though empty now, had served as conduits for cables and wires.

&nbs
p; He knelt next to one, hoping he would be able to see down into the first floor. Unfortunately, the only thing he saw was darkness. He moved to the next one. Black again. He checked three more, all the same.

  Standing up, he decided the stairs were still their best bet, but before he could start looking for them, Daeng motioned for him to come over.

  Logan crouched beside him, next to another one of the holes.

  “What is it?” he asked.

  Daeng held a finger to his mouth, then pointed down.

  Logan looked into the hole, and wasn’t surprised to see it was dark like the others. He was about to say as much, when he realized that while it did looked like the others, it didn’t sound like the others. There were voices coming up through it.

  He leaned down, turning his head so that his ear was only inches from the opening.

  “…out of here,” a male voice said.

  “I tried to find out what they want, but I don’t think any of them speak English,” a second replied.

  “Find someone who does, and get rid of them!”

  There was a lull, then a third voice spoke up. “Does it really matter? They’re not doing anything. Just standing at the gate, playing a few songs. Have you tried giving them money? Maybe that’s all they want.”

  “We tried that,” the second voice said. “It just made them play more.”

  “I bet if we ignore them, they’ll go away.”

  “They can’t be there when we head out.” This was the first voice again, the most authoritative of the three.

  “That’s not for another four hours. More, if we haven’t heard from the woman by then. It’ll be fine.”

  There was a pause, then the first voice said, “It better be.”

  Silence again. Logan looked at his watch. It was almost 11:00 a.m. If the four hours was an approximation, that meant they would probably be leaving anytime between 2:30 to 3:30.

  He had to assume the ‘where’ was wherever this hand off Aaron had mentioned was to take place. Time was rapidly running out. If Elyse was in the building, Logan needed to get her out now.

  He pushed himself up.

  “Where are you going?” Daeng whispered.

  Instead of answering, Logan turned toward the back of the room. Along the far wall were several doors, including the one to the room they’d entered through. He figured the stairs would be at one end or the other, and since he was closer to the door on the right, he went there first.

  Bingo.

  Daeng caught up to him just as Logan entering the stairwell. “What are you doing?”

  “If she’s here, we have to get her.”

  “Are you kidding? You go downstairs, they’ll catch you. That’s not going to do anyone any good.”

  “It’s the only way we can find out if she’s here or not.”

  On that point, Daeng had no argument, and he knew it. “I’ll go,” he said. “If they catch me, I’m just an unlucky local who stumbled into something he shouldn’t have.”

  “That’s not going to make it any safer for you.”

  “Maybe not a lot, but it’s better than them finding you. They’ve pretty much all seen your face now.”

  “Those two from the train know what you look like, too.”

  “I’m Thai, remember? There are millions of us here. They won’t recognize me.”

  “You’re Thai with a bandage on your ear,” Logan said. “Besides, that whole we-all-look-the-same routine is never really true.” He paused. “You can lead, but I’m still coming.”

  Daeng shook his head. “Your stubbornness is predictable.”

  “Yes, it is.”

  “I didn’t mean it as a compliment.”

  Logan shrugged, then said, “Let’s go.”

  They moved quietly down the stairs to the door at the bottom. Daeng then opened it just enough so that he could look through.

  “Well?” Logan whispered.

  “Hallway. Looks empty.”

  “No reason to stay here then.”

  Not hiding his annoyance, Daeng pulled the door open.

  The hallway was maybe fifteen feet long, with doors at either end. The one to their left would lead further into the building, and the one to their right, if Logan’s sense of direction was still intact, would lead outside.

  Daeng looked at him, asking which way he wanted to go.

  Logan pointed at the door on the left first, then at the one on the right, marking them off in order.

  The good news was that his sense of direction still worked, and the first door lead to the outside. It would be handy if they needed a quick means of escape.

  They moved down to the door at the other end of the hallway. If Tooney’s granddaughter was in the building, she would be somewhere beyond it.

  Daeng reached for the knob, but then paused, and looked at Logan. “If someone sees me after I open this, I’ll pull it shut and hold it while you get out, okay?”

  Reluctantly, Logan nodded.

