“Half mile, keep going. Don’t stop,” she said as encouragement under her breath.
The old rusted car slowed. Serena kept her pace steady. As it passed, three passengers stared out their open windows. For a moment, she felt relief, then heard the sound of squealing tires behind her. She turned and watched in horror as the car was now turning around.
“God, no!” she cried out in fear.
Instantly, she ran at full speed. With a half mile to go, she knew she was in trouble. Panting deeply and sweating profusely, she concentrated on the apartments now clearly visible.
She glanced over her shoulder. The car was gaining.
Serena’s mind raced. There was nowhere to run… nowhere to hide. With her heart pounding, she felt as if she were going to collapse.
As the car pulled alongside her, two men hung outside over their door. She glanced over her shoulder. These were not her captors. She felt a moment’s relief.
Suddenly, loud shouts startled her. As the car pulled slightly ahead, she noticed their body markings and rough attire. The smell of alcohol spewed from the open windows.
‘Young punks,’ Serena thought to herself in anger.
Yelling in their foreign language, Serena could only guess their meanings. Suggestive and obscene, their hand gestures were unmistakable. These men were dangerous and she was now in serious trouble.
She looked at the men, back to the apartments, then across the open field. As her paced began to slow, so did the car of thugs. She knew that when she stopped, they would too and she might never be heard from again.
With little choice left, she veered off into the open field. Running at a slower pace, the moistened ground caused her to run even slower. Instantly, the car veered off toward her in reaction, the drunken driver surprised by his own stupidity. He hauled the wheel away from the field, but only too late. The front tire sunk into the wet soil, followed by the rear tire. Like an anchor on a boat, the two tires forced the car to a complete stop.
The three drunken men piled out of the car and stumbled around the vehicle, assessing their dilemma. In a moment of rage, one of the men charged after Serena. Looking over her shoulder, her fear was extreme and intense.
Tears streamed down her face and she let out a guttural cry.
With her last once of energy, she made one last attempt at escape. She picked up her speed slightly, and now matched the speed of the charging man twenty yards behind her.
Seeing the distance between he and Serena go unchanged, the drunken man increased his speed. Losing his footing in the moist grass, he stumbled and fell. Quickly, he stood and continued the chase, only now with a greater distance between them. Out of breath and too drunk to continue, he quickly gave up.
With her lungs ready to burst, Serena looked over her shoulder and watched the thug turn away. Ready to collapse, she slowed her pace and forced herself to keep moving.
A minute later, with the men far behind and the apartments just in front of her, she slowed to a walk. Breathing heavily and her vision blurred, she was nearly on the edge of blackout. She crossed under a fence and headed into the apartment area, scanning for a place to hide.
Located next to the apartments, she spotted a trash dumpster. With one more look around, she hurried in behind it and collapsed to the ground. Shielded on two sides, it was as good a place to hide as any. Lying on her back, she gasped for air as her vision slowly became clear once more. Physically and emotionally spent, she raised her weakened hands to her face and began to cry.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Misha was the first to enter. He stared at the broken door in disbelief. Panic crossed through his mind as he envisioned Nicolae’s rage.
“Sergei, you idiot. Get in here! The girl is gone!” Misha shouted over his shoulder as he ran to the back of the room.
Sergei instantly charged into the room and followed behind Misha. As the two stood in Serena’s empty room, a sense of dread and doom spread over them like a heavy blanket.
“You fool. I knew you should have stayed, like Alexi ordered. They will kill the both of us for this,” Misha spat angrily.
“Maybe we should run. If we leave now, we’ll have time to get away,” Sergei suggested in desperation.
“You idiot, Nicolae’s hands can reach you anywhere. He knows too many people. If we run now, we’ll be dead in an hour,” Misha said.
“We were only gone a short time. She can’t be far. Let’s search the area,” Sergei said.
Without another word, the two hurried from floor to floor, searching every room, looking at every conceivable place one could hide. Frantically, Sergei ran outside and searched the grounds. He ran out into the road and listened.
“Anything?” Misha yelled from the front door.
