Steel wondered about that, but didn’t push it. “Okay, I want you to tell me everything you can about where we are, what you saw outside, anything about the building.” He waited, adding, “It’s very important. It will help us escape.”
She looked doubtful, but said, “There’s a very high fence with barbed wire. And a tower with guards just inside the main gate. There’s a big painted circle on the ground to the east.”
“A helicopter landing zone.” Steel felt that could be an escape plan for Dima and Lucian.
Therese kept talking. “Two buildings. We’re in the main one. It’s a square house. The other building is a very large garage. Like a small warehouse. We walked in the front door of the house and down the steps. I didn’t see the rest of it.” She looked at him. “They bring in girls to the other prison cells and take them out. The girls look drugged or beaten.”
Steel wanted a gun in his hands. “Houses or anything else around the compound?”
She shook her head. “Just marsh. One dirt road leads in to the main gate.”
“Okay, great job. Now think, how many men did you see outside and where were they?”
She shrugged. “At least twenty or thirty. Two at the main gate, two in the tower, then others bringing in girls or taking them out, and guards around the fence perimeter.”
Steel had to admit, Lucian’s compound sounded daunting. “What kind of vehicles?”
“SUVs, vans, and pickup trucks with those raised covers on the back end.”
Steel figured Lucian used the vans and pickup trucks to capture and transport the girls. “Any dogs?”
“None that I saw.”
That meant Lucian relied on his drones. Any escape plan would have to account for armored drones chasing him, and they were formidable. “Okay, how often do they come down here? And how many men come?” Steel slowly got to his feet.
Therese stood up beside him. “One or two men come down here once a day to feed me and the others. They just hand a napkin with food in it through the bars. They already came today with the food. If they’re moving girls, then sometimes as many as five men come down.”
“Do you have a pin, hairclip, or anything on you that’s thin and sharp?” He held up his hands behind him. “For the handcuffs.”
“No. Sorry.” She stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Do you really think there’s a way out of here?”
“We just have to find it.” He limped to the cell bars. Pain assaulted him in his left thigh, right ribs, and jaw. Ignoring it, he stared out. The bars ran from the ceiling to the floor, three inches apart, and were attached by hinges to a solid metal door on the left side. Five feet of bars.
He shuffled closer to the four-foot-wide door. It was heavy metal, with thick welds on the hinges connecting it to one of the bars. The cell door closed tightly against the wall.
“It’s a slide deadbolt,” said Therese.
Steel couldn’t see it, but assumed a latch on the outside wall held the deadbolt fixed. No way to unlock it or break out. The scent of urine was stronger in the hallway. Lucian treated his prisoners worse than caged animals.
Limping over to Matt, he knelt. The young man’s arm was still in a sling, and his calf was bloody, with Steel’s torn shirt still wrapped around it. He also had a bump on his forehead from his fall. “See if you can wake him up, Therese.”
Therese gently placed a hand on Matt’s shoulder and shook him lightly. “Matt? Matt?”
Mumbling incoherently, Matt slowly stirred.
Steel nodded to Therese. “Water.”
Rising, she retrieved the pail and carried it over. Sitting beside Matt, she lifted a ladle to his lips, and he drank. After several long sips, he leaned his head back, his eyes more alert.
“They got you too, Steel?” Matt frowned. “Did you hear from Val?”
Steel rested a hand on his shoulder. “Val is safe. It’s us we have to worry about. What happened to Zeus?”
Matt lifted his hand. “I don’t know. I told him to run for it, because they would have no reason to keep him alive.”
“Who has the flash drive?” asked Steel.
Matt’s cheeks reddened slightly. “I gave it to Val to hold before the hand-off.”
“Good job.” Steel admired Matt’s self-sacrifice, but it made him wonder if Zeus was alive. And now the woman with Val might be in possession of the flash drive.
“Who is Val and Zeus?” Therese looked at both of them.
“My fiancé and one of Steel’s men,” said Matt. “I already miss Val. I hope to see her again.”
“I hope you do too.” Therese sounded encouraging.