  Daeng opened the door a crack. Immediately, they could both hear voices, but none distinct enough to make out what was being said.

  He eased it open wider, then stuck his head through the gap. Suddenly, he pulled back and closed the door. The only thing that kept Logan from heading for the exit was that Daeng hadn’t slammed it.

  “What?” Logan whispered.

  “We need to leave.”

  “Did someone see you?”

  Daeng shook his head. “No.”

  “Then what?”

  Daeng hesitated, then said, “She’s there, but there’s no way we can get to her.”

  “Let me take a look.” Logan tried to get by him, but Daeng pushed him back.

  “She’s tied in a chair, either unconscious or drugged. Maybe both.” He paused. “There’s blood on her shirt, too.”

  “Are you sure she’s alive?”

  “I think so,” Daeng said. He held Logan’s gaze for a moment. “Logan, you were wrong.”

  “About what?”

  “This Mr. Bell isn’t just working with the men who came with him. There are at least half a dozen others in there. All farang.”

  Logan couldn’t believe it. Elyse was right beyond that door. If there had only been the two men he’d expected, he and Daeng would have had an excellent chance at getting her out. But the two of them against eight? The only chance now would be one of total failure. “I need to see.”

  Daeng hesitated a moment, then said, “There’s an enclosed area just beyond the door. If you don’t open it too wide, they shouldn’t notice.”

  They switched places, then Logan slowly opened the door.

  Beyond the enclosed space was a large room similar to the one upstairs, except this one had several tables and some chairs spread around. He spotted Elyse right away. Her chair was just within his line of sight, toward the center of the room. She was angled so that he could see mostly a front view of her. There was indeed blood on her shirt. Not as much as he feared, but more than he would have liked.

  He stared at her until he saw her chest move up and down, glad for the confirmation that she was alive. It did nothing for his overall feeling of frustration, though.

  He turned his attention to the rest of the room. Sitting just behind Elyse were two men he’d never seen before, and clear across the room near the corner were several others. Perhaps Bell had gotten scared when Ryan had disappeared, or when he was unable to contact Williams and Dean back in the States. Or perhaps he’d always planned on having extra help for the scheduled hand off.

  Logan pulled back into the hallway, and silently closed the door.

  It didn’t really matter what the reason was for the increase in manpower. It meant only one thing.

  Logan’s job had just become considerably more complicated.

  38

  Logan and Daeng were back at the roadside restaurant. Across the street, everything at the compound had returned to normal, their diversionary group of Burmese refugees having walked off as soon as Daeng had
given them the signal.

  Four hours, Logan thought. Probably more like three and a half by that point.

  They had to assume that was when Elyse was going to be turned over to someone else. Once she was in the others’ hands, Logan’s chances of getting her back dropped to near zero. So three and a half hours was all the time he had to free her.

  Without a platoon of commandos, getting her out of the compound wasn’t an option. And while Daeng had proven resourceful in obtaining help, access to elite soldiers was a little beyond his reach. So that left two options: grab her while she was being transported to the handoff point, or do it at the handoff point itself. While Logan didn’t want it to come down to the last minute, he felt there were too many ways she could get injured or even killed if they made the attempt while she was riding in a car.

  Like it or not, the hand off point was the most logical place to make their move. Or would have been if Logan had actually known where it was.

  As he tossed around a few generic plans with Daeng, something in the back of his mind tugged at him, demanding attention.

  He looked out at the road again, focusing on nothing as he attempt to let whatever was hovering back there come forward.

  Slowly, he started to remember. It was something he’d heard. While he was…in the building across the street. When…

  When I’d been listening at the hole. That was it.

  He’d been listening to the conversation coming up through the first floor.

  It wasn’t the thing about the four hours. That he hadn’t forgotten.

  It was after.

  Right after.

  … more, if we haven’t heard from the woman by then….

  The woman.

  He’d assumed at the time the speaker had been talking about whoever it was they were supposed to be meeting. But wasn’t it possible it meant something else?

  Something more straightforward? Like…

  “No,” he said softly to himself.

  “What?” Daeng asked.

  Logan stared into the distance for a moment longer, then glanced at Daeng. “Give me a minute.” Pulling out his phone, he called his father.

  “Hello?” his dad said.