Sergei only shook his head.
Misha ran upstairs. He burst through the door to their office and grappled for the phone. Punching the numbers in, his shaking hands fumbled with the handset, finally placing it to his ear.
“Alexi! We’ve got a big problem!” Misha shouted into the receiver frantically.
“Don’t tell me it’s the girl,” Alexi guessed, now instantly anxious.
“I’m sorry, Alexi. We left to get something to eat and when we returned, she was gone. Looks like she broke open the door,” Misha explained, nervously.
Dead silence fell between the two men. The Alexi spoke.
“You fools. You have killed us all. Nicolae will never stand for such incompetence,” he said, now seething with anger. “How long ago? How much time?”
“About an hour,” Misha responded quickly.
“Ok, she can’t be far. Make a five mile sweep of the area. Call me with any news... I’ll call Nicolae.”
With the abrupt disconnection, Misha looked over to Sergei, his face filled with fear.
“He’s calling Nicolae. We won’t make it through the night.”
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Alexi hesitated momentarily. He looked down at his phone and figured his options. Swallowing hard, he dialed. Still driving his car, he listened to the dial tone with dread.
“Alexi, where are you? I’ve been waiting,” Nicolae said, impatiently.
“Nicolae, we’ve got a bigger problem right now,” Alexi said.
There was only silence.
“What is it?” Nicolae said suspiciously.
“The girl escaped. I don’t have all the details, but all I know is she’s gone.”
“WHAT!” Nicolae blurted into the receiver. “When?”
“About an hour ago,” Alexi replied.
“I can’t believe this. How could she have escaped? There are always two men watching her.”
“I’m sorry, Nicolae. I don’t have all the details. All I know is that Misha and Sergei were watching her and then she disappeared.”
“HOLY SHIT! This could bring us down. This could bring us ALL down,” Nicolae shouted in a panicked tone.
“I’ve got them doing a five mile sweep of the area,” Alexi responded feebly.
“Never mind that. This is a crisis. I’m calling the Inspector,” Nicolae said in determined tone.
“The Inspector?” Alexi questioned momentarily, then reconsidered. “Yes, the Inspector. He’s perfect.”
“Call everyone in the area. He’s going to need all the help he can get.”
“Yes, sir,” Alexi replied simply.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
Serena sat up and rubbed her calves. After nearly a half hour of rest, her body still felt weak. As she stood and surveyed her surroundings, the apartments looked run down and decrepit. Most of the cars were junks, barely drivable. Graffiti decorated the lower walls and trash was littered everywhere. Her first impression was danger.
“Well, someone must have a phone here,” Serena said aloud. “One call. That’s all I need.”
As she came out from the dumpster, she heard the screech of tires from around the corner of one of the buildings. Moments later, automatic fire shattered the quiet of the
day. Instinctively, Serena ducked. Again, another burst of gunfire rang out and she quickly jumped behind the dumpster. Lying prone on her stomach, she covered her head in fear.
As the weapons fire continued, more screeching tires signaled the arrival of police backup. Far off in the distance, police and EMT sirens rang louder as they approached. For a moment, gunfire ceased and shouts over a bullhorn echoed off the buildings. Serena listened to the angry exchanges in Russian.
Nearly ten minutes passed and the shouting stopped. She sat up and looked around the corner of the dumpster. Suddenly, gunfire erupted once more and she crawled back to safety.
As more police arrived on the scene, the battle grew and now cries of pain added to the confusion.
“What the hell is going on out there?” she said to herself in disbelief.
From behind her, she heard footsteps approaching. She turned and saw two men approaching fast. In an instant, she recognized them: the two men from the car that chased her. As they ran toward the dumpster, they spotted her.
Serena looked around her. There was no place to run. Both men charged behind the dumpster and grabbed her arms. Hauling her to her feet, she pulled against their assault. The shorter of the two, punched her in the jaw and her legs collapsed under her. The taller of the two, pulled her up and wrapped his arm around her waist, carrying her in front of him.