“You will,” said Steel. “My friends will demand a trade.” Though with Christie gone, and Zeus possibly dead, he doubted Angel would do anything. “We have to be ready. Can you walk on that leg if you have to?”
Matt shivered visibly as he studied his leg with the bloody bandage. “It will feel like walking barefoot on glass. But if I have to, I can manage a limping run for ten steps or so.” He looked at Steel. “If my life depends on it.”
Steel rested a hand on his shoulder. “It will.”
Therese hung her head, looking glum.
Steel wanted to help her relax. “What are you studying in college, Therese?”
“Psychology.” She slowly raised her head. “I like helping people.”
“Good for you. We have that in common.”
Her eyes brightened a little. “What do you do?”
“I protect people, and I’m going to protect you, Therese.” He saw a tiny spark of hope in her eyes; he vowed to make sure she came out of this intact. “Be strong. Don’t let them take your power, your strength, or your courage.”
Her brow furrowed. “I’ll try.”
In an hour Lucian came down the steps, walking to the bars with two guards carrying machine guns. Lucian wore a clean white shirt, white slacks, and dress shoes. He had gold rings on three fingers, his voice smooth, deep, and clear.
“Jack Steel, awake at last. With the lovely Therese and pathetic CIA officer Mattia Leone.” Lucian smiled. “Your friends are coming at midnight to trade the flash drive for all three of you. It will be exciting, I’m sure.”
Steel felt immediate worry and hope. Worry about who was coming and the risk they were taking, and hope that all three of them might be free.
Lucian continued. “The question is, what will we do for fun before they come?” He regarded his guards. “I’ve asked my men what they would enjoy most. They’re eager for a good game. And time with Therese.”
Therese drew her thighs up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, her face half-hidden in her knees as she eyed Lucian. She shrank beneath his stare.
Steel stared at Lucian. “My people won’t want any of us hurt.”
Lucian beamed. “Your people are paying one million for Therese at the trade, but we have hours to go before that happens.”
Steel concluded Lucian was depraved. “How much do you want to leave Therese alone?”
“Who has the flash drive?” Lucian raised an eyebrow.
Steel realized the question might be a trap. If the exchange was at midnight, then they must be waiting for Christie to come from Montana. And Lucian wouldn’t wait for Christie, unless Angel or Zeus had told him Christie had the flash drive.
Steel kept his voice steady. “Christie has it. I gave it to her in case the hand-off went south again.”
“Smart.” Lucian kept smiling. “Who was the woman who took Valentina at the hand-off?”
Steel wished he knew. “No idea. She’s not working for me.”
Lucian wagged a finger. “But you helped her escape.”
“I wanted Val safe.” True, but a weak answer, thought Steel.
Lucian sighed. “See? You can’t give me anything except what I already know.”
“I can give you more money.” Steel didn’t think Lucian cared that much about money.
“How much?” Lucian gripped one of the bars.
>
“A hundred grand.” He figured that’s what he had in accounts that he could access quickly.
Lucian waved that off. “Not enough.”
“Then ask my team to bring an extra million. They can get it.” Steel doubted his team could get even one million by midnight. And Angel wouldn’t bankrupt himself for the trade.
Therese’s eyes showed vulnerability and hope.
Nodding slowly, Lucian said, “Not a bad idea.” He took out a phone and dialed a number. “Steel says to bring two million if you don’t want Therese used by every one of my men before you arrive.”
Lucian hung up, smiling. “Old Man said okay. I think it doesn’t really matter what we do to Therese while we wait. Your people will still bring the two million.”
“You’re sick.” Matt glared at Lucian, but the man just chuckled.
Therese stared at the floor.
Steel stood up. “I’m sure my people requested verbal confirmation from me tonight that I’m okay before they bring the flash drive, right? I won’t give it if any of your men touch Therese.”
Lucian waved a hand. “So you’ll sign your death warrant, and Matt’s, just to protect one girl? I don’t believe you.”
Steel shrugged. “If you can’t keep your word for Therese, then you probably won’t keep it for anything else either.” What he didn’t say to Lucian, what the man would never understand, was that protecting one innocent mattered to him as much as protecting thousands, as much as protecting his own daughter.