The two men said something in Russian and moved toward the gunfire. Pulling their guns, they crept up to the corner of the building. As they neared, the police came into view.
From the parking lot in front of a building, nearly a dozen police cars and emergency vehicles crowded the area. Standing their ground and firing wildly, they aimed at windows across the way. From doorways and window, armed civilians fired down at police.
Serena gasped in shock as she saw two policemen lying dead by their vehicles. Higher up, blood streaked down the outside of the building as several criminals were hit and hung lifeless in the windows.
Suddenly, Serena heard a loud blast near her ear. She shrieked in fear. Held tightly by the waist, she wiggled to get free. The taller man hit her in the head with the butt of his pistol and fired again.
Several cops heard the shots and instinctively returned fire. One second the shorter man was standing, the next he fell to the ground. As bullets ricocheted off the building, the taller man moved Serena in front of him as a shield. He fired his gun and struck one of the cops. More return fire whistled by her head.
“HELP! HELP!” Serena shouted loudly to the police. “Don’t shoot!”
As more bullets embedded in the building beside them, the taller man shot back fearlessly.
“HELP! I’M AN AMERICAN!” Serena screamed over the sound of gunfire. “Don’t shoot!”
Off in the distance, standing safely behind a large police van, a lone man directed the battle with his bullhorn. Hearing Serena’s voice, he shouted to his men to cease fire. As the gun battle slowed to quiet, the lone man worked his way around the building behind him.
Moving swiftly from corner to corner, he reached the far edge of the building by the dumpster. He peered around the corner, crouched, and ran to the side of the dumpster. Once there, he used the metal structure as a shield as he peered around it.
Standing twenty feet from him, the taller man still held Serena in his grasp. In one swift move, he stood and ran toward them. Raising his gun, he closed the distance quickly.
From behind him, the taller man heard footsteps. As he spun around, he hauled Serena around with him. For a moment, he made eye contact with the lone man. In reflex, he raised his gun.
The bullet tore through the taller man’s scalp and embedded in his brain, instantly killing him. Serena dropped to the ground as blood spurted over her clothes. She screamed in fear, as she lay on the ground motionless.
A moment later, she felt a hand clutch her wrist and lift her off the ground.
“Come with me, quickly, if you want to live,” the lone man demanded.
Serena stood and immediately felt the tug of the uniformed lone man. Without another word between them, he hurried her back around the building to a waiting police car. As he approached, another officer stood by the rear door and opened it as they neared.
“Please, get in,” the lone man directed Serena.
Without another thought, she jumped into the back of the police car. Looking around her, she breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time in over a month, she finally felt safe.
As the officer closed the door, he nodded to the lone man.
“Call it all off. We’re done here,” he said to the officer.
“Yes, sir… Inspector.”
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
As the two drove off, the Inspector looked at Serena in his rearview mirror and said in broken English, “Nicolae will be very pleased.”
“What?” Serena said, more out of shock than a question.
“I knew you’d be close. I knew you’d seek out the first policemen you saw. All I needed to do was provide an incident to draw you out.”
“Noooo!” Sserena cried out in anguish.
Serena’s world collapsed around her. She fell back in her seat and cried, the tears flowing unabated.
~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~
With Serena’s room quickly repaired and stronger locks installed, Nicolae angrily shoved her into the room, causing her to trip and fall onto the old musty couch. He pulled his gun and pointed it in her direction. As she righted herself, she winced in pain from Nicolae’s earlier retaliation. Staring at her swollen and bloody face, he reconsidered his plan.
“You’ve became a liability. I should just kill you now, but your quick death would rob me of retribution,” he snarled.
Eyeing Serena with disgust, he pointed the gun once more, then reconsidered. Struggling to control his anger, he stowed his weapon. With a sadistic grin curling his lips, he said, “I’ve got a better solution.”
He quickly exited. Slamming the door behind him, he turned and dead-bolted the new locks.
“Alexi, call Aziz. Tell him we have a new arrival,” Nicolae said with a sardonic laugh.
“Right away, Boss,” Alexi responded. “She looks damaged right now. How long before she’s available?”
“Tell ‘em a month or so.”
“How much do I tell him?” Alexi asked, now mentally taking down the info.
“Good question.” Nicolae replied. He thought for a moment, then said, “Tell him sixteen million rubles. Tell him she’s worth it.”
“Right, sixteen million,” Alexi repeated.
Alexi looked toward a large sheet of plastic spread out in the middle of the floor. Standing on its center, bound and gagged, were Misha and Sergei. Intense fear radiated from their eyes as they stood and waited their fate.
Looking at his friends sympathetically, he turned back to Nicolae and asked, “What do we do with them?”
“If they were women, the solution would be easy: human trafficking. As it is, they are not,” Nicolae responded coldly.
Pulling his weapon from his shoulder holster, he walked up to Sergei and pointed the gun at his head. Sergei flinched. His screams were loud, even through the duct tape. With a single shot, he fell to the floor: dead.
Nicolae stepped to the side and stood in front of Misha.
“My old friend. You have been with me a very long time. It pains me to do this.”
Misha’s eyes were intense, but he stood bravely and waited on his execution.
A loud shot rang out and Misha fell to the floor. With his hands bound in front of him, he reached up and held his wound. Blood streamed from his ear.
“Don’t disappoint me again,” Nicolae said sternly.
Misha nodded knowingly.
Nicolae turned and shot Alexi a warning glance. Alexi nodded in acknowledgement, a subtle thank you for sparing his life.
Chapter 14
The days wore on and Javier, Burt, Jack, and Darrien searched tirelessly from dawn to dusk. As the nights rolled
in, they spent long hours discussing the data, refining their choices, and planning their next moves. Shortly after Burt arrived, the four eliminated two locations per day, working through the southern shores of Kapsali in a week’s time. With each mountain that was checked off their list, little by little their hopes began to fade.
Javier stood at the top and scanned the mountains around him. Deep sadness consumed him. In the two weeks since Serena’s kidnapping, he had pushed his heavy frame to its breaking point and with the realization that half the island was searched and nothing was found, his physical exhaustion was now compounded by emotional fatigue.
Javier crumpled the list into a ball and threw it angrily down the mountain. With little energy to stand, he collapsed to the ground, coming to rest on his knees.
“I’m failing her,” he said under his breath. “I’m doing my best and it still isn’t good enough.”
He brought his hands to his tired eyes and rubbed them. Slowly, tears rolled down his face as sadness began to overtake him. Rocking back and forth, he quietly wept.
Off in the distance, Burt, Jack and Darrien packed up the tools and gear, and prepared to hike down the mountain. Looking around for Javier, Jack spotted him. Silhouetted by the setting sun, he watched Javier's profile as he rocked back and forth over his knees.
“Why don’t you guys go on without us? We’ll catch up with you in a little while,” Jack said, now motioning to Javier.
Seeing his old friend in pain, Burt responded, “I won’t leave him like this.”
“It’s ok, Burt. I’ve got this. We won’t be long,” Jack replied.
Looking back to Javier, Burt felt a lump in his throat as he thought about the tragedy for the Aristas. He wanted to give some words of comfort to his friend, but knew whatever he was thinking would only come through in tears.
Looking back to Jack, he said, “I won’t leave him. We’ll wait.”
With an understanding nod, Jack turned and walked to Javier. Kneeling down beside him, Jack put his arm around his shoulder.
“I’m sure glad we’re done with this side of the island. I knew it wasn’t down here anyway. If I were the King of Atlantis, I would have built my city to the north, along the coast of Palaiopoli,” Jack started, his voice soft, yet confident. “Think about it. It’s less rugged, easier to build on, has an impressive valley that rises up from the shoreline and it’s just more aesthetically pleasing when viewed from the sea… at least that’s what I think. Don’t get me wrong. I like Kapsali. It’s quaint. It’s cozy. It’s rugged. It’s picturesque with that huge monolith rising out of the ocean a couple miles off shore, but it just doesn’t have that expansive feel that Palaiopoli has.”
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