Lucian laughed. “I like the way you think, Steel. Smart.”
A man walked down the stairs and through the hallway until he stood beside Lucian. Stocky, dressed in a black shirt and jeans, the man had black hair, dark eyes, and strong facial features.
“Dima.” Steel glared at him.
Dima smiled grimly. “We both want each other dead, Steel, but neither of us can afford that right now, can we?” He paused. “How is your man that I shot? Still walking?”
“Do you have any men left?” asked Steel.
Dima’s eyes narrowed, but he turned to Lucian. “They agreed to pay one million for the girl?”
“Two million.” Steel wanted to make sure Dima knew. “If Therese is unharmed and untouched.”
Lucian’s eyes narrowed at Steel. “I agreed that my men would not touch Therese, but I didn’t agree to it. I think I will have some fun with her before the trade.”
“You’re a coward.” Steel’s hands curled into fists.
Lucian laughed. “But you’re the one in handcuffs in a prison cell.”
Dima gestured to Lucian. “Put Steel and the girl into the game with Rose and the bees. If Steel wins, you leave the girl alone. If Steel loses, you can have her. Your men can make bets.”
Lucian frowned at Dima, his tone stiff. “Rose and the bees it is.”
Therese’s eyes widened.
Steel whispered, “I’ll help you, no matter what, Therese.” He hoped he could.
Lucian scoffed at Steel. “You couldn’t even protect yourself today when we beat you on the road. Don’t lie to the poor girl.”
Therese flicked her gaze at Steel—he saw doubt in her eyes. He would do whatever it took to defend her.
WHILE MORE MEN WERE called, Dima asked Lucian to step away from Steel’s cell to the far end of the hallway. Dima didn’t like seeing the cells with the young women in them. Runaways and kidnapped girls. Waiting like trash to be taken out. One of the attractions of Agapov’s idea to bribe those involved with the sex slave trade was to inflict pain on the men worldwide who traded women. Lucian wasn’t any better; when Dima hired him, Lucian had to be appeased by Dima agreeing they would keep Therese. Otherwise Lucian would have refused to kidnap her. They never planned on returning her to Edwards.
Dima had suggested Rose and the bees as a feeble way to spare the girl being hurt by Lucian. It was only delaying the inevitable. And he had never seen anyone defeat Rose and the bees.
Even though they had known each other for many years, Dima knew Lucian could be a dangerous threat to him if he wasn’t careful. Physically he wasn’t scared by Lucian. Despite the man’s size, Dima felt his fighting skills were superior. But in Lucian’s compound he had little safety. He had three men with him now—all guarding the helicopter—that was it.
“I want to make sure you are happy with the transactions tonight, Lucian,” he said.
Lucian’s smile evaporated, his voice ice. “I wasn’t happy that you contradicted me in front of my men. Don’t ever do it again, Dima.”
“Of course.” Dima nodded once. “I only want Steel to play his part at the exchange tonight without problems. You can do whatever you like with him and Therese after we get the flash drive. You keep one million. I just need Matt and Valentina alive, and the flash drive.” He shrugged. “Get Therese’s mother and sell the mother-daughter pair as we discussed.”
Lucian’s eyes brightened. “That is very generous of you. You do know that Val would be worth a lot of money on the open market. Young, attractive. Bidding would be high.”
Dima wondered if Lucian was going to get him killed. “Agapov would put a contract on my head and yours and hire the best assassins that money can buy—someone who can hit a quarter at three hundred yards, a body at a mile. And even though we both have security, you know as well as I do that we can’t protect ourselves every second of every day unless we wish to live like prisoners. Agapov knows who you are, and that I hired you, and will hold you responsible if you betray him, my friend.” He patted the big man’s thick arm. “Better to have Agapov as a client than an enemy.”
Lucian gave a twisted smile. “Well then, let’s have some fun.”
CHAPTER 31
CIA Director Bill Bishop had never interacted with M4N, but this time he needed to. Mark Jones, the Director of the Special Activities Division, had notified him that Phil Edwards and seven members of his team were overdue for a check-in. After numerous attempts at contact, Edwards and his team were effectively considered MIA in Florida. Eight of Edwards’ men had been sent to ambush a KGB officer who had Edwards’ niece. The ambush never happened, but the ambush team had not been able to contact Edwards either.
Bishop clasped his hands on his desk, wondering what had happened. Jones was about his height, five-eleven, and both of them were broad-shouldered. Jones was younger, but Bishop saw gray streaks in his brown hair. He liked Jones. Always responsible and dependable. On point. Which meant things were bad.
“What about our officer, Mattia Leone?” asked Bishop. “Has he contacted anyone here?”
Jones shook his head. “He was communicating through Steel and M4N to get the witness protection document for himself and Valentina Sokolov.”
“We’ll rip that up if we find out they’ve deceived us somehow.” Frustrated, Bishop clenched his hands. “Why can’t we track our vehicles or our officers’ phones?”
Jones frowned. “We have to assume GPS was removed or disabled from the vehicles, and the phones destroyed.”
“What about M4N?” asked Bishop. “They set up the hand-off.”
Jones adjusted his glasses. “Steel was supposed to contact Emilia when the hand-off was complete. She never heard from him. And she hasn’t been able to reach him or his partner, Christie.”
Bishop didn’t like any of it. “I want drones tasked to southern Florida to find those SUVs, and I want a conference call immediately with Karbu at M4N. Make sure Emilia is on the call too.”
Jones left to arrange it.
Bishop had to fight off panic. It would be the most devastating attack on CIA personnel since the bombing in Afghanistan in 2009, which had killed ten officers. How could eight men vanish without a trace and not reply to texts or calls? The only reasonable answer sent chills through him.
When everyone was on the conference call, on a secure video app, Bishop studied Emilia and Karbu. All Bishop had ever heard for years was how trustworthy and reliable M4N was in handling operations that the CIA either wanted t
o farm out, due to an overwhelming workload, or needed to farm out for political purposes.
Emilia was Puerto Rican and CIA. Long black hair, with a strong chin and defined facial features. Her CIA personnel file stated that she had never been anything but loyal. M4N’s owner, Karbu, was half-Norwegian, stocky, and also had a good record for even a longer time than Emilia. He had even sacrificed his brother for the CIA some months ago. None of it pointed to a betrayal from M4N.
Bishop was brisk. “Emilia and Karbu, update me on every piece of intel you have. Start at the beginning.”
They did.
At the end of it, Bishop asked, “You’ve tried repetitively to contact Jack Steel, the man running the hand-off for M4N?”
“Yes, sir.” Emilia lifted her chin. “No response from him or Christie.”
Bishop grew impatient. “Is there any chance Steel is responsible somehow and has gone rogue? Someone paid him off?”
“Impossible.” Emilia waved off the suggestion.
Karbu leaned forward, speaking with a slight Caribbean accent. “I assure you, Steel is as trustworthy as any of your own officers.”
“Right now that might not be a good comparison to make.” Bishop leaned back in his chair. He thought on things. “Effective immediately, M4N is off this assignment. CIA will take over. If you contact or hear from Steel, or anyone connected to this mission, I expect to hear about it immediately.”
“Of course,” said Karbu.
Bishop signed off with Emilia and Karbu, and turned to Jones. “So it’s possible Edwards leaked information on the Bahamas’ pickup, and then you transferred the operation to him when Steel requested a change through M4N.”
Jones spoke deliberately. “We have no hard evidence to support that. True, the first operation manager told Edwards about Steel and the Bahamas’ pickup. Though according to him, he and Edwards ran operations by each other all the time. And Edwards’ niece is supposed to be traveling in Florida. Edwards’ wife, Darcy, was quite distraught when we talked to her and she knows even less than we do about the kidnapping. Edwards hasn’t contacted her either. Also Edwards’ ambush team, all of them, believe Edwards was shocked over the video of his niece and they stand behind him.”
Steel Trap: A Jack Steel Action Mystery Thriller, Book 4 Page 20